Does your church end up feeling a bit disconnected during the summer months?
You’re not alone! Families are always on the go from June to August, with vacations, reunions, youth sports, and other summer activities. All the busyness can keep church members on the road and away from your services.
Most church leaders wonder how they can keep families connected to their ministries even when they’re not around.
It’s an important question, and at Elexio we think a mobile app is a solution!
Your church families are almost always connected to their mobile devices when they’re on the go, and throughout the summer a dedicated app lets you meet your members where they are.
Whether you have a church mobile app but you think it could do more, or if you are starting from scratch, there are several ways you can put this technology to work to keep your church connected during the busy summer months.
Check out five app strategies our Elexio team has identified for immediate impact.
Lean into Livestreaming
When you make livestreaming a key feature of your church app, it lets your families be part of your services wherever they are.
We’ve heard from vacationers who like to find a nice, quiet spot on the beach or by the lake during their summer breaks, and livestream Sunday services surrounded by God’s creation. Or, families will cast services from the app onto a TV where they’re staying, so everyone can watch. Give your members this quick access to your live services, and it will forge a strong summertime connection. Elexio partners with ChurchStreaming.tv for livestreaming capabilities that integrate perfectly into church apps.
Stay in Touch with Notifications
Through a well-planned mobile app, you can schedule messages throughout the summer that will be meaningful to all church members, even when they’re out of town. You can share themes and Bible verses from your upcoming sermon or offer a daily Bible verse or devotional to those who opt in to receive notifications.
This is a useful feature throughout the year – in addition to scheduled messages, you can also send push notifications to your congregation if there’s a schedule change, uplifting prayer updates, or weather alerts. But especially in the summer, notifications are a way to help your members stay connected to the Christ-driven mission they care about so much.
Be There through Prayer Requests
Summer isn’t always fun and sunshine. People still deal with unexpected illnesses, deaths in the family, and other crises, and they need the power of prayer. (And if you’ve read travel headlines recently about this summer’s surge in flight delays and cancellations, you know that flying to or from vacation can turn into an extended, frustrating ordeal for families, with prayers being greatly appreciated).
Whatever your church members are facing, you can be there for them when you equip your app with a prayer request feature they can use to quickly have their sadness or struggles lifted up to God in prayer.
Encourage Online Giving
App-based donations should always be an essential part of your giving options, and that’s especially true during the summer months when people are on the road and out of town. With robust giving opportunities through your church app, as well as text-to-give options and giving opportunities during your livestreams, you can empower those who care deeply about your church to sustain your ministries, even if they’re not able to put a gift in the offering plate.
And summer is a great time to emphasize the importance of recurring giving: people really appreciate being able to give consistently, even if summer travels or other commitments keep them away from Sunday services.
Add Efficiency and Security with Registration Forms, Payments, and Check-Ins
Summer is a busy time for families, even when they’re not on the road. Camps, sports, and other fun activities keep young people’s schedules packed, and parents scramble to get each child signed up and checked in for events. You can make your church’s summer activities easy for families by including registration forms, payment options, and check-in capabilities directly from your app.
Parents will appreciate the simplicity, as well as the sense of safety that mobile check-ins provide. This is another feature that especially shines in the summer but can also be used year-round for Christmas and Easter festivities, religious education opportunities, and all the other connections you offer to your church families.
Connection through Your Church App
There’s still time to keep your church families connected this summer. Reach out to us here to learn more about how Elexio can help you find the specific solutions you need to strengthen your ministries now and in the future.