One of our core beliefs at Stackhouse is that the church needs more innovation.
There are real problems in ministry today that technology can help solve. And there are entrepreneurs in our community who want to build that technology.
We're trying to champion that cause. Builder Sessions are part of how we do it: founders demo what they're building and get direct feedback in the room.
At a recent session, we asked some of the attendees in the room one question: what's one thing about innovation in the church space that struck you today? Here are the 3 answers that stood out.
Move Fast, Break Nothing
Michael Visser, Founder, Parable (getparable.io)
Today, one thing about innovation in the church space that struck me is that slow isn't the safe option we treat it as. Herb Miller's long-standing observation is that reaching a first-time guest within 24 to 36 hours brings about 85% of them back, and waiting 3 days collapses that number. Most church follow-up still runs on a weekly staff meeting. A family fills out a card Sunday, it gets reviewed Tuesday, discussed Wednesday, assigned Thursday, and by the time someone calls, the moment they were open has closed. Nobody in that chain did anything wrong. The system was just slower than the need. Speed in ministry isn't a productivity concern, it's a pastoral one.
The practice I'd give any church leader is to stop launching and start piloting. Take whatever initiative is currently sitting in planning and do 4 things with it this week. Shrink it to something one campus, one group, or one age range can try in the next two weeks, so if it fails, it fails small and the people affected are people you can call personally. Name the single number it should move and pull today's baseline out of your church management system before you start, because most churches can't answer that, and not knowing is itself the finding. Decide in writing what result would make you kill it, while you're still unattached to the outcome, or every result will get reinterpreted as encouraging. Then say out loud that it's a pilot, so changing course in 6 weeks reads as the plan working rather than as indecision.
Break nothing is the other half, and it's a design decision rather than a personality trait. Data, money, and safety are never the place to experiment: permissions get set correctly before anything ships, giving records don't get touched by a test, background checks don't get streamlined. Everywhere else, ask one question before you ship. If this is wrong, how hard is it to undo? A workflow you can archive is cheap. An email to every household in your database is not. Spend your speed where undo is cheap and your caution where it isn't, and you'll find you can move much faster than you thought without risking anything that matters.
The Church Has Problems Worth Solving
Cameron Sanderson, Founder & CEO, Communicate (communicate.app)
Today, one thing about innovation in the church space that struck me was how many real, practical problems churches are trying to solve every day. Some are ministry challenges, but many are operational: communication, planning, volunteer coordination, systems, data, follow-up, and simply making limited time and resources go further.
Those problems deserve thoughtful solutions. There is a real opportunity for builders and entrepreneurs to listen closely, understand the church's unique context, and create tools that genuinely help. The goal should not just be to bring more technology into the church, but to solve meaningful problems in ways that free churches up to focus more on people and ministry.
Beyond Apps: Building the Infrastructure for Better Ministry
Kenny Jahng, Chief Engagement Officer, Stackhouse Ventures (stackhouseventures.com)
Today, one thing about innovation in the church space that struck me today was that infrastructure matters as much as the visible app.
One pitch focused on open, reusable Bible infrastructure that other ministries and developers can build on. The other turned existing church data into practical signals for pastoral care. Both show that innovation can multiply impact when it gives many churches a better foundation rather than forcing each one to start from scratch.
The Common Thread
Church tech works best when it solves a real problem, gives other ministries a foundation to build on, and responds at the speed people actually need help.
Want to Be Part of the Next One?
If you're building something in the church or ministry tech space, we want to see it. Apply to demo at an upcoming Builder Session and get direct feedback from investors, operators, and founders who've done this before.
If you're not building but you care about innovation in the church, come watch. Builder Sessions are free, and you'll see how experienced investors and operators evaluate early companies in real time.
Apply to demo or register to attend at stackhouseventures.com/builder-sessions.