MINISTRYGONE MOBILE

CONNECTING YOUR CHURCH IN A MOBILE-CENTRIC WORLD

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CONTENTSINTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................3

MOBILE’S IMPACT ON MINISTRY.............................................................................5

WHAT CHURCH LEADERS REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT APPS...........7

HOW TO INTEGRATE MOBILE INTO YOUR MINISTRY......................................9

CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................11

BONUS: 20 MOBILE APP IDEAS FOR YOUR CHURCH....................................12

BONUS: THE MOBILE APP FIELD SURVIVAL GUIDE ........................................13

ABOUT CHURCH COMMUNITY BUILDER............................................................15

ABOUT AWARE 3..........................................................................................................15

churchcommunitybuilder.com

aware3.com

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INTRODUCTIONThe future looks conspicuously like the now.

It used to seem much farther away, but the rapid

escalation of mobile technology development

has swept across contemporary culture and

shoved its way into our lives like an unexpected

guest.

The old days weren’t so pushy. Remember way

back (like eight years ago) when the flip phone

was cool? They’d be difficult to forget since

approximately 99.9 percent of everyone who

owned one at some point flipped it open and

said “Beam me up, Scottie” at the screen.

Back then, cell

phones were

evolving, getting

smaller and

lighter, offering

faint glimpses of a

distant promise. In hindsight, those flip phones

are laughable, limited to mostly making calls and

playing rudimentary games like Tetris and Soft

Cell.

Mobile phones have grown up, gotten smarter.

Now they are sophisticated, pocket-sized

computers that feed our addiction for mobile

technology. Venture capitalist and futurist

Benedict Evans reports that smartphones

and tablets account for more than 50 percent

of global consumer electronics sales1. According

to Evans, there are three billion people globally

online; two billion of them are accessing the Internet

via mobile devices. He predicts that by 2020, 80

percent of the world’s adults will have smartphones,

accounting for more than four billion people going

online through their phones.

Those projections are mindboggling, but are they

really so hard to believe? Pay attention to the number

of people interacting with their smartphones the

next time you’re at a mall. It’s seemingly everyone.

We’ve been captivated by our smartphones. Mobile’s

increasing versatility is creating an insatiable appetite

for more — more memory, more speed, and more

flexibility.

In short, mobile

technology went

from novelty to

necessity in a blip. It

has pushed its way

into every aspect of

our lives and, to a

large extent, for the better. Mobile technology offers

huge opportunity for the corporate sector, but it also

offers huge opportunity for religious organizations like

the church.

“Make no mistake,” says Steve Caton, vice president

of strategy and business development for Church

Community Builder, a leading software company

focused on helping church leaders effectively

integrate technology into their ministry strategies.

1 | Evans, Benedict. “Mobile is Eating the World” (Presentation), Oct. 28, 2014. Available at: http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2014/10/28/presentation-mobile-is-eating-the-world.

“Mobile technology is a requirement to reach our members, both young

and wiser. At the end of the day, the congregation demands spiritual

resources in a mobile app.”

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“Mobile is no longer the future; it is the now.

That’s great news for ministry leaders.”

Closely married to mobile technology are mobile

application software, or “apps.” Today, apps can

track your mileage as you drive on a business

trip or serve as a pedometer when you walk.

You can scan an app at the local coffee shop

to pay for your cup of joe, or you can use your

device’s camera to scan a product and have it

pop up in the app of a popular online retailer’s

store to immediately make a purchase.

Apps can do all those things and much more.

There are more than 1.5 million mobile apps

available for download in 2015, and the number

is growing exponentially every year2. (For

comparison, there were just 15,000 apps

available in 2008.) Research shows that the

average person checks his or her phone

150 times a day, or once every six and a half

minutes3. On average Americans spend two

hours and seven minutes a day using apps.

Factor in Evans’ projected number of people

who are and will be on a mobile devices, and

you get a feel for how ubiquitous apps powered

by mobile are and will become.

Along with the rise in the number of apps

available, the competition for attention when it

comes to apps is naturally getting more intense.

According to a recent Quartz study,3 the average

iPhone user downloads fewer than one app to

their phone a month. It’s a staggering number,

considering Apple boasts 78 million app downloads

since 2008.

