Case Study: Zion Lutheran Church boosts member engagement and simplifies communications with Guidebook

How Zion Lutheran Church created a church app for its members and visitors

Zion Lutheran Church, a 140‑year‑old congregation of over 4,000 members in Buffalo, Minnesota, needed a better way to keep a large, active congregation and visitors informed. Angela Bengtson, who oversees communications, faced the challenge of consolidating schedules, maps, announcements and staff contacts that had previously relied on printed bulletins, a web calendar and social feeds—sometimes hampered by spotty on‑site Wi‑Fi.

Zion adopted Guidebook as a church app to centralize maps, calendars, RSS feeds, social media, PDFs and a searchable staff directory with offline access. The app was well received in testing: members praised its ease of use, and surveys showed 88% expected to use it before services, 94% after, and 81% were likely to continue using and recommend it. The app has improved access for visitors, streamlined communications, and may reduce paper needs over time.

Zion Lutheran Church

Angela Bengtson

Zion Lutheran Church