Have an app idea for Christians? Do these things first
Have an app idea for Christians? Do these things first
So, you're out on a walk one day processing an earlier conversation or event, when all of a sudden... BOOM 💡. You stumble upon a wild app idea in your mind. It brings curiosity, excitement, and a little hesitancy with it. But after spending some time with it, it seems so obvious that if that app had existed, yours and others' pain points would be solved, your connections would be stronger, and your faith deeper.
Having an app idea can be such a fun experience. You're limited to your imagination for what's possible. You may feel tempted to drop everything and start creating immediately. Passion is a wonderful gift that spurs us into action, but passion without a plan can lead to jumping from one shiny thing to the next. Passion with a plan can be powerful.
So, you have an app idea for Christians? Do these things first:
Surrender
Scour
Synergize
Sow
Share
1. Surrender
Instead of just going for it and pursuing implementing that idea, the best thing you can do is seek the Lord in it and surrender it to Him.
Lord, I give you everyone and everything.
- One Minute Pause App
Pray the Litany of Trust (one of the most beautiful prayers of surrender), pray the below template prayer, or pray your own prayer of surrender.
Lord, thank you for this app idea. I surrender it to You. I may not know how to put all the pieces together, but You do. I give you praise in the humble beginnings, and if this idea grows in the ranks and is widely used and celebrated, I will give You praise on the mountaintops.
I thank You that my salvation is secure in the sacrifice and incredible grace of Jesus. If I pursue this app idea, I thank you that this does not define my worth or identity.
You are the author of wisdom. Show me wisdom if this is something you want me to pursue. And, if someone is already doing something similar, please show me so that I can connect and collaborate with them. Your will be done. Amen.
Surrender is a daily practice.
At this point, many Christians with an app idea will try to see how it's possible to start getting the app created. What if I told you there was a better way? What if I told you that I may be able to save a ton of time in the end? What if I told you that you didn't have to do it alone?
Well, I am telling you that and I believe it deeply. Instead of jumping straight into building, let's scour to see if something similar already exists...
2. Scour
It's time to scour (thoroughly search) around to see if there are existing apps that solve the pain point you're experiencing or wanting to solve.
After reading that you may be tempted to believe that you won't find anything. My prayer for you is to consider that if someone has already created something similar, you'd see it as a blessing and not a threat or competition. Same Lord, same heart, same boat.
Search on faith.tools
faith.tools is the largest directory of apps, tools, and digital services for Christians.
Visit faith.tools and look in the available 50+ app categories. Your app idea will most likely fit in one of those categories. Click on the category that seems most relevant, and then look through the list of available apps to see if there's an app there that be a good solution for you.
Rinse and repeat by going to the next relevant category. And, if that doesn't work, search for a related keyword in the faith.tools search input. And, if that doesn't work, try the new faith.tools AI search ✨ (beta and imperfect).
If you find an app that solves your pain point, then celebrate and use that app!
No luck? Keep scouring.
Search on Google
Visit Google.com and search for the type of idea you're looking for. Search for key words. For example, if you're building a Christian journaling app, search for "Christian journaling app". What results appear? Determine if any of the results match your use-case.
If you find an app that solves your pain point, then celebrate and use that app!
No luck? Keep scouring.
Search on ChatGPT or Perplexity
Visit ChatGPT.com or Perplexity.io. Both of these use artificial intelligence to help you search and find the right information fast.
Search something along the lines of...
I have an app idea, but first I want to see if there's anything out there that exists today that I could use that would solve my pain points.
Here are my pain points:
- Write pain points here...
Here is the idea that I had:
- Write your idea here....
Search and find any apps that you think be a good fit. Also list apps that may be close but not solve everything that I mentioned.If you find an app that solves your pain point, then celebrate and use that app!
What results appear? Determine if any of the results match your use-case.
3. Synergize
Synergy is a coming together and collaboration, where the combined efforts is greater than the sum of the separate efforts.
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity
Psalm 133:1 ESV
If you find an app that is close but missing a feature or two, then I encourage you to synergize. Visit the website of that app or tool and then reach out to the creator(s). Let them know your idea and that you'd love to see it on their app. And, if you have expertise volunteer your skills.
Side note: if you're on the receiving end of a contact or request like this, consider it a blessing. Prayerfully respond. Collaborate, if possible.
Without synergy, we end up creating apps, websites, tools, and services in silos, feeling alone and having to figure out all this stuff by ourselves.
I see a better, stronger future where we as followers of Jesus who create digital experiences would lay down any walls of competition from another brother or sister in Christ and instead embrace one another through synergetic collaboration.
If you found someone to collaborate with, great! We are better together.
4. Sow
You've surrendered, scoured, and sought our synergy. It may be time to start sowing and putting in the hard work.
If you're wanting to grow in putting in hard work, I encourage you to learn from and get involved with Faith Driven Entrepreneur, FaithTech, and/or other great faith and tech communities.
Looking for a practical approach to building redemptive technology? Check out The FaithTech Playbook.
5. Share
Share the progress
People bond over stories, not necessarily numbers or stats. Document your story along the way of your faith tool creation, whether through a blog, vlog, podcast, conversation, etc. Share your story.
Share the learnings
Sometimes the best way to learn deeply is to teach what you're learning. If you've learned something lately, I encourage you to write or record about it. When we learn and share it with others, you could even teach and encourage and sow heart seeds to non-believers who find your content. When we learn from one another, we become smarter and stronger together.
Share the pains
When times are tough, be vulnerable and share the hardships. I've had countless times in my career, where I decided to find a trusted friend of the same gender who's a believer and let them know the hardships I'm experiencing, that I left the convo encouraged and strengthened in my faith to continue sowing the hard work.
Share the tough times with other faith and tech creators. Like I said above, people bond over stories. They also bond over shared hardships. Nobody expects you to always be doing good or have it all together. In fact, we couldn't do that anyways, which is why we needed Jesus to come and save us.
Share the successes
When we hear the stories of those doing similar ventures as us, how they partered with God and community to create a faith tool, we begin to be able to cheer one another on and bond over shared experiences. When you can look in the eyes of a brother or sister who is doing a similar venture as you and genuinely and humbly celebrate their successes, you are advocating for healing and unity.
Share on faith.tools
And, when you have your app or tool in a place that's ready to be delivered to Christians around the world, share it on faith.tools, the best place to discover and distribute apps for Christians.
So, you have an app idea for Christians? Do these things first:
Surrender
Scour
Synergize
Sow
Share
The journey of building from idea to app is a journey worth sharing. Partner with God and community each step of the way. Work hard and rest hard. The Lord didn't make us to constantly be in the grind, sprinting to no end. When we make room and intentionally add margins into our days, weeks, and rhythms, we can better slow down, connect with others, connect with the Lord, and even do better work. Consider practicing the Sabbath as a weekly rhythm to rest, trust, surrender, and connect with God and community.
So... if you have an app idea, you know what to do! When someone you know has an app idea for Christians, send them this post.
— from Cam Pak, a man of many ideas and heart for more collaboration