The church has always cared for people who are not doing well. The gap I have observed that the church is facing is the mounting distraction technology has brought into our lives. It has enriched us greatly but has stripped a fair amount to balance the act. What is new is the 2am version of that need that social media and mindless games fill.
The moment that arrives not on a church morning in a pew but on a Tuesday night when someone cannot sleep and most times we do not reach for the Bible but our phone. I know I do. Or when I receive that email from Google saying they have changed their minds and will not fund my project. I find myself extremely disoriented, reaching for my phone to dive into some mindless game or pursuit of more skillset through research.
In my despair of this latest email, despite initial positive indications and now another no, I thought I need to create a space where I can spend time with God and still have that element of games, learning and being in the stillness.
What most faith apps get wrong
Most devotional apps assume a level of readiness that hard seasons do not permit. They ask you to read a passage, journal a response, complete a plan, tick a box. These are good tools when you are capable of them. But what provision is set when one is not capable?
The person who is grieving and cannot find words is unlikely to open a Bible reading plan. The person who is overwhelmed and trying to project that all is well is not going to complete a devotional streak. They need something that meets them where they are. Not where they are supposed to be.
What Oluchi actually is
Oluchi starts with one question. Where are you today?
Not how are you performing. Not how consistent have you been. Where are you today. And then it meets you there.
The rooms inside Oluchi are immersive experiences, each one built around a specific environment. Stillness. Grief. Playfulness. All of them point to the same place: come spend time with God's words.
Every other faith app I have experienced assumes you know what you need and builds a pathway to get you there. Oluchi makes space for the person who cannot answer that question. The reason I added this element is because I can be extremely articulate in my humour but lack the basic understanding of what I need at that very moment. For a long time I always wanted to know so I could be clear, and the more I forced myself to know the harder things became on my health. Now I try to make peace with the fact that I do not know what I need. I just know I am heavy and need help.
I built this app with my limitations in mind and how my faith strengthens me. Building a platform that reinforces the word of God and includes interactive elements in rooms and spaces is something I cannot wait to share.
No accounts. No streaks. No notifications demanding a return. No gamification that turns your faith life into a scoreboard. You open the app when you need it.
Oluchi means the work of God in Igbo. And I believe this beautiful experience that took a huge disappointment to create is my offer to you and your congregation.
Who it is actually for
Anyone aged 13 and above who carries faith and also carries life. The grieving. The overwhelmed. The ones who want to spend time with God but need a door to walk through first. Also for anyone who wants fun activities while receiving scriptures for the day or night.
Also for the ones who are doing fine and simply want to spend time with the word of God. Oluchi is not only for crisis. It is for Tuesday afternoon when you just want to be still.
Oluchi is coming to the App Store and Google Play very soon. Find out more at Game Street.