Doing a video article last month was pretty fun, and so I wanted to continue with using voice as a means of talking about some of the issues that relate to mobile ministry. In this video, I talk about the big picture of mobile apps in ministry, based on a few emails received and conferences that are upcoming.
If there’s a topic that you think would be a good fit for this format, get in contact with us with the topic and reason why and from there let’s get a discussion going.
One of the complaints that I hear from time to time is how religious apps (and services) are functional, but lack beauty. If you will, many are pretty in functionality, but not always in asthetics. That’s not always the case, but it happens often enough that one has to wonder what happened to all of those skills that did the Sistine Chapel and other works of art we admire so much.
Per my usual travels through the web, I wandered into Communication Arts Magazine and some of the events/competitions they have going on this year. I made it through a few items and started wondering when we’ll start seeing mobile apps from faith/religious organizations get nominated (in the Interactive category). As we talked about before, there are several design trends that do mark some items, but I wonder when we’ll see some more.
Some beautiful apps/services in this domain? Here are a few:
Those are just a few which come to mind. I’m sure there are others (well-know and not so). What are some of those beautiful apps and services to you?
For the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about the Mobile Ministry Webinar being put on by Symbiota. There’s one more on deck before the holidays roll around. The last one of these is on Dec 17th. All you have to do is sign up and show up. Just showing up gives you a chance to win some great prizes. Here’s an overview of what will be talked about in the webinar:
Visitors are increasingly using mobile devices to search for churches information, listen to sermons, and pay tithes and offerings. Your church members are mobile, how about your church? On this webinar we will be helping churches understand how to get their message through, on the most important method of communication today: Mobile Phones.
What you will learn on this webinar:
- 3 Major myths about cell phone usage that are not true.
- Dissecting the noise about mobile websites and mobile apps.
- Tips on using mobile to increase donations & giving.
- Why your church cannot afford to not be ready for mobile.
- How to not to miss up to 50% of people searching for your church.
- Connecting members to small groups using text messages
- Keys to integrating Twitter and Facebook with mobile.
Sign up for this webinar and learn more about the services Symbiota offers at their website.
Last year, we asked the question “where are the Advent mobile apps?” After a lengthy search, we found some, and even added a section on the Bible Apps page to account for these. With Advent here again, its not only good to reflect on the coming of Christ, but also ask if there has been any new or improved apps or services which further the spirit of this season? If you have a favorite Advent app kr service, or have just done something to reflect the season via your mobile, we’d love to hear it in the comments.
Mobile Ministry Magazine was a special guest on one of the latest Symbiota webinars. This past Monday, we talked about mobile ministry (#mobmin); specifically, how churches can leverage SMS, mobile web, and mobile apps in order to grow those deeper and wider connections inside and outside of faith communities.
Good this is that if you missed this one, that you can still make another. This webinar will be held again on Dec 3rd and Dec 17th. All you have to do is sign up and show up. Just showing up gives you a chance to win some great prizes, so its totally recommended. Here’s an overview of what will be talked about in the webinar:
Visitors are increasingly using mobile devices to search for churches information, listen to sermons, and pay tithes and offerings. Your church members are mobile, how about your church? On this webinar we will be helping churches understand how to get their message through, on the most important method of communication today: Mobile Phones.
What you will learn on this webinar:
- 3 Major myths about cell phone usage that are not true.
- Dissecting the noise about mobile websites and mobile apps.
- Tips on using mobile to increase donations & giving.
- Why your church cannot afford to not be ready for mobile.
- How to not to miss up to 50% of people searching for your church.
- Connecting members to small groups using text messages
- Keys to integrating Twitter and Facebook with mobile.
You’ve got two more times before the year is out. Sign up for this webinar and learn more about the services Symbiiota offers at their website.
The future of publishing is something we discuss from time to time here (being an online magazine, it only makes sense to). Therefore, hearing that a frequent contributor to MMM was interviewed by Roar – a company which produces an excellent suite of mobile app and content management tools – to speak on the impact that eBooks have had on Christian publishing at large. Here’s a snippet:
When looking at the future of publishing, ebooks play an integral role.
While many of us may think ebooks are a pretty new development, WORDsearch has been creating books in electronic format for over 20 years. “Every title that we publish through WORDsearch is an ebook that can be read through our advanced Bible study software,” says LaRosa.
The transition from paperback to digital is already taking place, and it will continue to grow going forward. “Technology and innovation are driving us in this direction, both in hardware and software,” he says. “Devices like the Kindle and iPad have cemented ebooks as a mainstay, and why wouldn’t they? The functionality of ebooks far surpasses that of print books.”
Read the rest of Ebooks: A Win-Win for Both Publishers and Consumers at the Roar Blog
Also, do check out Roar’s Mobile Content Management plans and strategies; this probably one of the best complete packages for mobile and social that you’d find the faith-based space. See more in the below video.
Though we’ve talked about this a few times, the question of where to start with mobile, once you’ve decided to go that direction for some aspect of communication or engagement is a difficult one. What’s great though is that there are several of us in this faith-tech space that have tackled this. Here’s a piece from Symbiota’s answer to this:
A mobile app is software designed for such mobile operating systems (and their corresponding distribution programs) as Apple iOS (the App Store) and Google Android (Google Play); an app is generally useful for executing specific actions, such as listening to a podcast, playing an interactive game, or making a purchase. A mobile website is essentially a sleek, stripped down version of your native (desktop-friendly) site; with a mobile website, the content may be stacked vertically for easy scrolling, and much of the graphics from the native site may be streamlined or removed.
