My good friend Ashley started a blog when she moved out to Los Angeles. She is incredibly talented and pursuing a career in acting. For now, she meets a lot of famous people. I thought about calling this blog "Bryant in Ra-Ra Land" but it just didn't seem to work. (Im kidding, obviously) But it is a new experience for me, to move to a place that isn't within driving distance of either one of our parents.
Allison and I are new to the Raleigh, NC area and I've already been blessed with an opportunity to lead worship in a nearby town of Cary, NC at a new church start. However, one of the things that Allie and I have missed is the opportunity to actually go to church.
So, because we are committed at this church on Sunday mornings, we thought it would be fun to "church shop" on Saturday nights or Sunday nights. Besides, it is fun for me to explore other churches and see what is going on in this area.
Now, Steve Jobs said a few months back when he introduced iAds that something interesting is happening in the smart phone market that wasn't happening on the desktop. "When people want to find a place to go out to dinner, they're not searching, they're going into Yelp!" [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7WVt63S49s] And it's true. Now that Allie and I have moved to a new area, we are finding that it is difficult to make an educated decision on which churches might work for us in our situation or even what else is going on in the churches around us.
So I thought, what would happen if churches had a mobile app (because that's where the action is) to help people find a church that they would enjoy? Like UrbanSpoon for Churches. Why is the business world so far ahead of us in this? I could tell the app when I would like to attend church and what style of service I am interested in and then shake the device. It would find me results that are the closest to my location. The United Methodist Church seems like it would have a good setup to be able to get this running relatively quickly. I mean, this kind of information has to be documented already right?
I was asked a few weeks ago what the church's take on technology should be. I think the first thing the church ought to do is not fall behind. This would be a good place to start.
I mean, almost every church has a website. And almost every church has loads on information on this site. Many churches are on Facebook and Twitter. But why should I have to consult Google and do a blind search for a church that I think I might connect with.
Like Microsoft marketed, I need a decision engine. For churches.
Think about it.
-B