Am sure a few highly rated churches in Nigeria have some applications and software they use. Sometimes, I imagine if God do does approve some of the things we do via technology. These days, you can pay offering, tithes, redeem pledges online. Nawao!
That is to say, the rate at which some startups are pulling weight regarding tech innovation is quite thrilling. Who could have thought that one startup will come up with an app specifically targeted for the church?
Let me draw your attention to Seedstars World global contest which hosted some African entrepreneurs and startups in Morocco. Asoriba was named Africa’s best startup at the inaugural Seedstars Africa event held in Casablanca.
However, winning the award is not the issue; the gist here is to emphasize the depth at which technology has gone, with some startups not falling behind.
About Asoriba
Asoriba is cloud-based church management software that allows for easier administration of churches and members, faster communication and seamless payment for churches.
The good news is that you can use Mobile Money (MTN, TIGO, AIRTEL & VODAFONE CASH), Visa, MasterCard, Express, etc. to make some payments online. This is how advanced the Asoriba software is, the idea is to assists church members to seamlessly make contributions or pay their tithes and offerings to the church’s bank account directly.
According to CNN, the software that was developed by Nana Agyeman-Prempeh and three of his Christian colleagues in 2014 is already changing religion in West Africa with the ease of communication between religious leaders and their congregations and an improved finance management system
Through the use of the internet, church members will be able to send and receive text, messages, devotionals, prayer requests, sermons, and other relevant information, as well as paying of tithes, offerings, and pledges.
The Founder of Asoriba
The software will significantly improve the way religious leaders administer their sermons with its addition of technology in the running of churches.
“At its most basic, a rural village pastor can only stay in touch with his hurch headquarters via the mobile app and keep attendance records,” Prempeh told BBC last year.
The application had already signed 381 churches in the West African country, where the church enjoys a near fanatical appeal amongst the citizens.
It has plans to extend into Kenya, Tanzania, Gambia and neighboring Nigeria.
The minimum usage fee for the software is $9 per month, which is easily afforded by many churches who enjoy huge financial returns in the form of tithes and offerings.
Users’ views
For Pastor Kennedy Baffour from Open Gates ICGC church in Accra Ghana, shifting to Asoriba’s church management platform meant cutting the cost of communicating with church members in half.
“We used to pay 50 Ghana cedi’s per month on phoning church members, and now we only spend 25 Ghana cedi’s on communication with members,” said Pastor Baffour. This saves Open Gates 300 cedi’s each year.
According to him the church now has the option of directly and consistently communicating church program activities to members, while reminding them of events and making announcements.
“Connecting more with church members have increased the fellowship among our congregation,” said Pastor.
He said more efficient communication with church members also meant a significant increase in church attendance and activities.
“Asoriba’s platform has made it easy for us to change membership details and to add more members,” said Martina Konadu Boakye, secretary at Open Gates.
According to her church members feel more appreciated and special now that they get birthday messages on their birthdays and receive personalized messages on their cell phones.
Rational Behind Asoriba Invention
According to available data, in Ghana alone, 20% of adults have mobile money (5 million mobile wallets), Kenya 58%, Tanzania 34% and Rwanda 17%.
These numbers are rising speedily by the day. This means most people are increasingly using less cash each day.
“So on a typical Sunday; a member may not have physical cash to give, but electronic money. As a church, you must make provision for this member to make such payments easily and instantly into your churches bank account. As your technology partner, Asoriba makes this possible via your Church’s mobile app found on the play store, the Founder said.
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