Read the rest of Help! My church wants to go mobile; where do we start? at Symbiota. And take note of the chart after the infographic – those six (6) points are about as clear as it gets towards understanding your direction in mobile and ministry.
Another Symbiota plug: We’ve started adding Symbiota’s webinars to the #mobmin calendar as many of these are quite relevant connection points to what’s happening in faith and tech from a resource/learning perspective. Subscribe to the #mobmin Calendar to get updates about these and other events.
Press Release: Churches Create Apps to Support Their Community Anytime, Anywhere with TheAppBuilder
San Francisco, 08 August 2012. DIY mobile app building website TheAppBuilder.com (www.theappbuilder.com), has unveiled a new service to help churches reach out and support their congregation at any time of the day or night; the ‘pop-up app’. Churches can launch a free mobile app by spending a few minutes entering information about the church, its services, words of strength and social activities. The app can then be set live instantly for use by members of the church’s community.
TheAppBuilder was launched in March of this year as a means for organizations and individuals to rapidly and easily create mobile apps, at no cost and without needing to have any technology skills. It has been such a success that over 30,000 apps have been created in the 5 months since launch.
The team behind TheAppBuilder have been overwhelmed by the number of churches using the system to create apps which bring their community together anytime, anywhere.
James Scott, CEO of TheAppBuilder explains why there has been such an uptake, “We always knew that there was going to be demand from churches and community groups to create apps, but the volume has been surprising. Having spoken to a wide number of customers they have told us that the benefits delivered by an app are particularly relevant for churches.
“An app provides members of the congregation with a quick reference point to the church no matter where they may be during the week when they are involved in their daily routine. This may be as simple as checking out what church activities are happening, when and where. Alternatively they may wish to review the previous week’s sermon notes for strength and reflection. When an app user needs to access this material it is as simple as a few taps on their phone, which can be done on the move and without delay.”
Churches can use TheAppBuilder to create a bespoke app for their church, or alternatively can populate and publish a church template. In either case news can be sent direct to the user’s phone, sermon notes can be viewed, prayers can be requested, and social activities can be arranged and shared using social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Images and videos can let those who missed an event feel part of the experience.
The huge benefit to church administrators with little time and often stretched budgets, is that TheAppBuilder’s standard plan is free. A web app can be created in minutes using the simple drag and drop interface, and published immediately. There is no cost and no there are no limits to the number of updates to the app. Premium features such as submission to the popular app stores (iTunes for iPhone/iPad, Google Play for Android phones/tablets and Windows Phone Marketplace) are available for a small cost.
Scott points out, “We are now living in the age of the mobile community, one which is fast-paced and dispersed. However, the emergence of mobile technology has also provided the opportunity for communities to support each other. This appears to be a growing trend for churches, where apps are extending the support of the church beyond its traditional confines.”
For more information visit TheAppBuilder’s website or follow them on Twitter (@theappbuilder);
There was a point during the Biola Digital Ministry Conference where it was put out there and became a calling card of sorts that I was sketching my way through the sessions I attended. That made it all the more important to get this up and done. It is a very small slice of what I’m finding in back-channel talks was a very wide and deep connect for all of us who attended. This is definitely something you’d want to put on your radar for next year.
(Click on image to view full-size PDF)
When preparing for this week’s articles and activities, a term kept coming to mind, then it started popping up in various articles and comments. The term is simple, JIT (just in time), and it refers to a context of information and the media channels supporting it. But when we drive into mobile, JIT takes on another, more personal implication – I’m using this device for this channel because at the moment of need, its just in time to reply.
When was the last time that you went to your mobile for something you needed right now? Was it directions? A movie time? A contact you needed to message? How did it make you feel when you got that desired information? Were you relieved? Or, did you decide that you’d not go that route anymore – hoping that you never were stuck in that same place with that “only known to you” avenue of finding it?
In designing for a mobile context, this concept of JIT has to be taken probably a bit more seriously than everything else. We can see that there’s at least one signifiant set of mobile consumers who can be strictly judged by this JIT approach (see Pew Internet report).
So, when you are designing your application or service – does it matter to a JIT context? Yes, some content doesn’t. Let’s strike that off the board now. Now, to the content that does matter – can it be accessed just as its needed? Does someone have to remember a login code to get there? Do they have to compromise privacy in identity, location, or relationships to get whatever is needed just at that time? Is the value of that extra step worth what’s at the end of the rainbow?
At least from my perspective, many of the apps – and I can argue even down to the mobile platforms themselves – do very little these days to repsect that some information needs to be gleaned as easily as God makes Himself available to us – think it, nav to it, got it. When its not, what breaks in the experience? There are less than 20 app slots on that homescreen – is what you offering as necessary to someone’s life also valuable enough to be put on that screen that’s accessible at the immediate moment of need? If not, did you have the right focus/perspective in building that channel?
Just in time… we get dingged about that towards MMM all the time (hence the design approach taken with the alternate mobile site). If its not available when its needed, then its value diminishes faster than the time it takes to finally get there – if you do get there. Tech is relevant when its personal – but personal matters in the context of being right on time.