Stories from The Church: ChangePoint

“I am completely sold. For us it’s a no-brainer. Our app is as important as the website and social media level... it’s part of our everyday life.”

-Adam Legg, ChangePoint Church

ChangePoint Church in Anchorage is doing some incredible things to share Jesus' name in the state of Alaska. I had the privilege of talking to Adam Legg , Creative Arts & Communications Pastor at ChangePoint, and let me tell you - Adam is such an encourager and it has been a total blessing to work with him and build relationship over the past two years. When Adam first began his (now full-time) role at the church several years ago, his first big risk as the Communications Pastor was getting their team on board with the idea of an app - and the results have been incredible.

Before the app, ChangePoint was averaging 1,200-1,500 downloads per week of their online messages. After the launch of the app, that number doubled in a matter of two months.  They are now averaging 6,000 downloads/week of their messages - wow!

ChangePoint is a church of roughly 2,500 people. In the two years since the app has launched ,it has been downloaded over 6,100 times, more than twice the amount of church attendance. Anchorage is a very transient town, and this trend has lent itself to church attendance as well. On any given Sunday, ChangePoint has only 2/3 of its core members, so it has made a huge impact that people are still able to be connected through the app. The hope and goal was 2,500 downloads, and that number was achieved and passed almost immediately - much to Adam’s surprise and delight.

ChangePoint has heard about some really unique stories that took place because of the app. "I have talked with people that have been relocating to Alaska and used the app to connect with us before they even got here, so when they arrived it already felt like their church home! I have talked with a number of people that travel often for work and use it to stay connected with their church family while they are away. I have talked to people that used the app on family vacations to listen to the Sunday messages that they missed" said Adam. They have seen story, after story, after story of how God has kept people connected. The mission of ChangePoint has always been “Life in Christ for every Alaskan and the world beyond”. Through the app, they have been able to reach people not only in Anchorage, but  also the rest of the world.

ChangePoint has also seen some very tangible benefits of the app in just the last two years. After four years of declining giving, ChangePoint has seen year over year giving increase in 10 out of the last 12 months.

Not only has giving increased, but costs have decreased. Before the app, ChangePoint was spending $27,000/year printing the weekly bulletin. Because just about everyone was bringing their smartphone to church, ChangePoint incorporated their bulletin into the app and subsequently reduced printing to $4,500/year–saving them over $22,500/year. The app has been “more than they ever expected” said Adam.

In closing, Adam’s last thoughts on The Church App platform were: “What I like most about The Church App is that you don’t have to have a dedicated tech person on staff to update it. It is so simple that I recommend it to everyone. It is easy to use, and fast. I am completely sold. For us it’s a no-brainer. Our app is as important as the website and social media level... it’s part of our everyday life.”

 Download the ChangePoint app here.

Redeemer Presbyterian: +100,000 Downloads

Redeemer

Most churches make it a goal to reach out and serve their cities and communities well. What does that look like when your church just so happens to be located in Manhattan? In the case of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, they actually formed out of a heart for serving the city instead of the other way around. In 1989, a group of 15 Christians were meeting as a home bible study group and were praying for an opportunity to start a church. By 1993, 400-500 people were meeting for church each Sunday, and Redeemer Presbyterian Church was thriving in the city center with Tim Keller as the Senior Pastor.

“While no one had doubted God's direction in establishing a new church in Manhattan, neither had anyone expected an authentic revival. But so it seemed. New believers were being added weekly, skeptics were thronging to the services, every decision seemed blessed, and God provided for every need, sometimes before we even knew we had it. From its first morning worship service, Redeemer has grown to an average Sunday attendance of around 4500 per week, although it would be more accurate to say that there are about double that number who attend on a regular basis. Sunday services are held in different locations around the city and many ministries have been developed to address human needs in the city. ”

As our culture has become most readily accessible on mobile, Redeemer knew that was exactly where they needed to be. In 2011, Redeemer built the Redeemer Presbyterian App with The Church App Platform. Since the launch in 2011, they have just recently passed 100,000 downloads.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Cregan Cooke, Director of Communications and Media at Redeemer, about their experience using The Church App Platform. The app was originally intended to be just another channel to get content out, and the actual results "have been far beyond what was expected" said Cooke. Not only has Redeemer's visibility been extended significantly in the tri-state area, but the impact both nationally and internationally has been really tangible. Redeemer has also seen a “significant savings by printing fewer bulletins” said Cooke, as their organization and congregation utilizes the full potential of the app. "There has been a very positive reaction to the app, and Tim (Keller) really likes the app and has been excited about the impact."

Inside the Redeemer App users are able to access hundreds of Redeemer's free sermons, the Redeemer Report monthly newsletter, Sunday worship bulletins, and a customized bible reading plan, among many other things.

Download the Redeemer Presbyterian App here.

Client Spotlight: ARC Churches

Last month, the Association of Related Churches (ARC) launched an app with Subsplash on the eve of their biggest conference of the year. ARC, an association of over 400 churches, provides resources and support to church planters and other church leaders. "Our primary goal for the app is to make it easier than ever for our church planters to stay connected to the ARC community," says Guy Walker, ARC Marketing and Development Coordinator.

During the conference the app proved invaluable: "The new ARC Churches app was the perfect tool for our church planters at the All Access Conference," explains Walker. "They were able to view the conference schedule and detailed information about speakers throughout the whole event."

