Utilizing the Bridge App During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A successful emergency plan depends on timely and effective communication. Recent events have forced churches to shift into emergency mode, with the cancellation of services and meetings, the need to communicate with members in a rapidly changing environment, and no clear timeline for when things will return to ‘normal.’

During the past two years, The Bridge App has been made available, by way of the local classes, to the vast majority of Christian Reformed churches in Canada.  For those churches that are already making use of The Bridge App, there may be additional ways to utilize the app during the current COVID-19 pandemic. And for churches that have not yet utilized the app, your Ministry in Canada support team will attempt to assist in any way possible.

Urgent information, including cancellations of meetings or worship services, and all the content that would normally appear in your regular Sunday bulletin, can be instantly communicated through the ANNOUNCEMENT function. And at a time when our congregations, our communities, and our world are in great need of prayer, your members can remain connected through the PRAYER function.

The EVENTS function in The Bridge App allows a church to instantly update their events calendar to reflect what is and is not taking place.

The WATCH function enables members and guests to view sermons online during a time when in-person worshipping is suspended.  For churches that make use of Live Stream, YouTube or Vimeo, linking to the WATCH function takes only a few seconds.  And for churches with little or no video capability, The Bridge App can also provide simple solutions for delivering the sermon to your members, wherever they may be.  Contact [email protected] to learn more.

And, through the GIVE function, your members can continue to support the ministries of the local church, many of which become even more critical during these challenging times.  Even if your members are not using The Bridge App, the GIVE function allows your church to create a unique URL for donations, and to post that URL to your website, embed in email, and share on social media pages.

Not only does The Bridge App provide all of these functions to your members, but it consolidates these functions into one app, so your members don’t need to check multiple apps.

Whether your congregation is already extensively using The Bridge App, is only partially using it, or has yet to begin using it, the CRCNA Ministry in Canada team can assist and support as you respond to this emergency situation.  Please contact us at [email protected] or call Dorothy Vandersteen at 1-800-730-3490 (ext. 4245).

For US churches interested in knowing more, please visit The Bridge App website for a list of features, pricing and details on how to get started.