Your Church Software Just Got a Lot Smarter

Your Church App Is Already Here

Every church on ChurchApps already has a fully branded, installable app — most just don't know it yet. YOUR CHURCH APP IS ALREADY HERE — PWA Every church on ChurchApps already has a Progressive Web App (PWA) — a fully branded, installable app that works like a native app on any phone. What is a PWA? - An app that lives on the web but installs on your phone like a regular app - Full screen, no browser bar, push notifications — looks and feels completely native - Fully branded: your church name, your colors, your logo — nothing that says "B1" or "ChurchApps" Why PWA instead of a traditional app? - Instant updates — no waiting for Apple or Google app store approval (live in minutes, not weeks) - One codebase works on every device: iPhone, Android, desktop - No app store fees or gatekeeping - Shareable with just a link — no "go find us in the app store" How to install — every church already has an install page: - Go to your church's website URL + /mobile/install Example: southsideonline.com/mobile/install - Already have a custom domain set up? Just use that domain + /mobile/install - Don't know your URL? Go to B1 Admin → Website → click the eye icon next to any published page. The URL that opens in your browser is your church's URL. Just replace the page path with /mobile/install Example: if it shows https://churchapps.b1.church/donate → go to https://churchapps.b1.church/mobile/install - Android: browser usually shows an automatic "Add to Home Screen" prompt — tap it - iPhone: tap the Share icon in Safari → scroll down → "Add to Home Screen" - Takes about 30 seconds Still want the app store? That works too: - Search "B1" in the App Store or Google Play - Download the B1 app, search for your church, tap on it PRINT DIRECTORY - New print icon in the top-right of the People list in B1 Admin - Opens a formatted directory in a new tab and triggers print automatically - Grouped by household, includes photos, addresses, birthdays, anniversaries - Active members only — Visitors and Inactive filtered out automatically - One click BEHIND THE SCENES - People list pagination: large contact lists now load faster - MCP server now available — if you know what that means, link is in the show notes Try It This Week: - Find your church URL: B1 Admin → Website → click the eye icon next to any published page - Add /mobile/install to the end of that URL and open it on your phone - Then send that link to your whole team Resources: - PWA install guide: support.churchapps.org/docs/b1-church/mobile/install - Print directory walkthrough: support.churchapps.org/docs/b1-admin/people - MCP server (for developers): support.churchapps.org/docs/b1-admin/integrations/claude - support.churchapps.org - github.com/ChurchApps

Your Church Software Just Got a Lot Smarter

Two big updates in this episode — and the second one is the one your admin team has been waiting for. INTEGRATIONS — ChurchApps Now Connects to Your Other Tools • New Developer section in B1 Admin → Settings • Slack & Discord webhooks (~2 min setup): real-time notifications for new guests, new people, group joins, form submissions, attendance, and calendar events – Multiple webhooks supported — route different events to different channels • Zapier integration: connects B1 to 7,000+ apps – B1 Triggers: New Person, Updated Person, New Donation, New Group Member, New Form Submission – B1 Actions: Create Person, Add Donation, Add Group Member, Find Person – Example: new visitor form submission → auto-add to Mailchimp welcome sequence • Google Sheets: on-demand data export for people, donations, groups, and attendance • Pre-built connectors for: Mailchimp, Donorbox, Subsplash, Clearstream, Text In Church, Mobile Message, Checkr • API Keys: generated in B1 Admin, scoped and revocable — full control over what each connection can access • Connected Apps tab: see everything with access to your data in one place • Cost: ChurchApps integrations are free; Slack/Discord/Google Sheets are free; Zapier has a free tier BULK PEOPLE MANAGEMENT — Update Many Records at Once • Select multiple people in the People list and apply the same change to all at once • Bulk update: Membership Status (Visitor, Regular Attendee, Member, Staff, Inactive) • Bulk update: Marital Status, Gender, Email Opt-Out • Bulk Add to Group / Remove from Group • Bulk Delete (with confirmation step) • Use the select-all checkbox to grab your full filtered list instantly • Where to find it: People list → search/filter → check boxes → Actions button Try It This Week: • Integrations: Think about the tools your church already uses — Slack, Google Sheets, Clearstream, Mailchimp, Text In Church, Subsplash, Donorbox. Check the integrations guide (link below) and connect one to B1. • Bulk Actions: Go to your People list, filter for records that need the same update, select them all, and hit Actions. New members to update, people to add to a group, inactive records to clean up — whatever's been sitting on your list. Want ChurchApps at your conference? We provide full tech support + a custom B1 app for all attendees — at no cost to the conference. Contact us: conference@churchapps.org Resources: • Integrations guide: https://support.churchapps.org/docs/b1-admin/integrations/ • Zapier setup: https://support.churchapps.org/docs/b1-admin/integrations/zapier • Slack & Discord setup: https://support.churchapps.org/docs/b1-admin/integrations/slack-discord • https://support.churchapps.org • https://github.com/ChurchApps

On the Ground in Kentucky — FreeShow, ChurchApps, and the Global Church Tech Community with Garry B Jr.

