2017: A Year for the Books

Can you believe that we are already nearing the end of 2017?! It seems like just yesterday we were getting ready to share all of our big plans for the year in our 2017 Keynote. This year has gone by fast, but as we reflect on all that’s happened over the last 12 months, we can’t help but be thankful for so many things. And we thought we’d share some of those reflections with you. Here are a few highlights from 2017:

New features.

2017 was a busy year for our Software Development team, as many new features and products were added to the Subsplash Platform. Some of the big highlights included Subsplash Notes, Subsplash Web Tools, Subsplash Giving Embeds, new ChMS integrations, numerous Dashboard and software updates, and of course, our release of The Church App. We’ve been able to add highly impactful features to our platform at a faster rate than ever before thanks to the amazing people on our Development team. There are some big things in store for 2018, and we can’t wait to share them with you! In the meantime, if any of those features listed above sound unfamiliar to you, click on the links and check them out!  

New content.

One of our big focuses of 2017 was creating more content to help you - our partnering ministries - get the most out of the Subsplash Platform. Thanks to the hard work of our team (and some valuable feedback from you!), we produced a handful of webinars, added dozens of new articles to the Knowledge Center, released our first-ever eBook, started our bi-weekly newsletter, and created quite a few new blogs, videos, and emails to help serve you better. We hope you found these resources to be valuable, and we can’t wait to take it up a notch in 2018!

More people, more learning, more fun.

2017 saw the Subsplash family grow by 20%, as we added some amazing new people to our team. We didn’t just grow in number, though. Thanks to our People Operations team, 2017 was also a year of growing in knowledge, both of ourselves and our local community. Every Subsplash employee completed a "challenge course" day this past summer, which consisted of numerous team-building activities designed to inform the ways we communicate, plan, and implement new ideas at the office. We also had the chance to partner with Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission this year. They joined us each quarter for a lunch & learn, teaching us about homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. As we continue to grow in our education, we will be able to partner with UGM on a deeper level and serve alongside them as they bring hope to some of the darkest corners in our city. And of course, we had lots of fun. 2017 saw it’s share of many team retreats, adventures, and parties. Check out a few of the highlights below!

As you can see, we have a lot to be thankful for, and a lot to be excited about. All of this would not be possible without you - our awesome partnering ministries! It is truly an honor to work alongside you and build software that helps you reach the ends of the earth with the good news of Jesus. We never get tired of hearing about how God is working through your ministry, and we can’t wait to share with you what’s in store for 2018! Happy New Year!

Remembering R.C. Sproul

We were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of R.C. Sproul this week. If you are reading this, then chances are that you share that same sentiment. R.C. was a true builder of the Christian faith - a faithful pastor, teacher, leader, and brother in Christ. His chief aim as a pastor and teacher was for as many people to know Jesus as possible, and his sharp, bold approach helped awaken many souls to the truths of classical Christianity. To say that God used his ministry to build the global church would certainly be an understatement.  

We have been incredibly thankful to partner with R.C. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries over the years, as many on our team here at Subsplash have been personally impacted by R.C.’s teaching. Jon Crabtree, one of our Ministry Consultants, says, “Ten years ago, I was a recent college graduate struggling with the intellectual foundations of my faith. Listening to R.C.’s podcast on a daily basis was a gift to me at that time, as it helped strengthen my understanding of the truth of Christianity.”  

Although R.C. is no longer with us here on this earth, his legacy and teaching will continue to live on for generations. And more importantly, he now gets to experience the riches of Jesus face to face, and a new life void of pain, suffering, and strife. While we, along with his family, friends, and many others, will miss his presence and teaching, we rejoice that he is at rest with his Savior and we look forward to the day when the Church is united together with Christ.

Listen to sermons by RC Sproul inside the Ligioner Ministries mobile app.

Keep Your Christmas Visitors Coming Back

Don’t look now, but Christmas Eve is in less than two weeks! If you are a pastor or church leader, your schedule is probably filled with staff meetings surrounding this momentous weekend. And for good reason, too! Not only is Christmas the day we celebrate Jesus coming into the world to save us from sin and death, but the Christmas weekend is also one of the highest-attended church services around the world each year. These visitors who come through your doors do not merely represent a number or statistic, but an opportunity to spread the gospel throughout your community. We know that you’ve probably spent many days planning out how to best engage with your Christmas visitors, so we won’t try to unravel those plans. But we do want to give just a few tips on how you can use the Subsplash Platform to capitalize on this opportunity to engage with your local community this Christmas season:

Announce your app from the stage.

There is a very high likelihood that each person who comes through your doors next weekend owns a smartphone or tablet (according to Pew Research, 77% of American adults own a smartphone). So why not share with them one of the easiest ways to stay connected to your church? Even a quick 30-second plug will do wonders for post-Christmas engagement. Now every person who is sitting in the audience knows where to go to find all of your church’s content, and they can even do it right there from their seat! Additionally, you can create an “I’m New” push notification group and encourage visitors to opt into that group to receive more information about your church. We’ll touch on that again shortly.

Go digital.

