The Bridge App
App helped churches pivot during Covid-19 The app, which costs a congregation just over $500 per year, can be tailored to the communication needs of any denomination.
with so many social activities shut down during the pandemic, a church app has sparked new ways of connecting. The Bridge App, created by the Christian Reformed Church and Extreme Technology in 2017, was intended to create more options for connection within congregations. But with the spread of Covid-19, the app became a resource for churches scrambling to transition online.
The app (www.TheBridgeApp.org) allows users to do things like view their congregation’s directory, church announcements, prayer requests and live services. They can also donate to their church, read the Bible and access daily devotionals.
“The responses we got from churches – once they had everything figured out – was just extreme gratitude,” says Dorothy Vandersteen, Bridge App program manager. “In all of their flux, this was an area that was pretty well run and gave them the information they needed.”
A woman from Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in Hamilton, Ont., even used the app’s church directory feature to plan her walking route. “I used the Bridge App to call members to tell them I was walking past their house and they came to the front door to wave hello,” she wrote in an email to the Bridge App team. “It is a nice feeling that I am, sort of, taking the church with me when I walk.”
The app’s developers have continued to adapt based on the needs of churches. For example, when in-person services became possible again, they added a new feature allowing congregants to sign up for church through the app.
Jenna Hessels helps administrate the Bridge App for her church, Smithers Reformed Church in B.C. “We had a lot of seniors who would watch [the app] regularly, and then call and register to get in on Sunday,” she says.
Receiving prayer requests and news announcement notifications directly on their phones has kept members in the loop. “It’s been really helpful to still feel like a part of the church community,” says Hessels.
The app, which costs a congregation just over $500 per year, can be tailored to the communication needs of any denomination. Vandersteen hopes it will be used by more and more churches beyond the CRC.