Micheal sits down with Garry B Jr. at the Kentucky Worship and Technology Conference, hosted by the Southern Baptist Association. Recorded live at Kingdom Glory House, they talk about what happened at the conference, the growing FreeShow and ChurchApps community, and how free tools are changing the game for churches everywhere. Topics covered: - The Kentucky Worship and Technology Conference — how it came together, what churches learned, and how FreeShow was already known before anyone opened their mouth - Garry's FreeShow workshop — attendees leaving ready to download and use it immediately, from young tech volunteers to seasoned worship leaders - The Amazing Life / A-Play Pro partnership — supporting churches coming from ProPresenter with curriculum-integrated presentation tools, and helping fund FreeShow development - Larry from Kingdom Glory House — discovered the conference through FreeShow Friday and connected with the team to set up his church's live stream, PTZ cameras, and OBS - FreeShow Friday — the global community call where tech booth volunteers from Australia, New Jersey, Indonesia, Africa, and beyond share tips and solve problems together in real time - The tech booth ministry — why the people running sound, slides, and cameras are essential to the message being heard, and why good tools make that job easier - FreeShow vs ProPresenter vs OpenLP — how all three serve different needs, why churches can use more than one, and how FreeShow brings flexibility without the price tag - Garry's story — from a prayer for direction in Kansas City to becoming the "FreeShow Evangelist," training churches and making videos that unlock what people didn't know the software could do - Open source and the kingdom — developers jumping in on GitHub, partnerships that work because there's no money in the way, and the vision of sharing tools freely with the global church Guest: - Garry B Jr. — FreeShow evangelist, trainer, and content creator - Website: https://www.garrybjr.com/ - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theGarryBjr Conference: - Kentucky Worship and Technology Conference: https://www.worshiptechnology.net/ Resources: - FreeShow: https://freeshow.app - Amazing Life: https://amazinglife.com/ - ChurchApps: https://churchapps.org - github.com/ChurchApps

Give Online for Free — How B1 Giving Actually Works

How B1 Giving Works: - Every B1 church creates their own free Stripe account (Stripe is the current supported processor — if better options develop the integration, we'll add them) - ChurchApps wraps around your Stripe account — providing the giving page, fund management, donor records, giving statements, and all the tools - ChurchApps retains zero percent of donations — all money goes directly from donor to your Stripe account to your bank - No monthly fee from ChurchApps, no transaction fee from ChurchApps What other platforms charge (for comparison): - Tithe.ly: 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction, no monthly fee for giving-only plan — uses own processor, not Stripe directly - Planning Center Giving: 2.15% + $0.30 per card, plus $15–$239/month subscription based on donation volume — uses Stripe on back end - Rebel Give: 1.9% fee added to donor's gift (church receives 100%), plus $29–$199/month platform fee to the church - Stripe standard: 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction - Sources: Tithe.ly: https://get.tithe.ly/pricing | Planning Center: https://www.planningcenter.com/pricing | Rebel Give: https://www.rebelgive.com/pricing | Stripe: https://stripe.com/pricing Stripe Nonprofit Rate: - Because you own your own Stripe account, you can call Stripe and ask about a nonprofit rate - Stripe doesn't advertise a fixed nonprofit rate — every church is different — but churches have gotten rates down to around 1.9% as a 501(c)(3) - This conversation is only possible because B1 gives you a direct Stripe account — platforms that use their own processors don't give you this option Donor fee coverage: - Donors can optionally choose to cover the processing fee so the church receives the full gift amount - Completely optional — donor's choice at time of giving Why integration matters: - Donations through B1 giving automatically log to the donor's member record - Year-end giving statements generated automatically - Recurring giving tracked automatically - No manual data entry needed — unlike PayPal or disconnected third-party tools New: Donation element in the website editor: - Drag a donation form onto any page in the B1 website editor - Choose which funds appear, set a default fund, toggle one-time and/or recurring giving - Embed giving directly on a campaign page, missions page, or your home page — no redirects, no custom code Try It This Week: 1. Create a free Stripe account at stripe.com — select "nonprofit" as your business type 2. Connect Stripe to B1 Admin: Donations section — setup guide at support.churchapps.org 3. If you're a 501(c)(3): call Stripe and ask about a nonprofit rate — have your IRS determination letter and Stripe account ID ready 4. In your B1 website editor: add the donation element to a page, set your fund, save, and see it live Resources: - support.churchapps.org - stripe.com (create account) - Stripe nonprofit discount: https://support.stripe.com/questions/fee-discount-for-nonprofit-organizations - github.com/ChurchApps

Build It, Reach Them, Welcome Them — Three Updates That Matter

Three practical updates across ChurchApps — one for building your website, one for reaching your people, and one for welcoming new members. Build It — The B1 website editor got a significant overhaul. Settings now open as side panels instead of popups so you can see your page while you edit. Drag and drop is easier with larger drop zones. Undo and redo are fully supported with Ctrl+Z and Cmd+Z, and a History button in the toolbar lets you jump back to any saved snapshot of your page. There's also a built-in help dialog right in the editor so anyone on your team can get started without hunting for documentation. Reach Them — When you add someone to a group, serving team, or role, you now get the option to send them an invite email automatically. Your choice every time — send it or skip it. No more volunteers being added to a team and never finding out. Welcome Them — New members now receive a six-digit verification code instead of a set-password link when creating their account. The whole process stays inside the app — no clicking a link that opens a browser, setting a password there, then going back to log in. You see the code, you type it in, you're done. Try It This Week: 1. Open your B1 website editor, make a change, and press Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z — then check the History button in the toolbar 2. Add someone to a group or team and watch for the invite email prompt 3. Walk through new member registration with a test account to see the verification code flow Resources: support.churchapps.org support.churchapps.org/docs/b1-admin/website/page-editor github.com/ChurchApps