Going to church on Christmas Eve may be overwhelming for some who are first-time visitors. You probably have a strategy in place to connect with new folks, but let’s face it….your staff and greeting team can’t meet every new person who comes through your doors, especially if you have a larger ministry. The unfortunate reality is that even with a robust plan in place, some people who enjoyed your service or would like more information about your church may slip through the cracks. This is where technology can help fill that void. By adding your connect card, a welcome message, and any other relevant signup forms or information to your app, you can make it easy for everyone to get connected, even after church is over. Your printed bulletin and connect card may end up in the trash, but your digital connect card will be in everyone’s pocket at all times. There will probably be people who forget to stop by your connect desk, throw your Sunday bulletin away, or feel compelled to get in touch after stewing on the message for a few days. Since you’ve announced the app from the stage, they now have it on their phone, and since you have your connect card and welcome materials in the app, they can easily get in touch with your church.

Use push notifications.

Remember how you announced your app from the stage and encouraged visitors to join the new push notification group during the service? Now it’s time to follow up! Send out a push notification to the “I’m New” group thanking them for attending and offering any follow up information that you think would be helpful. This could include your connect card, a welcome video, information about how to get in touch with a pastor, or even just an encouraging passage of scripture. Unlike most emails, push notifications get extremely high open rates, and this will add a nice personal touch to your follow up process. On top of that, push notifications have a much lower barrier to entry when it comes to connecting with people. Not everyone is going to be immediately comfortable with providing their personal information (email, home address, phone, etc) to you - especially if they are a first-timer, and no personal information is required to receive a push notification. If you’d like some visuals that show users how to subscribe to push notification groups, we’ve got a video for you here.

Download The Church App.

With so many people traveling to visit friends and families over the holidays, chances are that some of your visitors may not be staying in your town for long. Good news: helping them find a church in their hometown doesn’t have to be hard! In fact, it can happen in a matter of seconds, right on their phone. The new search tools available in The Church App allow any user to quickly find a church based on name or location, and engage with that church’s content in a matter of seconds. Check out The Church App today to see for yourself!

Want some more tips and ideas? Check out this webinar from our Client Success team! They’ve compiled a list of creative ways to boost engagement before, during, and after your Christmas Eve services. 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! Merry Christmas to all!

The Webinar Before Christmas

Can you believe that the Advent season is already upon us?! If you are a pastor or church leader, chances are you've spent many days and hours planning and strategizing on how to best reach your community in these coming weeks. And rightfully so, as Christmas Eve tends to be one of the most-attended services for many churches. These next few weeks present an opportunity to share the good news of the coming Messiah, reach more people in your local community, and help them get connected to your church.

So how does your app fit into all of this? Our Client Success team wanted to share a few tips and tricks on how you can use the Subsplash Platform to maximize engagement this Advent season. These tips are not meant to undermine the hard work you've already put into your communication strategy. Rather, they are meant to come alongside your hard work and share how your app, web tools, and giving can complement your plan. Take ten minutes to check out our new webinar, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact your Client Success Manager today!

Introducing The Church App

Here at Subsplash, our mission is simple: glorify God and proclaim Jesus as Lord by building innovative software for you - the church. That's been our mission since day one, and it will continue to be the same going forward. We've been dreaming about a more unified mobile experience to better serve the global church. And that experience has arrived. Check out this video and keep reading below to learn more about The Church App:

What is The Church App?

The Church App is one universal app that is built to help churches engage their community while being part of the global church. You'll have your own custom branded app inside The Church App with all the exact same features that are currently available on the Subsplash Platform. This app will increase discoverability, as we have added robust search tools that make it easier for your community to connect with your church. Users will be able to set a "home" church, as well as "favorite" other ministries they engage with, keeping all the content they interact with under one umbrella. The Church App also comes fully loaded with Subsplash Web Tools and Subsplash Giving, which makes it easier for you to streamline your app and website. 

Who benefits from The Church App?

• Your church. Have you ever tried searching the App Store for something like "First Baptist Church"? As you can imagine, there are quite a few First Baptist Churches out there, and a search like this will yield hundreds of results. This can deter users from downloading your app, and as more churches have continued to go mobile, the App Store has become more cluttered. The Church App makes your church more discoverable, as users can easily search for a church by name or by location. These search tools can also help you reach more of your local community, as anyone who has The Church App can find churches located close to them. Additionally, we provide you with a unique text to download link, which takes users right to your church's app inside The Church App...no App Store searching required! And of course, your church benefits from all the features you've come to love and expect from the Subsplash Platform, allowing for deeper engagement with your community.  
• Your congregation. With almost 5,000 churches utilizing the Subsplash Platform, including over 50 of the 100 largest churches in the United States, chances are that many people in your congregation have more than one Subsplash app on their phone. With The Church App, all of the content your community wants to engage with lives in one central place. In addition to your church's content, maybe someone in your community wants to listen to a sermon by Matt Chandler, Greg Laurie, or Tim Keller on their commute to work. Or maybe they would like to donate to another ministry they enjoy supporting. Or maybe one of their friends has shared a sermon or event with them from that person's church back home. Now all of these things can happen in one app. This will keep users coming back, as their home church's content, their giving account, sermon notes, and content from other ministries they enjoy will be easily available without forcing them to download multiple apps.

When is The Church App available?

Right now! You can download The Church App for iOS and Android here.

What's Next?

For the last eight years, we've been building out our platform to better serve you. And we're not going to stop! As you can imagine, we've been pretty busy, but this is just the beginning. We are focused on taking this app to the next level, offering you deeper engagement options than ever before. We are so excited, and we hope you'll join us for the ride! If you have questions about The Church App, or if you would like to add your church, you can contact us at 206-965-8090 or hello@subsplash.com.