Send people to God and to one another

The app is a means, never the destination. Judge it by where people go when they close it.

From the calling

Scripture and tradition

Andrew “first found his brother Simon”, and “Andrew brought him to Jesus” (John 1:41–42). “Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25). “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5).

Bonhoeffer held the day alone and the day with others together. Andy Crouch, in a book published by Praxis, argues that persons are made for recognition and love that effortless technology cannot give. faith.tools’ AI guardrails ask that output “must not replace human relationships or spiritual practices”.

Sources: Life Together (review) · Andy Crouch, The Life We’re Looking For · faith.tools guardrails for AI apps

What it rules in, and out

In

Readings and groups with a shape for listening
A way to a pastor, a church, a friend
Endings that suggest a person, not the next session

Out

A companion that wants to be the only one someone talks to
Community features that compete with the local church
Success defined as daily sessions

What the maker gives up. The stickiness of being someone’s only place.

Qualification. Leaving the app or joining a congregation is not a universal measure. For someone isolated, disabled or hurt by a church, an online community may be the safe place, and a referral back may not be safe.

Test a design

When someone closes what we built, are they closer to God and to other people?

If people developed deep communion with God and no longer needed the app, would we celebrate or mourn?

Worked out in the deep dives

Every pattern tagged with this principle