Church is about connection. It brings people together and creates unique, faith-focused experiences.

As digital and in-person church find their place in the post-pandemic world, there are more opportunities for connection than ever. But there are also more complications. 

As your church invests in new ways to connect with your people, both digitally and in-person, it’s important to identify friction points and do what you can to minimize them. Here’s what friction can look like in a church setting and how church-specific digital tools can help you overcome those barriers to engagement in your church family.

The Issue of Friction With Church Connection

Friction shows up everywhere, especially in digital situations. Take online shopping as a good example. When shoppers are asked to create an account to check out, nearly one in four (24%) abandon their carts due to the extra steps. Even if they don’t need to make an account, a further 18% give up on checking out because the process is too complex.

While these are e-commerce statistics, they reflect basic human behaviors. We don’t like filling out long forms, feeling overwhelmed, or giving up excessive information to complete a task. 

These digital friction points often lead to abandonment, and it’s not reserved for cashing out on that new pair of slippers you’re ordering off Amazon. Friction is a very real concern in church.

Friction can come in big ways. A confusing or sluggish website or the lack of a live stream can make it very hard for new people to take those first steps to engage with your ministry. 

Even if you have the basics, though, friction can still come in a hundred little ways — and not just online. In-person, too. As the church becomes more hybrid in its digital and in-person activities, it’s important for church leaders to look for any area that can slow down or block someone from connecting with your ministry.

The Hybrid Church Opportunity to Reduce Friction

As you invest in church technology initiatives, you need to think about potential friction points. One area where there is a lot of opportunity is engaging in everyday discipleship. 

While church traditionally takes place on Sunday, that used to be by necessity. With modern technology, we can now stay connected throughout the week, too. This gives us exciting new opportunities to use digital tools for everyday discipleship that dovetails with and reinforces your Sunday experience.

As you roll out different church technology tools, make sure you’re working with companies that understand the church experience. For instance, at Apollos, our team has a lot of experience with church technology. 

That means, when we develop a church technology tool, we’re not just thinking about the programming. We’re thinking about how it will impact the church experience. How can it remove steps? How can it streamline actions?

In other words, can it reduce friction and increase connection?

Planning for Both Digital and In-Person Connections

Another area to consider is hybrid church activities. Where are the digital and the physical overlapping in your church? 

We released Apollos Tap as a way to bridge the gap between the Sunday experience and online church. Our Tap to app technology specifically reduces friction with in-person-to-online calls to action by:

• Using strong antennas to make tapping physical tags easier and more reliable every time.

• Helping maintain security for data and online interactions through NFC technology instead of outward-facing Bluetooth technology.

• Integrating App Clips to go beyond push notifications by creating half-screen experiences.

• Removing the need to install apps or create accounts before people can take action.

• Enabling church IT teams to change tag actions based on current needs and calls to action for the congregation.

Apollos Tap is a great example of how to bring together the in-person and online experience in a way that minimizes friction and makes it as easy as possible for church members and guests alike to engage right from their seats.

Removing Friction in Church

We face friction throughout our lives. And the truth is, when a person encounters unnecessary or excessive resistance, the chances of them abandoning what they’re doing go up, often significantly. 

It isn’t enough to invest in church technology. You need to make sure you’re setting it up and using it to reduce friction points whenever possible. 

At Apollos, our technology is from the church, for the church. Our team has past experience on major platforms, including Church Online Platform and YouVersion. We bring that experience to the table to develop forward-thinking church technology that reduces friction, minimizes abandonment, and helps you use your church technology to connect with your people.

If you want to explore how a church engagement platform and digital tools can help you connect and engage with your people better, we’d love to talk. Reach out, and let’s look at the best way to integrate church technology into your engagement strategy this year.