The Highlands App

The Problem

Church of the Highlands had grown to 100,000+ members across 22 campuses throughout Alabama, but the digital experience hadn't kept pace. Members were forced to navigate a fragmented ecosystem of at least nine different apps and platforms depending on their involvement: kids check-in, giving, small groups, volunteer services, small group directories, video message archives, and Bible plans—each requiring separate logins and workflows.

While a web-based "link farm" approach worked adequately on desktop, the mobile experience was disjointed and frustrating. Members juggling multiple roles—volunteering, leading small groups, managing kids check-in—had to constantly switch between apps. Small group leaders lacked a centralized tool to manage their groups effectively. The church had no unified way to communicate through push notifications or create a cohesive digital experience.

Senior leadership recognized that as the church continued to scale, this fragmentation would only worsen. Competitors had found ways to centralize their digital ecosystems in-house, and COVID had fundamentally shifted expectations around digital engagement.

The Stakes:

Without a unified platform, the church risked losing engagement as members navigated increasingly complex digital touchpoints
Fragmentation prevented effective communication—no centralized way to reach members with important updates or opportunities
The lack of integrated tools made it harder for small group leaders and volunteers to serve effectively
As the church grew, managing multiple third-party platforms would become unsustainable both operationally and financially

The Challenge

The primary challenge was technical integration—consolidating nine separate platforms into a single, cohesive mobile experience without sacrificing functionality or security. Each third-party service had different integration capabilities, forcing the team to navigate a mix of API calls, iframes, and native data pulls. Some services required switching vendors entirely when APIs weren't available. Giving functionality proved particularly complex due to the security considerations around handling personal financial information at scale. Equally critical was maintaining simplicity without sacrificing utility. The app needed to serve vastly different user needs—casual attenders checking service times, small group leaders managing their communities, volunteers coordinating schedules, parents handling kids check-in—all within a single interface that didn't feel overwhelming or cluttered.

Constraints:

Integrating nine different third-party platforms with varying levels of API support and security requirements
Designing for multiple user personas (attenders, leaders, volunteers, parents) without creating a bloated or confusing experience
Adapting the existing web design system for native mobile while maintaining brand familiarity
Meeting a fixed launch deadline aligned with a major marketing campaign under tight AGILE/Scrum sprint schedules
Prioritizing integration and simplicity over innovation—resisting the temptation to reinvent familiar patterns

The Approach

The design process began with extensive discovery—focus groups with 40 members representing diverse backgrounds and app experience levels, plus a 300+ person internal pilot with church staff. Card sorting exercises revealed how users naturally grouped functionality, while surveys confirmed the core insight: people were exhausted by app sprawl and craved consolidation.

The research informed a clear integration strategy: third-party services had to integrate seamlessly or be replaced. If a platform couldn't provide reliable API access, offered poor integration capabilities, or failed to support the team effectively, it was dropped. The team prioritized features that already had proven integrations—leveraging embeds for video message archives and API calls to populate small group directories with live data.

Working in AGILE/Scrum methodology with two-week sprints and daily standups, the team operated under a "done is better than perfect" philosophy. Wireframes and prototypes moved quickly through rapid iteration cycles, with refinement happening after initial deployment rather than blocking launch. The existing Highlands design system was adapted for mobile by scaling down elements like buttons and headers while adding mobile-first components where needed.

Validation came through multiple channels: TestFlight betas, internal pilots with staff, and user testing survey groups. This multi-layered feedback loop ensured the app met real-world needs before the public launch. When the team faced disagreement on features or direction, they used a "Present Your Case" framework—arguing the why behind the what—though alignment was typically strong given the unified vision from leadership.

The Solution:

The final app consolidated nine fragmented platforms into a single, unified mobile experience organized around simplicity and discoverability. The architecture prioritized progressive disclosure—a home screen dashboard with tiles providing quick access to key features, supported by a hamburger menu for deeper navigation.

Dashboard:

The dashboard served as the central hub, surfacing personalized information across all features—upcoming small group meetings, recent messages, giving history, and volunteer schedules. Rather than forcing users to dig through menus, the most relevant content appeared immediately based on their involvement level.

Small Group Directory

For small group leaders, the app provided straightforward management tools: attendance reporting, member tracking, and push notifications for group updates. The directory allowed members to discover and join groups, pulling live data through API integrations to ensure accuracy across the organization.

Media Archive

The message archive leveraged existing in-house infrastructure, embedding the church's video platform directly into the app. Members could access sermon archives, browse by topic or series, and catch up on messages from any of the 22 campuses.

User Profiles

Profiles centralized personal information, volunteer schedules, small group membership, and giving history—creating a single source of truth for each member's involvement across the church.

Throughout the app, Highlands branding remained consistent—using the church's colors, graphics, and visual language to ensure the experience felt authentically connected to the physical campuses while maintaining mobile-native patterns and interactions.

The Outcome

What Shipped:

Centralized mobile app consolidating nine separate platforms into a single unified experience
Core features including Dashboard, Small Group Directory & Management, Video Message Archive, and User Profiles
Native iOS and Android apps launched with coordinated marketing campaign across all 22 campuses
App remains in active use with ongoing updates and improvements managed by the internal team

Impact:

Achieved 73% adoption within the first 30 days, climbing to 76% of the church's 100,000+ members within 12 months
94% of small group leaders adopted the app to manage their groups, replacing a notoriously difficult third-party platform (Church Center) with simple attendance reporting and easy access to studies and sermon notes
Drove 8% increase in the number of people giving digitally, making contributions more accessible
Earned 437 five-star reviews on the App Store
13% of users engage with the app daily, establishing it as a core touchpoint for church communication and engagement

Reflection

This project reinforced the value of breaking complex challenges into manageable steps. By prioritizing features based on integration capabilities and focusing on what could ship rather than perfection, the team delivered a product that fundamentally changed how 100,000+ people engage with their church community. The success of the small group management tools—replacing a difficult third-party platform with something leaders actually wanted to use—validated the approach of listening to user pain points and designing for simplicity over feature bloat.