Churches Bring Custom Apps to Their Flocks

DECEMBER 29, 2011
By EMILY GLAZER
Andrea Davis has created a new wing of her church: her car.

When Ms. Davis, 45 years old, has downtime from her job helping manage parking for University of Tennessee-Knoxville sporting events she'll settle in to her Honda Civic to catch up on sermons via audio and video from her church's free, custom-made smartphone app.

"I feel that anywhere you go, you should carry that spirit with you," says Ms. Davis, who holds a second job as a teaching assistant and lives 45 minutes away from Faith Promise Church located in Knoxville, Tenn. "It's like I'm there and not missing anything."

App developers say more than 150 churches across the U.S. have had customized smartphone and tablet apps created to connect with their members. The church apps are a relatively new twist on the broader influx of technology into religious life that includes popular apps for prayer and even making confessions.

Pastors and parishioners say the technology can enable people to uphold the call to stay religiously involved at all times, not just on Sunday. App developers expect thousands of churches to develop the apps in coming years to meet demand from worshipers. the rest

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