ChurchApps — Ministry Overview
Ministry Overview · YouVersion Platform & Church to Church Meeting
Made for the Church · by the Church
In the Church, over $1 billion in tithes flows to secular software companies every year — locking out the global Church from tools only wealthy American congregations can afford.

When shareholder pressure mounts, church budgets absorb the cost. The mission pays the price so investors can see a return.

That's not a technology problem — it's a stewardship problem. We exist to fix it.

What We Believe

Faithful stewardship honors God's trust.

God entrusts His Church with resources to be used wisely for His mission. Stewardship is a spiritual responsibility, not optional efficiency.

→ ChurchApps provides all software and services without charge, freeing up funds for the mission of the Church.

The Church is equipped within itself.

Christ has given His people the gifts needed to build, serve, and strengthen the body. The Church is designed to supply its own needs.

→ All ChurchApps software is developed by the Church, for the Church.

Resources should advance ministry first.

What is given for the Gospel should primarily multiply disciples and mission, not be unnecessarily consumed by infrastructure.

→ Every dollar not spent on software is a dollar freed for discipleship, outreach, and mission.

The whole Church deserves equal access.

The Gospel is for every nation and people. Tools that help the Church disciple effectively should not depend on wealth or geography.

→ The poorest church in the poorest region has access to the exact same tools the richest churches do.

Churches should collaborate, not compete.

Believers are called to look beyond their own interests and serve the good of the whole body. Shared work reflects unity in Christ.

→ ChurchApps is built openly — churches share code, contribute ideas, and build on each other's work.

Transparency builds trust.

Walking in the light reflects integrity before God and people. Open systems strengthen confidence and accountability.

→ All ChurchApps code is open source and can be inspected or copied by anyone, anywhere.

Generosity reflects the Gospel itself.

Freely receiving God's grace leads us to freely share what we build for His mission.

→ We freely give what we've built, because grace was freely given to us.

Ministry platforms should not have competing loyalties.

When the Church depends on secular companies, it trusts organizations that answer to shareholders and foreign governments — not to Christ.

→ ChurchApps is built and governed by the Church — no outside business interests can compromise access, data, or mission.
The early Church shared what they had so the Gospel could advance without barrier. We believe that same calling applies today — not only to preaching and generosity, but to the tools that support ministry. When churches steward resources faithfully, share their gifts openly, and work together as one body, the mission moves forward more freely and more faithfully. That's why we build and share these tools — so every church, everywhere, can disciple effectively with what God has already provided.

What We Built

A complete, free, open-source software suite — every major tool a church needs, at no cost, forever.

B1 Admin

B1 Admin

Replaces paid church management software — manage people, giving, groups, attendance, and volunteers all in one place.

Visit b1.church →
B1.church

B1.church

Church website, mobile app, member portal, giving, and groups — all on web & phone.

Visit b1.church →
B1 Check-In

B1 Check-In

Replaces check-in kiosk software — self-service check-in for services & kids ministry.

Visit b1.church →
Lessons.church

Lessons.church

Replaces paid curriculum — free, open-source video lessons from preschool through adult.

Visit lessons.church →
FreeShow

FreeShow

Replaces paid worship presentation software — lyrics & slides on Sunday.

Visit freeshow.app →
FreePlay

FreePlay

Replaces paid classroom curriculum TV apps — delivers lessons to classroom screens, plays offline, no tech skills needed.

Visit freeplay.church →

What God Has Done

10,000+
Churches using ChurchApps
Free
Always. For every church.
Global
Growing international reach
  • Churches we've helped are now sponsoring and helping other churches — the multiplication effect is growing
  • Igniting fires in people in other countries to get involved and carry this forward
  • Better tools → more effective disciple-makers → more people coming to Christ

Pastor Paul Hugenbart was about to spend money on paid presentation software, church management software, and paid curriculum. He agreed to try ChurchApps first.

FreeShow replaced their presentation software. B1 Admin replaced their church management platform. Lessons.church replaced their paid curriculum.

He told us ChurchApps moved them forward two years. No budget debate. No anxiety. A Capital C Church partner stepped up to help them — and now Southside is paying it forward, helping another church get on their feet.

That's one story we know about. What really excites us is the ones we don't know about — churches quietly thriving from a little help.

What Has Us Energized

  • Bigger partners pushing our products into more churches — visibility we've never had before
  • International growth — Scripture says we're one body. Most church software was built for wealthy American congregations. We're changing that — translating into local languages, building for lower-resource environments, making sure ministry opportunity isn't determined by a church's zip code or bank account
  • The open-source movement in the church is growing — we're in the right place at the right time
  • ChurchApps is starting to snowball

Where We Need Help

Awareness

The greatest barrier is simply that churches don't know we exist. Getting ChurchApps in front of the right people is our number one growth challenge.

Skepticism (Why is this free? What's the catch?)

Churches naturally ask, "Who's behind this?" Building credibility through trusted partnerships and visible ministry impact is one of our biggest needs.

Capacity

We need developers willing to contribute their skills, donors who believe in the mission, and organizations willing to invest in keeping this free for the Church.

Where We're Dreaming

Our dream isn't primarily that everyone knows the ChurchApps name — it's that the Church sees a new model is possible: technology created by the Church, for the Church, shared across the Church.

  • The Faith Tech community adopts ChurchApps as their open-source project — Christian developers contributing code as an act of ministry
  • Our team becomes moderators, not sole builders — because hundreds of contributors are carrying it forward
  • AI + open source = an unfair advantage for the Kingdom as SaaS costs keep rising

What We Do Really Well

We are a small team that moves fast

Mission-Driven, Not Revenue-Driven

Because we're not driven by billing tiers or feature upsells, we're free to focus on what actually helps churches make disciples — not what increases subscription revenue. Everyone on staff or volunteering with ChurchApps — full-time or part-time — sees this as a mission field, not a job. That changes everything.