“The data suggests that people love to download

apps, but they are selective in what they download,”

notes Tony Caudill, CEO and co-founder of Aware3,

an app development company serving churches

and ministries around the world. “To win the coveted

home screen space, an app needs to provide real

function and content that keeps the user coming back

for more. If it doesn’t check those boxes, the delete

button is just a finger stroke away.”

2 | Statista, The Statistics Portal. “Number of Apps Available in Leading App Stores as of May, 2015.” This statistic contains data on the number of apps available for download in leading app stores as of May 2015. As of that month, Android users were able to choose between 1.5 million apps. Apple’s App Store remained the second-largest app store with 1.4 million available apps. Available at: http://www.statista.com/statistics/276623/number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-stores/.

3 | Meeker, Mary and Wu, Liang. “Internet Trends, 2013.” May 29, 2013. Full PDF research report available for download at: http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2013-internet-trends.

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MOBILE’S IMPACT ON MINISTRYWe said earlier that “mobile is no longer the

future; it is the now.” Pause and consider the

implications of this from a ministry perspective,

especially given the amount of time mobile

users are interacting with content delivered

through apps. The opportunities for extending

the influence of church leaders and the ministry

of the church become numerous.

Here’s what was: Church leaders mostly

interacted with churchgoers on Sunday

mornings, to a lesser extent Sunday nights,

and, if they were lucky, maybe one night during

the workweek like a Wednesday evening

community group.

Here’s what is: Church leaders have the

opportunity to interact multiple times daily with

churchgoers by delivering influential content

through mobile apps to a device with which they

are already heavily interactive.

Want proof of the potential? YouVersion,

the most popular of the many Bible apps

available, recently celebrated 150 million global

downloads. Its growth continues to explode,

given that just a few months earlier it passed the

100 million downloads mark..4

You may have noticed a decrease in the number of

“analogue” Bibles being brought to church. There is

a reason for that. Research reports that 70 percent

of Millennials read Scripture on their mobile phones.

Yeah, you might think, those crazy Millennials, but

guess what? Seventy-two percent of Baby Boomers

own a mobile device and a significant number of them

use a smartphone or tablet in church to read Scripture

and to take notes within an app like YouVersion.

Mobile is infiltrating wallets, too. Ten percent of

monetary donations—like offerings—were made

through a mobile app. That trend is showing strong

signs of escalating in popularity.

“The infusion of technology into the church has

been steady for some time, but not anymore,” says

Church Community Builder’s Caton. “Now the pace

of integration has significantly quickened. That’s why

several years ago we began shaping our strategy,

software, and services to align with this direction.

Now, mobile is everywhere among church members.

They are using mobile technology and apps on a

daily basis in the other areas of their lives, so using it

in the church isn’t a jump for them. The church has to

respond.”

4 | Fromer, Dan. “Most Smartphone Users Download Zero Apps per Month.” August 22, 2015. Full article available at: ttp://qz.com/253618/most-smartphone-users-download-zero-apps-per-month/

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Jim Peich has a front-row seat to watch the

burgeoning technology trend in the church

and agrees with Caton’s perspective. Peich is

pastor of faith formation at the 4,000-participant

Morning Star Church in Dardenne Prairie, Mo.

“People almost always have their mobile

devices with them,” Peich says. “The more

‘doorways’ we can create via mobile for people

to participate in the life of the church, the more

people we engage.”

Peich says that through a mobile app like

Aware3, the church is providing a “convenient

tool for people to take next steps in the

moment.” For instance, he suggests, people

can immediately sign up for a class or a service

opportunity through the app. They can make a

financial donation and process the

transaction instantly. If they forget a

meeting location, they can access

the calendar and find the room

information. They can also access

video or audio from past sermons.

“Mobile is becoming the dominant way people

get information and interact with others and

organizations,” he says. “Our mission [as a

church] is to meet people where they are and

help them take the next steps on their spiritual

journey. It only makes sense for us to utilize

mobile to equip them to engage with our

community of faith.”

“It’s clear that mobile is becoming a dominant way people access

information and interact with people and organizations.”

Jim Peich - Morning Star Church

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WHAT CHURCH LEADERS REALLY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT APPS

All this talk of mobile, apps, technology

integration — it can be like drinking from a

fire hose if a minister has been in a church

that hasn’t needed to implement available

technology or has been slow to embrace

technology. But it’s nothing to be afraid of

and it’s never too late to jump in, says Church

Community Builder co-founder and Chief

Technology Officer Free Grafton.

