Client Spotlight: Evergreen Church

Situated in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, Evergreen Church serves about 2,200 people in the Seattle suburb of Bothell. Over the last handful of years, the surrounding neighborhood has grown exponentially, as companies like Boeing, Microsoft, and Amazon have planted roots nearby. This has turned Bothell into a multicultural community, with people from around the world moving to the area for tech jobs.

Evergreen seeks to be a welcoming outpost for the gospel in their ever-growing neighborhood. The words “Welcome Home” are written out in 70 different languages on their front doors, and they have created a deep culture of hospitality within the church. Check out some of the photos below to get a glimpse of what Sundays are like at Evergreen:

Evergreen Church is located in Bothell, WA, which is close to major companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, and Amazon.

“Welcome Home” is printed in 70 different languages across Evergreen’s doors.

The hallway leading to Evergreen’s Cultures Coffee House, which is open to anyone on Sundays and during the week.

Evergreen’s Cultures Coffee House, which is open to anyone on Sundays and during the week.

Evergreen’s band leads worship during their 9am service.

Evergreen’s band leads worship during their 9am service.

Just a few of the volunteers who work hard to prepare breakfast for everyone who attends the 9am service. Lunch is prepared during the 11am service.

Evergreen Church launched their Subsplash app in 2014, and have since added Fill in Notes and web integrations to their communication arsenal. We recently visited Evergreen learn more about their experience with the Subsplash Platform, and to hear about how God is using their ministry right here in our backyard. Evergreen has seen an extraordinary boost in community engagement through their app. We sat down with Communications Director Jeffrey LeBlanc and Lead Pastor Phil McCallum to hear more about their experience in transitioning their media library from Vimeo to Subsplash, boosting engagement with the app, and utilizing Subsplash’s media integrations. Here’s what they had to say:

Increased media engagement isn’t the only win Evergreen has seen through the Subsplash Platform. They’ve also used the app to increase engagement during church on Sundays, particularly through Fill in Notes. With Fill in Notes, Evergreen is empowering more people to engage with the sermon by taking notes on their phones. Unlike paper bulletins, these notes automatically save across all devices, and congregants can easily share notes with friends. Since implementing Subsplash’s Fill in Notes, Evergreen has been able to print less paper and save money. Check out the video at the top of the page to learn more about their experience.

We loved getting time to meet our friends at Evergreen and hear their story. To find out more about Evergreen Church, you can download their app or visit their website. And to learn more about how your church can experience these same results, contact us today at 206-965-8090.

Click here to read the full story.

2018 Keynote

What's been happening at Subsplash? What new features are available? What's coming next?

We're glad you asked, and we're excited to share with you! We're taking digital engagement to the next level, and we can't wait for you to experience what we've been working on. In our 2018 Keynote, Chris Sharpe (Vice President of Business Development) and Tim Turner (Founder and CEO) dive into some of the details behind what we've been up to here at Subsplash. We have lots of exciting news to share, including highlights from 2017, an inside look at how our company is growing, and a sneak peek at some upcoming features. 

We've been dreaming about creating innovative ways to help you expand your reach, engage on a deeper level, and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. And now we're going to make it a reality! Check out our Keynote to learn more, and if you have questions about any of the features discussed in the video, feel free to drop us a line at hello@subsplash.com. 

The Best Number for Your Church

How many people are attending Sunday services? How much money are people giving? How many people are serving? For many churches, these types of numbers are commonly used to measure success. But maybe the best number in your community is actually zero. Dave Gibbons shares that when Jesus shows up in our churches and neighborhoods, he doesn't just bring about inflation of crowds, but real, systemic transformation. 