Because the Subsplash App Platform gives clients real-time control over their app, Guy and his colleagues were able to communicate last-minute schedule and event changes to attendees using the app. "At one point a speaker told everyone they could find her speaking notes in the app. This was a few seconds after we added them!" says Walker.  "The ability to update on the fly has been amazing!"

We're very excited to be partnering with ARC and many other great ministries. If you're interested in planting a church, check out ARC's free online training for pastors: "The 8 Keys to Effective Church Planting".

For more information about developing an app with Subsplash, contact us!

Download the ARC Churches app here.

The Iglesia and the Eglise: How churches on opposite sides of the world are engaging technology

Who is the average smartphone user? An American college student? A young professional in a big city? The answer might surprise you: the average smartphone user is most likely to be a middle-aged man in China.*

While apps may have originated with Apple in California and the first smartphone was invented by IBM, China currently dominates the market. In fact, the US market only accounted for 17.9% of smartphone sales in 2012, and growth is expected to be strongest in India, Indonesia, Russia and Brazil.** Smartphone users now reside around the world, and the international demand for apps continues to grow.

“We're working with thousands of churches and organizations around the world, from South Africa to Brazil to Egypt” says Chris Sharpe, Media Director here at Subsplash. “It’s really exciting to have the opportunity to engage with the global church on a daily basis.”

Matthieu Layes, a staff member at Montreal-based Eglise Nouvelle Vie (“New Life Church”), partnered with Subsplash in 2011 to develop an app. “The French speaking world is our mission field. As there still is a large French speaking population that is unreached with the good news, we made it one of our key outreach strategies to reach the masses through the web. Developing an app was the key tool to efficiently reach the millions of French speaking people that own a mobile device.”

Several thousand miles to the south in Bogota, Colombia, Juan Manuel Cortes manages a Subsplash app for Casa Sobre la Roca (“House on the Rock”), a Spanish-speaking megachurch. Cortes first thought about developing an app when he observed a coworker reading a blog on her phone. When he asked her about it, she explained that she had listened to a sermon in English and was reading an accompanying blog post to help her understand the message. “That was the moment when it hit me,” Cortes says. "Why can’t we do the same thing for Spanish speakers? What a good way to take the message to a person.”

With thousands of downloads since the app launched in September and hundreds of new downloads each month, Cortes is ecstatic about the way an app has allowed Casa Sobre La Roca to extend their reach. He has met many people at the church who began attending after downloading the app and listening to sermons.

Cortes loves to share the story of a family who came to Casa Sobre la Roca after one of the sons accidentally downloaded the app on his father’s phone. After visiting the church, the entire family eventually became Christians. “You cannot imagine how many people have been impacted in some way [by the app],” he says.

Eglise Nouvelle Vie has experienced similar success. “Every week we receive emails from all over the world of people who testify how the messages are transforming their lives,” says Layes. Like many Subsplash clients, the reach of Eglise Nouvelle Vie’s app goes well beyond their membership. With over 3,500 members the church is by no means small, but their app is quickly approaching 10,000 downloads.

In an increasingly connected world, churches of all sizes from around the world are finding that mobile apps provide a platform to connect with believers on a local and global scale.

"Our goal is to make the best software available for the presentation of the Gospel. We want to give ministries the ability to have truly affordable high quality apps that they can control in real time, from features and layout, to branding and content,” says Sharpe. “It's been an incredible blessing for us to be a part of what God is doing through these ministries all over the world."

*mobiThinking: http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats/a#topsmartphonecountries and Prosper China: http://www.prosperchina.com/ **mobiThinking: http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats/a#topsmartphonecountries

Your Move with Andy Stanley: Now on iPhone, iPad, and Android!

Andy Stanley has quickly become one of the most sought after Christian speakers and preachers in America. Son of famous pastor Dr. Charles F. Stanley, Andy started North Point Community Church in 1995, which is now the second largest church in the US and provides teaching and influence to its congregations locally and more than 30 partner churches.*

With a growing demand and audience, it’s no surprise that Andy Stanley and the Your Move team have launched a new app providing relevant, helpful, and engaging content to help their audience make better decisions and live with fewer regrets. The core of the Your Move with Andy Stanley app is a 30 minute TV episode which airs locally after Saturday Night Live on seven NBC stations across the U.S., as well as via satellite on GMC and Daystar. From the app, which is now available on iPhone, Android and iPad, you can view streaming video content, subscribe to the Your Move with Andy Stanley podcast and newsletter, access TV and radio listings, sign up to receive free chapters of Andy's books or songs from North Point artists, and easily get connected with the ministry or partner churches.

Download here: http://get.thechurchapp.org/share/your-move

We spoke with Jeff Earnhardt from Your Move and asked him a few questions about the app:

Q: What was your heart behind creating the app?

A: "We have always placed a high value on meeting people where they are with Andy’s content. So our goal was to introduce our messages where our audience was already spending their media time: on TV, podcasts, video streams, and now apps."

Q: What purpose do you intend for this app to serve?

A: "We hope the app will serve two main purposes. First, our research indicates that close to 40 percent of Andy's messages are being viewed by iOS devices, so creating an app for those who have been introduced to Your Move is the next logical step. Second, the idea of personal choice and action are implied in our name, “Your” and “Move.” The next steps people take with us will vary based on where they are in their personal faith journeys. We believe the app is a great tool to help our audience connect with us when they are ready."

*Learn more about Your Move at www.yourmove.is