“It’s important not to panic,” says Grafton.

“The great thing about the evolution in mobile

technology is that it has actually become simpler

and more intuitive. App

builders recognize that

with the space being so

competitive, they have

to construct apps that

are simple to use or people won’t use them.

This is especially true in the church ministry

space where a minister’s time is at a premium.

Technology is a tool; equipping leaders is the

goal. We monitor the needs of our church

partners and adapt and develop technology to

help them achieve a truly connected church.”

Grafton says there are three fundamental

things every church leader should know if they are

considering taking the plunge into mobile apps.

Apps are like tools in a toolbox; each is designed to

do something specific. There are apps designed for

business, education, games, news, and an extensive

variety of other uses. If you access Apple’s app store,

there are 21 major categories showing. Click on any

one of those categories and you’ll see thousands of

apps with a wide variance even within the category.

Grafton says that is where a consultant can “talk it

through” with a church’s leaders to help them define

what it is they really want to accomplish. For instance,

some apps may be designed for the person in the

pew, while other apps may help church leaders be

more effective in helping those in the pew integrate

more deeply into the life of the church.

Aware3’s Tony Caudill

adds an important insight

for church leaders to

consider. “As it relates to

the church, there are a growing number of apps your

members can download. There are giving-only apps,

video apps, note-taking apps, and Bible apps. While

we love that virtually every aspect of the church has

gone mobile, there is such a thing as too many apps.

Church leaders must develop an intentional strategy

for how you will encourage usage, create connection

that drives community, and make your app the one-

stop shop for people in your church.”

EVERY APP NEEDS A MISSION

“Our mobile donations exceed other mechanisms. In fact, the first month paid for the app.”

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It may be tough to hear, but apps are not silver

bullets that solve all the communication or

community-building challenges in your ministry.

They can, however, enhance the processes

and systems that are already in place. When

those systems and processes are defined and

effective, apps can amplify ministry by making

communication consistently available.

“Communication is the most critical aspect

of business, church, and family,” says Jake

Necessary, technology director at Crosspoint

Church in Jonesborough, TN. “A church

congregation that has information is prepared

for the spiritual journey and to help others.”

There are times when assumptions are

based on minimal data. The future of mobile

technology and mobile apps isn’t one of

them. By every indicator, Evans’ projection of

mobile use mentioned earlier is tracking in the

direction he predicts. Translation: Virtually every

generation in your church is currently touched

by mobile and that will become even more

true in the coming years. Mobile technology

is not only here to stay, it is a dominant form of

communication among your current church members.

And you need to be in that space with them. Whether

you are the most tech-savvy person or not shouldn’t

keep you from jumping in and exploring the possibility

of incorporating mobile into your ministry plan.

Explore, gather information, take the plunge, and don’t

look back.

“We live in a mobile society and to have an app is

an absolute requirement,” Necessary says. “Our only

regret is not launching the app years earlier.”

DON’T WAIT ANY LONGER

AN APP WILL NOT SOLVE YOUR MINISTRY PROBLEMS

Jake NecessaryCrosspoint Church

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HOW TO INTEGRATE MOBILE INTO YOUR MINISTRYAfter better understanding the explosive growth

of mobile and reading about the potential

of mobile apps in extending ministry in your

church, there may be a ton of questions popping

in your mind. Questions like:

• How could we optimize people’s Sunday

experience to encourage greater

connection?

• How could we strengthen that connection

through information delivery?

• What devotional or discipleship content

could we consistently deliver?

• How could we make it easier to register

people for service opportunities and events?

• What possibilities would an app open for us

with Millennials?

• How could we use an app to strengthen the

prayer ministry of our church?

• How could an app enhance financial

generosity?

All of these questions and so many more

probably come to mind, but let’s assume you’ve

decided you’re diving in. Great! Now what? Here

are six key thoughts to keep in mind as you

integrate the use of mobile into the flow of your

church’s ministry.

The church systems and processes you

implement as a leader directly impact the

behaviors and outcomes of those you lead.

Effective processes set expectations, offer

clarity, equip and train others for service,

support people, evaluate success, and offer

accountability.

