Salt + Light App: a different, fun approach to small groups

Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica... wait, I mean... Groups. Games. Salt + Light.

The Salt + Light team

Quick Updates

• 🍿 New category: Streaming Services

• 🎊 Milestone: 700 clicks from Google in the past 30 days. Numbers are cool, but it’s the people behind the numbers, someone like you. That’s what we’re celebrating. Equipping the body of Christ one person at a time.

• ✍️ Need a Favor:

  • What do you think about faith.tools?

  • What would you like to see on faith.tools?

• 🎨 Meetup: Anyone going to Figma Config in June and want to have a faith.tools meetup? Email me!

Now… on to our scheduled program. Let’s talk about Salt + Light!

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:13-16 NIV

Salt + Light is intentional play for small groups.

Traditional apps for Christian small groups are centered around a chat feature. While text-based communication can be powerful, it has its limitations. It can lead to a more reactive approach to responding to messages versus a proactive approach to having fun and opportunities for depth with the community members.

Salt + Light brings a fresh approach to small groups, with the goal of intentional fun. In this post, Amar gives us a behind-the-scenes look into Salt + Light.

So, what’s the story of Salt + Light?

Hi friends, Amar here one of the co-founders, CPO at Salt +Light our company began when Darren Allarde, co-founder, and CEO of Salt + Light transitioned from a product career in gaming to becoming a campus pastor. During his time as a campus pastor, the pandemic hit and everything changed. During this time there were many observations he made about the expression of church and our new digital reality.

A significant one was seeing people who did not have access to the community or a local church experience loneliness and fragility. People were wanting answers to difficult life questions and seeking authentic answers on platforms like Reddit or Instagram.

This context gave birth to the idea of Salt + Light around how you bring small groups to the masses, something the local church does so well that helps people navigate life during the highs and lows.

So we are combining two big ideas small groups and games to create a "digital third place" where everyone can be seen and belong.

Our team consists of former missionaries, youth ministry leaders, and tech professionals who have come together to address the loneliness epidemic.

The current digital communication tools for the community, such as WhatsApp, GroupMe, or Slack, are not well-suited for building depth and intimacy within communities.

Salt + Light aims to provide a platform that empowers meaningful interactions and play that goes beyond just text and emojis so we can recover the art of connecting again.

— Amar

What's one challenge that you overcame when working on Salt + Light?

Or, when you felt like quitting, what helped you stay the course?

As a team, we've leveled up and experienced many small wins along the way, which are easy to forget. One win I want to share is our decision to build games.

For the longest time, we were trying to craft delight and fun in our app. But using traditional group management features with micro-gamification just was not working. So, we pivoted to enter the intersection of digital community and games.

We're constantly in prayer about this new direction. Developing a game requires constant iteration, captivating art styles, core loop thinking, and novelty.

We're learning how to create something that is receptive and resonates with players which in this case are small groups.

The process involves a lot of prayer and I cannot emphasize that enough.

— Amar

Anywhere you recognize God's hand throughout the journey of creating Salt + Light?

The journey of our company has been marked by God daily honestly.

Here are some of those ways:

1. We've had local churches praying for our team and passionate group leaders, ministry leaders, and volunteers have helped us get to where we are today since the beginning.

2. Our venture recently completed a 9-month accelerator program called Missional Labs, which focused on evangelism, church, and mission.

3. Each team member has joined at the right time, and the team is particularly grateful for our CTO, Dereck Quock, who has left a lucrative tech career to join the team in faith, a tremendous blessing.

4. Furthermore, the team has been inspired by the stories of small groups around the world using their app and sharing how it is a fun and refreshing approach to connecting.

Hearing these early testimonies of the app's impact has been truly rewarding and has reinforced the team's sense of purpose.

— Amar

If you could give advice to someone who's wanting to build an app or tool for Christians, what advice would you give?

As founders, it can be challenging at times to build a tool for such a large problem as loneliness.

Our advice is don't build alone. Get involved in the community or your church.

Join an accelerator program like (Missional Labs, or Praxis), connect with other founders working in this space through online Christians in tech communities (FaithTech, Faith Driven Entrepreneur), host prayer meetings, and attend local events in your city.

Also, it doesn't have to be formal things casual dinners, coffees, or fun activities with people work wonders too.

Community can lead to new perspectives, encouragement, and even serendipitous connections and opportunities for collaboration.

— Amar

Shameless plug! What's something cool that's been on your mind that you'd recommend to the faith.tools community?

You can find Salt + Light on faith.tools, available for both Android and iOS.

To learn more, visit the website at Salt + Light community, where you can also sign up for the newsletter.

At Salt and Light, we're always seeking strategic partnerships and individuals who share our passion for creating the best small groups in the world.

— Amar

Reflect

Add your reflection in the comments of this post!

1. How do you think the integration of games into small group activities can enhance the sense of community and belonging among members?

2. In what ways can digital tools like Salt + Light address the challenges of loneliness and isolation in today's society?

3. Reflecting on the journey of Salt + Light, what are some key lessons or insights that can be applied to other initiatives aimed at fostering community and connection?

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

---

Thank you Amar and the Salt + Light team. If you’re creating an app or digital tool for Christians, consider sharing your story with the faith.tools community.