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In today’s increasingly mobile-first society, thousands of churches are experiencing firsthand how church apps can enhance communication and deepen connections within their congregations. By choosing to create an app for your church, you can help your church reach new heights and more effectively serve the needs of your community.
Let’s take a quick look at the primary reasons for getting a church app, explore the top 10 best apps for churches, and discover how to choose the best option for your church!
Recent data shows that the average person spends over four hours a day on their smartphones, and 90% of that time is spent within apps. Simply having a mobile-friendly website just isn’t enough to engage your congregation on mobile.
People enjoy the convenience and personalization that an app for churches provides through powerful features such as:
All of these features bring your community together within your church app, making it the go-to place where your people can connect with each other, stay updated, and engage with your gospel-centered content.
Some church providers also offer an optional “container app.” A container app provides a lightweight version of a church app contained within a larger app maintained by the app provider. Users can download a container app, search for their church by name or location, select their church’s name or logo, and launch the app. For example, The Church App is a container app from Subsplash and is available to churches using their platform. (Download The Church App here to try it out!) Container apps are distinct from “standalone” apps that are available in the app stores to keep your church’s brand front and center, and some providers—like Subsplash—offer both options to suit various ministry needs.
So which church app platform is best suited to meet your ministry’s unique needs? Let’s take a look at the top 10 church app solutions, what they offer, and how they can help your ministry.
Subsplash created the very first church app in 2009 and continues to be the industry leader in mobile engagement today. The Subsplash Platform provides a truly customizable, beautiful app that keeps your church’s brand front and center. Your app will encourage daily discipleship by engaging people with your church’s content such as sermon videos, Bible reading plans, and live streams. Your users will love having a personalized experience with access to their volunteer schedules, giving data, group messaging, and even their media watch history!
Churches using Subsplash experience much richer engagement that will encourage people to use your church app and access your content—like sermon videos, live streams, and group messaging—more often.
Exclusive features
The Subsplash Platform is regarded by many churches for its native media player that hosts your gospel-centered content and delivers it directly to your church app, website, and social media channels. That means your church can stop relying on YouTube, Vimeo, or other platforms that include annoying ads and distracting content! Plus, media features like the “Suggested for you” and “Series” sections within the app keep your people continually engaged with your content.
Only Subsplash offers world-class discipleship resources from The Chosen, Ligonier Ministries, Bible Project, and Wild at Heart—provided at no extra cost—right within your church’s mobile app. People will love having access to these powerful resources and be encouraged to engage with the Bible every day!
Subsplash apps for churches are also integrated with a unified platform that includes online giving, group messaging, SMS text messaging and email, church management, media player, live streaming, church websites, and event management.
Top church app features
Subsplash offers the most powerful church app platform for sharing your content and engaging your people every day of the week. Click here to [.blog-contact-cta]schedule a free demonstration for your church![.blog-contact-cta]
The MinistryOne app is designed to help churches manage their digital presence and engage with their congregation. It offers a simple church mobile app that can be customized with a church logo and background color.
Their basic app is offered as a free add-on with other services offered by their parent company Ministry Brands, such as easyTithe, FellowshipOne, or ShareFaith. However, it’s important to note that their add-on version is a “container app.” They offer a paid upgrade version of their app that includes publishing a custom-branded app on the app stores.
Pros: MinistryOne church apps offer some basic features that can be helpful for their customers looking to try out an entry-level app experience.
Cons: While their church app does offer foundational features, it has limited customization options and is missing important discipleship resources—such as an in-app Bible, reading plans, and sermon notes—which are important for encouraging your people to engage with your content on a daily basis. Also, their “free” add-on version of their app is a container app rather than a custom-branded app, creating more steps for their users to find and use their app.
Top church app features
The GoChurch App offers a mobile app with basic features and a simple interface for churches to share their videos, events, and online giving with their communities.
Pros: The GoChurch App helps their users give online, receive push notifications, see events, and watch videos.
Cons: The GoChurch App lacks advanced customization options and built-in discipleship resources. This means their clients are required to link to external websites in order to provide access to live streaming, Bibles, and other content, creating more work for church staff. This can also make their app feel more like a mobile browser than a branded church app, thus creating a limited in-app experience.