About Dave Gibbons

Dave is the Lead Pastor and Chief Visionary at Newsong Church in Santa Ana, CA. He is also the Founder and Chief Vision Officer at Xealots, a human development group focusing on helping Creatives, Innovators, and Artists find their destiny. Subsplash has been blessed to partner with Dave and Newsong over the last handful of years, and we have been deeply impacted by his perspectives on training up leaders and engaging with culture. We hope his insight in the video above is encouraging to you as you seek the welfare of your cities (Jeremiah 29:7). To learn more about Newsong, download their app here. You can also check out Dave's books by following this link. 

About the video

We had the privilege of visiting with Dave during one of our trips to Southern California last year. We were so encouraged by our conversation with him that we asked midway through if we could record some of his thoughts, and he kindly agreed. So there we were, sitting in Dave's living room discussing church and culture, with Dave speaking into the mic. We couldn't keep the conversation to ourselves, though, so we decided to create a visual representation to go along with Dave's thoughts. The laundromat in the video represents the process of renewal and transformation, as clothes change from dirty to clean. 

Is there something God has placed on your heart that you'd like to share as an encouragement to fellow pastors and church leaders? We'd love to hear about it! Let us know at hello@subsplash.com. 

4 Engagement Tips for Easter Sunday

Easter is right around the corner! You've probably spent the last weeks (or months!) planning for how to engage with your community on this momentous weekend. Did you know that your app can play a huge part in those plans? We're not here to throw a wrench into the hard work your team has already completed, but we wanted to share a few ways you can use the Subsplash Platform to come alongside the strategies you already have in place. Let's take a look:

Announce your app from the stage.

Want people to engage with your content post-Easter weekend? Let them know about your app! It's very likely that most people coming through your doors own a smart phone...77% of American adults do, according to Pew Research. A simple plug from the stage allows every person to know where they can go to stay connected. It's quick, easy, and provides a great on ramp to keeping your gospel content in front of your community. We've found that churches that announce the app from the stage tend to see better engagement on mobile, including both Church of the City and Hillside Community Church - click the links to learn more about each church's experience.

 

Go digital.

Want to go green AND enable people to connect with your church, even after your services? Add your connect card and bulletin to the app! Visitors can submit information via the app at any point, and now their notes will live on their phone. Our friends at Calvary Chapel Worship Center in Portland went completely digital with their bulletins and connect cards, and were able to save thousands of dollars in the process. Even better, they saw engagement increase with digital bulletins! Learn more about their story here.

 

Use push notifications.

Push notifications are easy to schedule, and they receive a significantly higher open rate than your email blasts. Tap into this tool to keep more people in the loop during Holy Week and the weeks following. Here are just a few ideas of push notifications you can send to your community in the coming weeks:

• Reminder of service times and weekend event schedules
• Share a Bible verse/devotion to prepare people's hearts for your service
• Encouragement to invite a friend to church
• Share your Sunday bulletin
• Share Sunday's sermon and any other follow-up materials after your service

 

Refresh your app.

Keep both members and visitors coming back to your app by adding a fresh new look! If you haven't already, make sure to check out our new custom app layouts, which are available to all Subsplash clients. You can now customize your app on a deeper level than ever before, even down to adjusting the margins on each page! Contact your Client Success Manager to learn more about new layouts.

We are praying that God would use all of your hard work and preparation to draw people to himself, and we can’t wait to hear stories of all the amazing things he does through your ministry! Happy Easter to all! 

The Village Church: Multiply

Sometimes, "faith" can be spelled "r-i-s-k." But that hasn't kept Matt Chandler and the team at The Village Church from leaning into the Holy Spirit and trusting in God as they seek to transition their five campuses to autonomous churches. We sat down with Matt to hear more about this vision and what his team has learned through the process. "We're just believing through a lot of prayer and God revealing some things to us that tomorrow is going to be better than today," he said. We loved hearing the story behind Multiply, and we can't wait to see how God will use each of these new churches to impact his kingdom. 

Check out the video to hear more about The Village Church's transition and Matt's encouragement to other pastors (trust us, you're not going to want to miss that part). And to hear more from Matt Chandler, download The Village Church's app here.