On this pageFrom the callingScripture and traditionIn and outTest a designIn the deep dives
Home / Principles

Missional by Design · The person

Welcome before you ask, and guard what is told in confidence

Let people reach what they came for before asking anything; ask only for what serves them, when it does; and treat what they tell you as holy ground.

Generated scene with a reflective blue-silver silicon form

From the calling

Scripture and tradition

“Come and see,” Jesus replied, and the two disciples “spent that day with Him” before anything was asked of them (John 1:39). “Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). “A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence” (Proverbs 11:13).

The Rule of Benedict asks that “all guests who arrive be received like Christ”. The church guards confession with a seal. Data protection law treats religious belief as a special category, and contextual integrity holds that what was shared to pray should not flow into marketing.

Sources: The Rule of Benedict · Code of Canon Law on the sacrament of penance

What it rules in, and out

In

  • Guest use; an account when there is something to keep
  • Permissions when a feature needs them
  • Payment after a first use, saying what costs money and why
  • Memory a person can see and delete; prayer requests that go only where they chose

Out

  • A quiz, a phone number or a paywall before the first verse
  • Faith inferred from use and sold or used for advertising
  • Prayer requests read for marketing insight
  • Confessions stored by default

What the maker gives up. Conversion at the front door, and the data that would make the product cleverer or the marketing sharper.

Qualification. Welcome is not the same as asking for nothing. A justified, well-timed question can protect a person; the test is whether it serves them, now.

Test a design

If a friend read everything we keep about this person, would the person be glad?

  • What must someone give before they reach what they came for?

Worked out in the deep dives

Every pattern tagged with this principle

Seen in real apps

App design reviews connect this principle to the review areas Money and access, Privacy and dignity, Care and inclusion. Each entry is one scoped observation of a specific flow, not a verdict on the app.

Browse app profiles · How we review