See Your Message Go Further

We know that church members, and society at large, are trying to navigate a fast-paced culture and highly-connected society. For many churches and ministries, staying relevant and reaching their community where they are at requires them to deliver content and connect with church-goers in a quick and holistic way.

We had a chance to chat with Steven Records at James River Church about how they are reaching people with the message of the Gospel through their app, and it was exciting to learn about the unique ways their church is connecting with their congregation.

TCA: What goals are you aiming to accomplish with your app?

JRC: James River Church is using the app to get people connected to the church by being an agent of growth for our Life Groups and a tool for leaders to access discussion questions for their group.

Through the app, we wanted to reach more people than ever through our sermon content. With the messages feature and push notifications, we are able to get the message out there further and faster than ever.

TCA: How has your app added value to James River Church?

JRC: This app has helped James River Church expand the reach of our online messages. The Church App has also given the congregation access to other resources, such as weekly sermon notes and Life Group discussion questions.

The app improves our ability to communicate with our church by having a platform that allows information to be shared rapidly.

TCA: What results have you seen through the app? (Downloads, increased engagement, etc.)

JRC: We have had tens of thousands download the app, and we have seen nearly half a million impressions this year through the church app.

TCA: Any other comments on the app, Subsplash Platform, and how you’re using it to engage your audience?

JRC: The push notification feature the Church App provides has been one of our favorite features on the app. It allows us to quickly communicate with our users about the messages we post every week and can be useful for important updates about schedule changes or upcoming events. The Church App is making it easier than ever to grow our audience and to communicate with our church directly on the devices they use every day.

We love hearing how God is using The Church App to reach people for the Gospel. Download the James River Church App and let us know how we can help you get started on an app for your church!

Platform Update: Google Cast, Side Menu, and iOS9!

Support for Google Cast is here! Now Android app users can take advantage of this exciting new feature. Google Cast is a technology that lets users cast their audio and video content from their phone or tablet right to their TV or speakers.

Google Cast-enabled apps allow you to stream your favorite media right to your Chromecast, Android TV, speakers, and other devices. Just plug a Chromecast into your TV and stream from the app. Having support for Google Cast will encourage community engagement by enabling users to gather together and watch content, anywhere, anytime. We are shipping out updates to Android apps in the coming weeks that will include this feature!

We've got a brand new addition to app navigation! Our new Push Notification Inbox allows audiences to quickly reference push notifications they've received in the past, or update the type of push notifications they receive. The side menu empowers audiences to stay in-the-know and be reached more directly!

Apple recently released their newest iOS update-iOS 9. We've been preparing new designs and functionality to take advantage of this sleek new OS, and can't wait to roll them out! Users can expect visual improvements that will make it all the more stunning. Updates will also incorporate the new multitasking capabilities in iOS 9 including: slide-over, split view, and picture in picture. More on that soon!

Engage your Community this Fall

When church attendance declines during the summer months because of heavy travel, churches implement different strategies to keep their congregations connected. Having a strategy in place can help keep communities engaged and connected to the life of the church.

Something that is equally, if not more important, is having a plan in place for when attendance starts to rise again in the fall. As new people come through your church doors, and members return, there are new opportunities to help people feel connected and engaged right away.

“Going mobile” with your communication strategy can add numerous benefits to your church, and creating a mobile app can help you can engage your community in new ways. As attendance rises and people want more information about your church, here are some features you could include in your app to help people feel connected before they even set foot in the sanctuary:

1. Include an “Information” or “About Us” tab to help people learn about you before they even attend a service

2. Help your congregation track along with the week’s events with a “Weekly Bulletin” feature

3. Let people familiarize themselves with your church’s team by including a “Staff Directory” feature

4. Make sure newcomers can quickly and easily get to your church with a “Maps” feature

These are just a few of the many customization options with the Subsplash Platform. Upload all of your media that your members may have missed over the summer. Include a blog so that you can communicate with your community regularly even if they have missed a couple of services.

With technology changing the cultural landscape, meeting your community where they're at involves providing them with the digital resources needed for your church to stay relevant and engage audiences where they are spending most of their time.

Are you wanting to take your church’s communication strategy to the next level? Get in touch with us! We’d love to chat about your needs and how you can engage more people this fall.

Social Sharing for Great Content

Have you ever been listening to a podcast or watching a video online and have been so delighted that you’ve thought to yourself, “I have to share this with someone!?” Fortunately, we live in a digital age that allows us to share things that are meaningful to us with a single click of a button. The Subsplash social sharing feature allows you to share content that you love; it's simple and quick.

Here are a few ways our platform helps you share great content:

Individual Sharing Pages at Every Level

Whether you want to share a single media item, a whole series, or an entire app, our easy-to-use sharing option allows you to share content with anyone, at any time. In just a few clicks, you can share inspiring content on social channels like Facebook, Twitter, Email, and more!

Automatically Generated Sharing Pages

When we say that sharing in a Subsplash app is easy, we mean it. When you go to create an item, a sharing page is generated automatically, so you don’t even have to think twice about it.

Custom Branded Web Player

If you haven’t already learned about our customizable Web Player, you’re missing out! The Subsplash Web Player is incredibly easy to share with audiences and is the perfect compliment to an app!

Whether your content is consumed on a mobile device or a desktop, we’ve got you covered. The content uploaded to an app is encoded and optimized for playback across every medium. Even if you haven’t had a chance to configure your web player, you can still enjoy the same social sharing experience because we take care of everything behind the scenes.

Beautiful Media Experience

In a Subsplash app, sharing is a comprehensive and aesthetically pleasing experience. The custom social sharing pages that we create are beautifully designed and in-line with the branding for each individual app.

To provide an even more delightful experience, we’ve made it possible to embed videos right into your social media post, so there’s no need for users to leave the page to enjoy the content.

We’d love to hear what you think about our social sharing feature. Try it out on some of our apps and share your thoughts in the comments below!

Feature Update: Push Notifications 2.0!

We are so excited to announce that… we’ve been really busy! What does that mean for you? We’re glad you asked. We’ve taken advantage of the sweltering summer we’ve been having in Seattle to crank away on some new updates for you in our air conditioned office. You requested and we heard, so without further ado, here are some feature updates you can expect:

Scheduled Push Notifications

Select the date and time you’d like to send a push notification and schedule it ahead of time! You will see your notifications appear in a scheduled state on the Notifications page, and at the predetermined time your notifications will be added to the queue for sending!

Notification Inbox - Coming soon!

Your users can now reference all of the notifications you send in their Notification Inbox! No need to worry about someone dismissing a notification and missing your message altogether. You can now direct your audience to visit the Notification Inbox in your app! Simply tap on the navigation menu in the top left hand corner of your app to reveal this new feature.

Push Notifications with Linking

You can now attach specific content to push notifications! That’s right, gone are the days where push notifications only launched your app, you can now direct your audience exactly where you want to lead them. Link to your latest sermon or an event sign-up page! This feature is available immediately, check it out in your Notification Dashboard.

Segmented Push Notification Groups - Coming soon!

We are actively working on the ability for you to create segmented push notification groups within the Dashboard! Not only that, but your app users can choose which groups they would like to be a part of. Want to send something to just a specific group of people? No problem. Reach who you need at any time, in the palm of their hand. This feature will be available soon, so stay tuned!

We’d love to hear from you as you experiment with and enjoy these new features. Let us know how the updates are helping you take your app to the next level in the comments below.