Churches need tools that help them stay on mission. There is a lot of church technology software out there to choose from, and as a leader, it can be helpful to understand how a tool can help you serve your people.

We’ve always focused on making sure Apollos is a digital tool that is from the church, for the church. Executing a digital task efficiently is great, but it’s just a first step. You need to think bigger if that task is going to have an impact as part of a larger mission-driven vision.

That’s why we’ve built our engagement platform with a few distinct things in mind that set us apart from other common tools on the market, like Subsplash or Ministry Brands. We don’t just want to build a better widget. We want to make the entire digital church experience easier for church leaders and staff, not just attendees.

Here are some of the best reasons Apollos has become the go-to digital church platform for so many churches across America.

1. Customer Service

Technology is only as good as the people behind it. You’re probably aware of this on the church operations end of things. You need a good IT team to get the most out of any tool.

The same goes for the back end. Most platforms have some form of customer service and support. But a lot of digital ministry tools tend to lean on a more standardized, large-scale approach.

At Apollos, we are big on white glove, start-to-finish service. We consider ourselves a part of your team. 

When we worked with Liquid Church to customize and expand their digital presence, their Digital Director, Lauren Bercarich, told us they felt like we functioned not as a software developer but as a partner. That was music to our ears.

For us, customer service is a part of the product. We want the same team to onboard you and walk alongside you throughout the process. That way, you’re never on your own.

2. Personalization & White Labeling

Personalization is a huge part of the modern digital software world. We’re willing to guess that you don’t want a company leaving a watermark or logo on your signage on your physical building, right? Why would you want that on your website or app?

Most church technology platforms offer some kind of white labeling to make that possible. But these are typically rigid options that lack flexibility and depth.

At Apollos, we’ve made robust, deep personalization a central aspect of our mission. We want to empower your church to be itself, online as much as in person. 

That’s why, when we worked with Journey Church on their digital outreach strategy, we started by listening, understanding, and connecting with key staff members. Once we know what it is you’re trying to accomplish as a ministry, we can create targeted digital tools and platforms that fit those parameters in unique ways specific to your church’s identity.

3. Innovation

When a church platform is created for bulk use across thousands of ministry settings, it typically has a baseline of solid features. That mass-production aspect makes it hard to innovate and iterate quickly. Many church engagement tools come with those bulk options, which means you have a basic way to do things, but you’ll hit walls – often. There’ll be lag times before you have access to the latest digital features and mission-driven benefits.

At Apollos, we don’t want to choose a mass-solution way of doing things and then force your church to fit it. We maintain a sense of adaptability and creativity in our approach to digital development. We want the freedom for both you and us to be forward-thinking. That’s how we’ve developed some unique church technology solutions, like our AI-powered Creator tool or our streamlined no-download giving experience, Tap.

This is how we’ve developed many of our digital discipleship tools, too. It’s also why Faith Promise church was able to set a vision of reaching and equipping 1% of the people in Tennessee… and then use their app to facilitate 500,000 prayers in just four months. Church-focused tools with the ability to innovate and adapt to mission on a case-by-case basis are always more effective.

4. Community & Engagement

Digital tools are for more than content and broadcasting. Sure, you want your Sunday service live-streamed. Adding content to your social feeds and YouTube libraries is great, too. But too many churches use these to get distracted by vanity metrics.

Warren Bird said on the Church3.0 podcast, “If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that just having a big crowd does not equal discipleship happening.” You want your digital tools to go beyond numbers and cultivate individual growth and community engagement.

Most church technology tools offer an approach that focuses on these more mainstream, common engagement options. They’re content-first and can come up short on daily discipleship impact.

At Apollos, we're focused on your church seven days a week, not just Sundays. Our app is built to encourage repurposing Sunday sermon content throughout the week. It includes calls to prayer, expressions of gratitude, scripture reading, and social connections.

If you want your church technology to help you in your mission, you need tools designed for daily discipleship that foster ongoing connection beyond Sunday. That’s what Apollos was created to do.

5. Long-Term Support

Finally, you want church technology that you can count on, today and 10 years in the future. That’s why Apollos is and will remain a privately owned entity run by people who are invested in supporting the church. 

We are convinced that the church engagement platforms that have the greatest impact have to come from the church and be for the church. Subsplash isn’t the only company to be acquired in recent years. Ministry Brands did the same. So did Gloo. When companies sell out on their mission, it doesn’t mean they become useless. But the sad truth is that it does subtly undermine their dependability. 

Will they be rebranded? Will their products and services change? Will they be shut down in six months? With Apollos, we want to create an experience that has longevity. We want to be your partner today, tomorrow, and 10 years from now.

The Apollos Option

Listen. There are plenty of adequate church technology tools out there. They help churches get basic digital functions done. 

But they don’t go the extra mile. 

That’s what we’re about at Apollos. We want to wow you with the experience. We want our customer service to impress on day one and day 1,000. We want your church apps and website to look perfectly aligned with your larger ministry. We want them to function as a daily part of your attendees’ lives, too.

If you want more than a digital tool, we get it. We want that for you, too. Let’s start a conversation, and together, we can make sure your online presence is an impactful, mission-focused part of your church.