HomeSoftwareMobile5 Simple Steps to Building a Church App

5 Simple Steps to Building a Church App

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When mobile apps became a “must have” just a few years ago, only the largest churches and nonprofits could afford the $30,000 plus price tag to hire a firm to build a custom mobile app. Because the majority of nonprofits can’t afford that kind of price tag, ROAR is now releasing their own app-building CMS to help nonprofits and churches afford their own iPhone and Android apps for a fraction of the cost.IMG 2324

Our goal is to enable each nonprofit and church we work with to reach into the community and into the pocket of every person to encourage, connect, and retain them as a customer and participant,” comments Matt McKee, president of ROAR. “With our new software, building a custom-looking mobile app for any organization is an affordable reality.”

ROAR’s CMS is built on WordPress.

We customized the Admin, Plugins, and WordPress sections to meet our needs, so now, every customer we work with gets their own custom WordPress build that powers their own app.”

Through ROAR, customers have full control over the app building process through five simple steps:

  1. Sign up at ROARapp.com (choose iOS for iPad/iPhone or Android).
  2. Access your own CMS (ROAR builds customer WordPress site).
  3. Fill in the portions of the CMS that you’d like to see in your app (social media, web feeds, podcasts, etc.).
  4. Hit submit.
  5. ROAR builds app and delivers.

A nonprofit mobile app can help organizations of all kinds communicate with their volunteers and increase donations. A church mobile app can connect members to their churches through sermon podcasts, event updates, and social media all in one place—their phones,” adds McKee. “We encourage churches and nonprofits to give away their apps for free as a way to establish loyalty and goodwill.”

As organizations update content, graphics, and audio files in their custom ROAR CMS, the app is automatically updated in real time. This ensures that the app always contains the most relevant information and media.

Additionally, ROAR will soon be releasing their own app that will allow customers to view the app building process live on their device throughout the creation process. This will help make sure the app meets their expectations.

January Promotion
Through January 31, ROAR is offering half off the set up fee of $250 for the iOS app (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch) or $500 for both iOS  and Android apps. This means that for just $125, churches and nonprofits can begin development of their own mobile app. Monthly hosting for one app is $30 or $50 for both apps. Visit RoarApp.com to get started.

Lauren at Betsys Shower croppedLauren Hunter is a freelance writer, church technology PR consultant (http://lhpr.net) and founder of the blog ChurchTechToday (https://churchtechtoday.com), Technology for Today’s Church.

 

Lauren Hunter
Lauren Hunterhttps://laurenhunter.net
Lauren Hunter is a writer who loves the big picture of God’s journey we are all on together. In 2007, she founded ChurchTechToday, a website for pastors and church leaders to harness technology to improve ministry. Married to her high school sweetheart, Lauren lives in Northern California with her husband and their four children. Her latest book is Leaving Christian Science: 10 Stories of New Faith in Jesus Christ. She can be found online at https://laurenhunter.net.

13 COMMENTS

  1. I have started speaking to some churches in Nigeria on the need to own an app. But the issue is they think $125 is very much on the high side.
    Can i partner with ROAR and make it very affordable so we can get this churches to patronise us_?

  2. Nice to have such an app where everything that used to take so much efforts for making an event possible is now just a tap away.Thank you for this great app.

  3. […] jQuery("#errors*").hide(); window.location= data.themeInternalUrl; } }); } churchtechtoday.com – Today, 2:27 […]

  4. The app used in the example from this post is from my church, Central UMC-Fayetteville, AR. I want to indicate that we are really pleased with ROAR and the work they have done on our app. We believe it is outstanding and hope to continue expanding the options available through it. When we were first looking into a mobile app, we looked at several vendors in the field and it became apparent that ROAR was the best option available. This new pricing plan they have put into place is also amazing and is an exceptional value. I hope many churches will consider adding an app to their toolbox. If you do, give ROAR a good long look.

    • Hi Brian,

      Thanks so much for posting a comment! It is really wonderful to hear from a church directly about how the app is working for you. If you have any other tips or insight for churches, please feel free to comment again. I know many churches are on the fence about whether or not the actually need an app – what would you say to those churches?

      Sincerely,
      Lauren

      • Our app has opened up a lot of possibilities for us. We have been able to make the following things readily available: sermon podcasts, online giving, newsletter, ministry intro videos, staff bios, directions, and all church event announcements. We feel we are just tapping the possibilities. Once set up, most of the information updates automatically whenever we update our website. For example, when we post sermons on our website, the automatically post to our app. It takes some focus, but not as much as we first thought. And, anytime we have had an issue, the folks at ROAR have been right there to help. In order to reach the smart-phone world we live in, apps are becoming an essential communications tool for churches.

        • Hey, Brian, this is Joni at ROAR. Thanks so much for your awesome words to let everyone know how much your church appreciates your ROAR app! Would you mind if I reposted your comments on our ROAR blog for others to see?

          • Joni, feel free to use my comments. I saw one typo in my second set of comments. The word “the” should have been “they” right before automatically. So, if you use that one, you might want to make that edit. Otherwise, use as you deem appropriate. Brian

  5. Here I here about apps CMS for the first time. It’s nice idea of creating one for non profit organization as not everyone can allow to buy a usefull application.

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