Are mobile apps necessary for church plants?

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Tyler Gorsline is the co-founding Pastor of A Seattle Church, a growing community in the heart of the city that Subsplash also calls home. We got to chat with Tyler about the impact their app has had on helping their church community stay connected as well as alleviate some of the burden of the staff so that they aren't spread too thin when loving and serving a church that is still in the early stages of growth.

Subsplash: What goal is your app aiming to accomplish?

TG: We want to meet people where they are at. People are constantly on their phones nowadays, so we want to give people the opportunity to get information easily and provide as many inroads as possible to staying connected and committed to our community. Ultimately, though, we want to share the Gospel with people near and far and our app helps us do that.

Subsplash: How has your app added value to A Seattle Church? 

TG: I've been really delighted and surprised to find out how many people are discovering our app. I got some feedback from a guy I hadn't talked to in 12 years about how encouraged he was by one of my sermons. It's crazy that a childhood friend was able to hear the Gospel through the app. The app makes our content super accessible!

People can struggle to be physically present at church each week, but the app helps frequently remind people about what we are doing as a community. Features like push notifications have helped us engage people in the community.

Subsplash: As a churchplant, specifically, what are the benefits of having app?

TG: One of the biggest challenges our team faces is moving towards long term sustainability. The use of technology can ease the the pressures of the pastoral team. Generally speaking, a small church staff can carry a lot of weight in the beginning, but having an app helps us to stay connected even if we don't have the bandwidth to meet with everyone one-on-one all the time. The unique challenge (and blessing) is we have a lot of people to serve and care for than we are sometimes able, but we try to encourage people to lean into the resources available in the app when it's appropriate.

Also, the fact that the app is so user friendly helps empower our congregation to serve. The intuitiveness of the platform makes it so that almost anyone can volunteer to help upload content, even if they aren't super tech-oriented. The usability of the platform empowers busy leaders to delegate tasks related to the app without too much direction.

Subsplash: Being a small church, how did you come to the decision to create an app even though you are just getting started and resources are tight at times?

TG: There was definitely a back and forth since taking on a new project means taking cost and time management into consideration, but ultimately we decided having the ability to connect with people in new and relevant ways was a huge value add for our church. With easy access to things like baptism signups, community group info, giving, and sharing prayer requests, our people are able to be connected as they'd like.

You can download their app here! We are really grateful for the community at A Seattle Church. We'd love to hear from you if you want to explore the benefits of an app for your church.