“Goals without defined processes and systems

are nothing more than pipe dreams,” says Caton.

“None of this just happens; there must be a

method behind what you want to accomplish.”

What is it you want to change? Why? What

is it you hope to achieve by implementing

a new process? By

implementing mobile?

Bottom line — you

need to know where

you want to go, what

options there are for

getting there, and what

it will take to accomplish that vision. This is

where an outside consultant can often help walk

you through that process.

DEVELOP A PROCESS AND PLAN FOR HOW YOU’LL USE IT.

IDENTIFY YOUR HIGH-LEVEL GOALS.

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Motivated users of the technology will take it

and run with it, and you need to identify those

champions early in the implementation process.

You are in the process of changing the culture,

and organizational experts say that culture

change is dependent on creating “product

evangelists” out of key persons below the

level of top leadership. This would include staff

members and church members.

This may sound obvious given that it follows

buy-in, but here’s the thing. There is always an

initial surge when implementing technology, but

inertia has killed many a good transition. Top

leaders must keep motivating staff and, with

the help of the tech evangelists, overcome the

inertia to get to the tipping point. It is then that

change becomes part of the culture.

“Your members have a relationship with your

brand. They know it. They trust it,” says Caudill.

“They are much more likely to download and

use your app than a third-party app where

there’s not a relationship.”

Success breeds a culture that encourages

exploration. Here is a truism: The evolution of

technology will continue. The good news is

that if you successfully implement mobile into

your church’s culture, that culture will evolve

with the trends. New and useful apps will rise to

the surface and be integrated, and having that

culture already in place will enhance that.

Success breeds a culture that encourages

exploration.

Here is a truism: The evolution of technology

will continue. The good news is that if you

successfully implement mobile into your

church’s culture, that culture will evolve with

the trends. New and useful apps will rise to

the surface and be integrated, and having that

culture already in place will enhance that.

GET EARLY STAFF BUY-IN.

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO USE IT — AND STICK WITH IT.

INTEGRATE THE INITIATIVE INTO THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH MEMBER.

CREATE A CULTURE OF EXPERIMENTATION IN YOUR MINISTRY.

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CONCLUSIONThe rapid development of mobile technology

over the past seven years has opened a world

of possibilities for ministering to people through

the life of the church. Yes, there are a number of

apps out there that are a waste of time, but the

key is to find those few that align with ministry

objectives. The key is to engage the technology,

and engage it now.

“Our whole purpose is to help guide church

leaders to a better how,” says Chris Fowler, co-

founder and CEO of Church Community Builder.

“We want to help church leaders leverage the

technology to become a means to an end, and

not the end. Nobody wants to spend more time

managing the tech than they are using it to help

impact the lives of others. Our goal with tech

is to equip the leaders so they can equip the

church.”

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BONUS: 20 MOBILE APP IDEAS FOR YOUR CHURCHThe integration of mobile technology and mobile

apps should always align with the high-level

ministry goals mentioned earlier. The following list

offers practical ways that churches partnering with

Church Community Builder and Aware3 are using

mobile technology to reach high-level goals and

enhance a church’s ministry.

By implementing mobile app technology into your

ministry strategy, you can:

1. Engage first-time guests with personalized

welcome information.

2. Collect prayer requests anytime, anywhere.

3. Provide an online Bible that allows everyone

in your church to use the same translation.

4. Keep the church informed through

notifications and announcements.

5. Live stream your service for people to plug in

anytime, anywhere.

6. Establish a quick-glance church calendar and

filter events by categories such as children,

youth, adults, choir, men’s ministries,

women’s ministries, etc.

7. Make online forms available for volunteer

needs, event registration, prayer requests,

and more.

8. Maximize online giving as a contribution

option.

9. Offer quick access to archived sermons for

viewing or listening.

10. Provide sermon outlines, notes, and

transcripts.

11. Create ministry podcasts and deliver

content through the app.

12. Promote social sharing of content through

Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

13. Make the app the hub of the church’s

online content (website, blog, social media

connections, Church Community Builder

software).

14. Offer a resources tab with information and

links to other key websites.

15. Provide a digital bulletin.

16. Offer a facilities map.

17. Offer worship and other event check-in.

18. Deliver the church’s musical catalogue.

19. Offer note-taking capability.

20. Enable social media and community

connections through personal profile

integration.

