nacmaps – Finding congregations instead of looking for them

Mike and Samira have been driving around for forty minutes looking for the church in their holiday resort. They had been told to turn right at the train station, then to continue on two hundred metres, and the church would be on their left. But there is no church, not even in the immediate vicinity.

A quick telephone call to the rector the evening before could have clarified things. At least they would have had the right address for their GPS device. The service is about to start … Will they still make it?

There are 60,000 congregations around the world. People who travel a lot get to know quite a few of them. Nobody can memorise all the addresses, but there is no need for it either. For smartphone users there is a simple solution now: nacmaps. With the newly developed app, congregations can be located either by specifying the city name or by using the second function “Congregations in the vicinity”.

Latest address data

The new app of the New Apostolic Church accesses the latest address listings. Mergers of congregations, newly founded congregations, or a congregation that has just been made wheelchair accessible—everything is correctly displayed in the app already a few hours later. Many countries are already registered in the data base, more will follow. The data is also accessible offline, that is, without an Internet connection.

Contact by email or telephone

Email addresses and telephone numbers of the congregations—if they are in the database—are also displayed in the app. All you need to do is tap on the screen and contact is made to the right person, either by email or telephone.

Navigation and congregational website

And once you have found the right congregation all you have to do is tap on “Plan your route” and the app starts via Maps app, Google Maps, or your own navigation app.

And if the congregation has its own website with additional information? The website is stored on the congregation page in the app and is only a click away.

One app among many

nacmaps is the fourth app of the New Apostolic Church and can be downloaded free of charge from the iTunes (iOS) and Google (Android) Stores. In addition to nacmaps the New Apostolic Church also offers apps dedicated to news and information (nacnews: iOS and Android), an app for the Catechism (naccatechism: iOS and Android) and an app for the Catechism in Questions and Answers (nacfaq: iOS and Android). All apps are free of charge.

By the way, Mike and Samira made it to church on time. Praying helps, they discovered once again. They asked a policeman for directions. He suggested they follow him on his motorcycle. Next time, they will be better prepared. And the new app is going to be a great help too.

Anyone who does not have a smartphone can go to the website for addresses and contact details.

Photo: Kzenon