Get a Free App for Your Church

For some time, I've searched for the right app for our church. As a temporary work around, I've created a mobile version of our site using WPtouch Pro. It works well, but does not come close to offering the capabilities a dedicated app can offer.

For example, we employ a wide variety of services to deliver content. We use SermonAudio.com, Vimeo, Sermon.Net, Liberated Syndication (for podcasting), plus a host of RSS feeds for each ministry news stream as well as the main news steam for our church. Add to this Facebook and Twitter for our social media components. A dedicated church app allows you to bring all of these diverse sources together into a single, simple interface on a mobile device.

In searching for an app builder, I first looked for a tool that would allow me to build my own app. I'm not a programmer, and don't have time to learn all of the nuances of building mobile apps, but if there was a program that made it relatively simple, it would be a win-win. Unfortunately, there is no such beast. There are the hints of early development in this area, but nothing that jumps out that help someone like me build a quality app.

My next step was to begin looking at the companies that develop dedicated apps for churches. There are several to choose from, and they all seem to be fairly consistent as far as price and features offered. The common pricing model is to charge a one-time setup fee to build the app, and then a monthly fee for continued access to the app. Once the app is built, most companies offer churches a way to access a control panel to add content and customize the app as needed.

What helped me pull the trigger is an offer by Roar App to build 1,000 apps for 1,000 churches in December free of charge. Again, most companies charge anywhere from $500 to $2000+ to build an app. Roar App is offering to build it for free. Granted, Roar doesn't have (see clients) the many of the flagship churches that other companies have, but in reviewing their list of features, it looks like they are on par with the big boys in the neighborhood. 

So, if having an app of your own is something you would like to add to your church's technology mix, this may be a good way to enter the playing field.

What are your thoughts? Do you see a need for a church to offer a way for the church congregation and community to connect via mobile technology?