Top church app features
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The Aware3 app offers a simple user experience for church members to stay connected through standard church app features as well as a member directory.
Pros: The Aware3 church mobile app offers basic features along with customizable options to help people be able to give online, watch videos, and search a member directory.
Cons: Several of Aware3’s discipleship-focused features require using integrations with third-party resources, such as a Bible, videos, and church management. Relying on third parties—like YouTube—can create headaches for your admin team and provide a less than ideal experience for your users.
Top church app features
Pushpay is a tech company founded to help churches and other organizations collect donations online, and they also offer a mobile app for churches.
Pros: Pushpay’s church app includes features such as online giving, push notifications, live streaming, and a media player.
Cons: Pushpay’s primary focus leans towards giving—designed to promote making/receiving digital donations—and this is reflected in their app experience. It’s important to note that their media player does not host church content but rather relies on third-party integrations with services like YouTube. It also lacks community engagement features such as group chats, as well as some basic discipleship resources, such Bibles and reading plans. Churches can link up to external resources, but this requires more time and resources from church staff and volunteers. This can also feel clunky as it takes users away from the church app experience into another website or mobile app experience.
Top church app features
Similar to Pushpay, Tithe.ly is an online giving platform that also offers a mobile app to help their customers engage with their communities.
Pros: Tithe.ly has added features to their app for churches that allow users to donate online, receive push notifications, share prayer requests, and stay current on upcoming events.
Cons: Tithe.ly’s app lacks some important engagement tools, such as a native live streaming feature and Bible reading plans. Relying on third-party integrations can be more difficult to manage and create some user confusion as they interact with software that is not part of the app.
Top church app features
Church Center is a church app from Planning Center that integrates with some of their church management tools such as community groups, event calendars, and volunteer management. Their app is another “container app,” which means churches cannot have their own custom-branded app in the app stores.
Pros: Church Center’s strength is centered around its practical applications. Church leaders can use the app to manage their church's events, track attendance, and communicate with members. Members can chat, watch live streams or on-demand videos, and give online.
Cons: Because the Church Center app is only available as a container app, there is no option to publish a branded church app on the major app stores, thus making it more difficult for people to discover and use the app. Their live streams and on-demand videos depend on using third-party embeds and hosting, such as YouTube, which can include ads and other distracting content.
Engaging people on a deeper level can be a challenge as it lacks basic but important discipleship resources such as a Bible and reading plans. It also lacks basic customization options such as changing layouts and visuals.
Top church app features
SecureGive is another online donation-focused company that offers their customers a simple app for church use.
Pros: SecureGive has a church mobile app that can help churches donate online, watch videos from YouTube or Vimeo, and stay current with upcoming events.
Cons: SecureGive’s church apps come with a very limited number of features. As is the case for most church app providers, they rely on third-party integrations and embeds for their media and Bibles. This can cause extra work for your teams managing the app, as well as an unpleasant experience for end users.
Top church app features
Apollos offers a church app with features such as a media player, prayer wall with messages, and integrations with content services.
Pros: The Apollos App offers features to give online, as well as view and interact with discipleship content.
Cons: The Apollos App lacks a wide range of popular features and options for fostering deeper engagement and connection for church communities. It also requires third-party integrations for any church content and video.
Top church app features
The Appy Pie Church App Builder enables churches to create simple apps to help connect them with their congregations on mobile.
Pros: Appy Pie offers a variety of features, including multimedia content, event management, push notifications, and social media integration.
Cons: Because their platform is not designed specifically for churches (they also offer dating apps, taxi apps, etc.), the initial setup of each desired feature can potentially be complicated for leaders who are just getting started. They also lack an online giving option for churches and require an integration with PayPal.
Top church app features
Some church app providers like to tell their customers, “All church apps are the same.” The truth, however, is that not all apps for churches are created equally.
While many companies offer some similar features, churches who partner with Subsplash—the original and best church app builder—regularly enjoy:
Simply put, Subsplash apps for churches drive more engagement, get more media views, and connect your church better than any other platform!
Discover for yourself the Subsplash difference. [.blog-contact-cta]Schedule a free demo today![.blog-contact-cta]
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