Does your parish 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 this hustle and bustle can keep parishioners away from your services.
Most parish leaders find themselves wondering during the summertime: How can we keep families connected to the ministries they care about, even when they’re not here?
It’s an important question, and at ParishSoft, we think a mobile app is a great place to find solutions!
Your parishioners 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, on their phones and tablets.
Whether you have a 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 parish connected during the busy summer months.
Here are five app strategies ParishSoft can help you implement now for an immediate impact:
- Lean into Livestreaming…
When you make livestreaming a key feature of your 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 Mass 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 parishioners this quick access to your live services, and it will forge a strong summertime connection. ParishSoft 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 parishioners, even when they’re out of town. You can share themes and Bible verses from your Sunday Mass 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 alerts 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 parishioners 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 offertory, 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 mobile app, you can empower those who care deeply about your parish 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 Mass.
- 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 summer parish 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, that can also be used year-round for Christmas and Easter festivities, religious education opportunities, and all the other connections you offer to your parish families.
Connect with Your Parishioners Today!
Ready to build connections with your parish families this summer? ParishSoft is here to help! Let our team share how our software solutions can help you strengthen your ministries, now and throughout the year – request a free demo here!
