In April 2022 First Presbyterian Church of Newhall was granted a $10,000 Mission Grant to spend on the Outreach Mobile App project.
An implementation team of three (John Favalessa, Jan Fraser, and Gay Gipson), all members of the church’s Outreach & Growth Committee, has been overseeing the project. In May 2022 the team compared developer and subscription providers and decided on a subscription solution by Subsplash, a company that specializes in church applications. The App content was developed by us in June 2022 followed by a limited user rollout in July and a full availability to all in August. Through December 2022, the app has been downloaded by 109 devices. We plan continued growth in 2023.
Below are some screenshots from our App representing range of content.
Current content includes dynamic display of one time and recurring events chronologically from the current day forward. Push notifications are utilized as outbound communications for special activities and important messages. In 2023, we plan to continue development of the App to include a revised Media tab strategy and add on functionality for Groups and Messaging. The first two groups planned for implementation are Ignite Youth and Monday Gathering of the Saints (MONGOTS). Groups and messaging functionality will provide increased user engagement. Other groups may be added as adoption grows. The Grant provides $3,500 funding of the App itself which is appropriated to the Subsplash subscription for the first two years after which the church will need to incorporate the cost into its operating budget.
A critical step forward in early 2023 will be the hiring of an Associate Communications Director. Session approved a position description in late 2022 which was developed by the Mobile App implementation team. At first, this person will focus on coordinating church activities and events information and maintain/update the App Events Calendar as the master for the church. This person will be trained by the Mobile App implementation team and grow into the various components of the job over time. The Grant provides $6,500 funding for this temporary, part-time position after which the church will need to incorporate the cost into its operating budget.
First Presbyterian Church of Newhall is extremely grateful to the San Fernando Presbytery for making it possible to grow outreach to the church and Santa Clarita communities.
Below are additional screenshots from the App within the Welcome content. Biographies and videos of a sermon sample for each of our preaching ministers are available on the App.
