“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.