Social:Pray.com
Pray.com is a Christian social networking service and mobile app that serves as a social media platform for religious communities. The Pray platform includes social media, daily prayers, sermons, biblical content, and podcasts.[1] Pray.com was founded in 2016 by Steve Gatena, Michael Lynn, Ryan Beck and Matthew Potter.[2]
Pray.com platform
Social media
Pray.com serves as a social media platform for religious communities.[3] Congregations can create their own groups on the platform, where members and leaders can engage in discussions, livestream services, and solicit and receive donations.[4] The social media communities on Pray.com allow members to participate in “prayer communities” where Pray users are able to ask for and answer prayer requests.[5]
Biblical content
A paid subscription includes access to premium audio content,[6] such as biblically-inspired meditations and bedtime stories, and Bible stories for children.[7][8] Pray.com produces Radio drama style with actors voicing stories from the bible. Some of the actors have been Kristen Bell and Blair Underwood.[5]
History
Funding
In June 2017, Pray.com announced it had raised $2 million in seed funding, led by Science Inc. with participation from Greylock Partners and Spark Capital.[9] In March 2018, Pray.com announced it had raised an additional $14 million in a Series A round led by TPG Growth with participation from Science Inc. and Greylock Partners.[10] Gatena, in an interview with Bloomberg News , recalled a mixed reception to faith-based technology from a few venture capital firms: “A few were very disrespectful and borderline discriminatory against our customers."[11]
COVID-19 pandemic
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic's limitations on religious gatherings, Pray.com has experienced major growth in active users, subscribers, and downloads.[12][4][5] Downloads for Pray.com increased by 955% during the pandemic.[11] During the pandemic, Pray.com partnered with churches to provide a platform for their ministries while in-person services were restricted by law.[11]
National Day of Prayer
Pray first hosted a National Day of Prayer event in 2020 when it streamed to nearly one million viewers on Facebook.[4][13]
In 2021, Pray hosted a virtual event for the National Day of Prayer in the United States.[14] The event featured remarks from public figures including United States President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence.[14] President Biden spoke of his faith and prayed for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden remarked: “It means the world to me to know that there are people across the country who include Jill and me in their prayers. And I hope you know that you and your families are in our prayers as well. Today I am praying for the end of this great COVID crisis.”[14] [15] The event featured musical performances from Gary Valenciano, Brooke Ligertwood from the Christian band Hillsong Worship, Lecrae, Heather Headley and Michael Neale.[13][15][16] Other notable speakers included Ronnie Floyd, Ed Young (pastor), Mark Driscoll, and Samuel Rodriguez.[13] Pray.com partnered with Sirius XM, DirecTV and Facebook to stream the event across multiple platforms.[17] Pray.com was featured as a pop-up channel on Sirius XM, channel 154, to host the prayer event and celebrate people of all faith.[18]
FEC opinion
The Federal Election Commission, in 2021, issued an opinion that will allow Pray.com to feature members of the United States Congress on its platform.[19]
References
- ↑ Wellness, Daily Cup of (2021-05-17). "How Prayer Helps Your Mental Health" (in en-US). https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/dailycupofwellness/2021/05/how-prayer-helps-your-mental-health.html.
- ↑ "Pray.com offers social network for prayer, community-building". Catholic Courier. Catholic News Service. April 24, 2018. https://catholiccourier.com/articles/praycom-offers-social-network-for-prayer-community-building.
- ↑ Heilweil, Rebecca (March 27, 2020). "This social network for churches is thriving in the coronavirus pandemic". Vox. https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/27/21194239/coronavirus-churches-online-pray-com.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cutchin, James (April 13, 2020). "Pray.com Answers Call for the Digital Faithful". Los Angeles Business Journal. https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2020/apr/13/praycom-answers-call-digital-faithful/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Davalos, Jacqueline (October 11, 2020). "Venture Funders Flock to Religious Apps as Churches Go Online". Bloomberg News. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-11/venture-funders-flock-to-religious-apps-as-churches-go-online.
- ↑ Abdollah, Tami (April 1, 2020). "Online Prayer Platforms Are Booming In the COVID-19 Era — and VCs are Getting Religion". dot.LA. https://dot.la/coronavirus-prayer-2645604848/particle-2.
- ↑ Heilweil, Rebecca (March 27, 2020). "This social network for churches is thriving in the coronavirus pandemic". Vox. https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/27/21194239/coronavirus-churches-online-pray-com.
- ↑ McFarlan Miller, Emily (April 15, 2020). "There's an app for that: Christian mindfulness, meditation apps find their moment". Religion News Service. https://religionnews.com/2020/04/15/theres-an-app-for-that-christian-mindfulness-and-meditation-apps-find-moment-in-midst-of-pandemic/.
- ↑ Shu, Catherine (June 29, 2017). "Pray.com, a community-building app for faith organizations, raises $2M in seed funding". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/29/pray-com-a-community-building-app-for-faith-organizations-raises-2m-in-seed-funding/.
- ↑ Shu, Catherine (March 14, 2018). "Interfaith social network Pray.com raises $14M Series A to add new features to its mobile app". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/14/interfaith-social-network-pray-com-raises-14m-series-a-to-add-new-features-to-its-mobile-app/.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Venture Funders Flock to Religious Apps as Churches Go Online". Bloomberg.com. 11 October 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-11/venture-funders-flock-to-religious-apps-as-churches-go-online.
- ↑ Heilweil, Rebecca (March 27, 2020). "This social network for churches is thriving in the coronavirus pandemic". Vox. https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/27/21194239/coronavirus-churches-online-pray-com.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "WATCH: Joe Biden and Mike Pence take part in virtual National Day of Prayer event" (in en). 2021-05-06. https://www.audacy.com/news/pray-com-holds-virtual-event-for-the-national-day-of-prayer.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Funke, Daniel. "Fact check: Biden administration didn't 'reject' National Day of Prayer" (in en-US). https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/05/13/fact-check-biden-administration-didnt-reject-national-day-prayer/5038919001/.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 TEAM, PUSH. "Gary Valenciano invited to perform at National Day of Prayer in the US". https://push.abs-cbn.com/2021/5/6/fresh-scoops/gary-valenciano-invited-to-perform-at-national-day-193279.
- ↑ GMA (2021-05-03). "Lecrae, Heather Headley, Nona Jones Join Pray.com National Day of Prayer Online May 6" (in en-US). https://gospelmusic.org/lecrae-heather-headley-nona-jones-join-pray-com-national-day-of-prayer-online-may-6/.
- ↑ "Nat'l Day of Prayer to focus on praying for nation's physical, mental and spiritual health: Pray.com co-founder" (in en-US). https://www.christianpost.com/news/national-day-of-prayer-to-focus-on-praying-for-nations-health.html.
- ↑ "Pray.com Added As Limited-Run SiriusXM Channel 154" (in en). https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/207045/pray-com-added-as-limited-run-siriusxm-channel-154.
- ↑ "FEC OKs Members of Congress Appearing in Online Commercial Content" (in en). https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/fec-oks-members-of-congress-appearing-3107429/.
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