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BONUS: THE MOBILE APP FIELD SURVIVAL GUIDEThis “Field Survival Guide” provides tips offered

by church leaders who have been through the

mobile transition. It’s what they wish they knew

before initiating the process.

This is insider information passed along from

churches that have taken the mobile app plunge

and wish they’d known these implementation

hacks before diving in.

• “Spend time creating a list of content ideas

for a mobile app and identify everything

you’d like it to do before the app is built.”

• “Create a list of push notification topics to

keep those items organized on the app.”

• “Design the mobile app from the mobile

users’ perspective and not the church staff’s

perspective. Think about what labels and

headings a mobile user would be expecting

to see to accomplish a specific task or find

certain information, and design it that way.”

• “Make sure the back-end processes are in

place to act on the information and requests

you collect via the mobile app.”

• “Sample design options of the mobile app

icons and design elements to make sure

your app both looks good and functions

properly.”

• “Integrate the app with the church’s website

and church management software.”

• “It’s critical to make sure that your

technology systems are able to

communicate with each other.”

• “Have a small group test the mobile app

for a month before announcing it to the full

congregation.”

• “Demonstrate and train your users on the

app.”

• “Communicate the features of the app

well to the congregation to ensure a full

understanding of the power of mobile.”

• “Build an awareness program to motivate

interest and to maintain its use.”

• “Ensure that your oldest and youngest

members feel comfortable with the app.”

• “Design an app that motivates people to get

a smartphone or tablet.”

• “Keep your mobile content fresh and be sure

buttons and links are always working.”

• “Reference your mobile app at least once

during every worship service in some way

and use push notifications to demonstrate

the value of the app and to remind them that

they have the app.”

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STEVE CATON has an extensive background in

technology, fundraising, and church leadership.

In addition to serving as an elder in his local

church, Steve has served in key leadership

roles with organizations that help churches and

ministries foster greater constituent engagement

and retention. As a member of the leadership

team at Church Community Builder, Steve

leverages his unique experience to help local

churches strengthen the systems and processes

that support life transformation and growth.

TONY CAUDILL is the co-founder and CEO of

Aware3. Before starting Aware3, he spent 13

years at Accenture, launching wireless products

and services for US and international wireless

carriers, MVNOs and cable companies. Tony

serves as the overall product, go-to-market,

sales, and partnership strategy lead for Aware3.

Leadership Sources

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You are called to equip people as they fulfill the mission of the local church. Church Community Builder is

called to offer you a better how — through practical coaching, software, and “tribe”-based learning — that

supports good process and empowers everyone in your church.

Technology alone is incapable of supporting ministry objectives. You must first have people and processes

working together in harmony. You must then identify technology that aligns with and empowers those

people and processes. Finally, you must constantly evaluate, adjust, and learn from others as you adapt

to changes and new challenges along the way. Church Community Builder is equipped to guide churches

through all three of these disciplines.

When we encounter needs that fall outside of our core competency, we can point to a variety of thought

leaders who excel at providing the inspirational understanding of what is possible and the why behind it.

We then bring the what and why full circle by helping church leaders implement the how.

Our inspiration is “the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work

and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11b–12). We believe church leadership and structure is

necessary and a good thing, so we encourage leadership-driven processes and systems. We also believe

that community between church leaders and congregants is vital, so we provide highly distributive church

management software to facilitate connectedness, communication, and insight.

In today’s always-connected world, people want to connect with what’s important to them when, where,

and how they want. Aware3 can help you launch and manage a fully branded native iPhone & Android

mobile app, allowing you to connect with current and prospective members like never before.

Our mobile apps help ministries drive greater generosity, build strong community, and enhance

connection well beyond Sunday morning. Your app integrates seamlessly with the tools you already use,

so it runs on autopilot and you can focus less on the technology and more on your mission.

Aware3 is also the only mobile app provider that’s fully integrated with Church Community Builder. We

help you leverage your investment in church management software to the fullest—all while harnessing the

power of mobile to strengthen engagement, giving, and outreach.

ABOUT CHURCH COMMUNITY BUILDER

ABOUT AWARE3

churchcommunitybuilder.com

aware3.com