An app for your ministry?
Developing your own web site seems like more work than most of us have time for, so the idea of developing a mobile app seems absurd. However, some larger ministries have considered it, but the cost and complexity of developing and distributing mobile apps are so great that it’s usually never an option.
Yesterday I discovered a service called MyMobileFans (which happens to be the “other job” of a campus minister) that allows you to create and distribute a simple, templated app for releatively cheap:Â $299 (plus $49/mo) for either Android or iOS, or $499 (plus $99/mo) for both Android and iOS. I haven’t had a chance to try it out myself, but I love the idea of creating a simple app to distribute content to students that’s easy-to-edit.
I spoke with creator of the service Andy Dalton, and he described the process as a simple, easy-to-edit system: When you buy the service, you will have access to an editor that lets you create the entire app yourself in their backend system. Then they manage submitting it to the appropriate app stores. Finally, you can update the content later live–without having to wait for app store re-approval (unless there are significant functional changes.)
There are a million ways we could use this on campus, and the site actually already has a “Mobile Apps for Churches” area with ideas for how churches can use the app. Here are a few of their suggestions:
- GPS Directions
- Events Calendar
- Push Notifications
- Youtube videos
- Contact Us button
- Photo uploader
- Surveys
- Blog/Updates
- Mailing List
- Podcasts
- Prayer
- Devotionals
(HT Eric Holmer)
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