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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

  1. ^ Wellness, Daily Cup of (2021-05-17). "How Prayer Helps Your Mental Health". Daily Cup of Wellness. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  2. ^ "Pray.com offers social network for prayer, community-building". Catholic Courier. Catholic News Service. April 24, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  3. ^ Heilweil, Rebecca (March 27, 2020). "This social network for churches is thriving in the coronavirus pandemic". Vox. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Cutchin, James (April 13, 2020). "Pray.com Answers Call for the Digital Faithful". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Davalos, Jacqueline (October 11, 2020). "Venture Funders Flock to Religious Apps as Churches Go Online". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  6. ^ Abdollah, Tami (April 1, 2020). "Online Prayer Platforms Are Booming In the COVID-19 Era — and VCs are Getting Religion". dot.LA. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  7. ^ Heilweil, Rebecca (March 27, 2020). "This social network for churches is thriving in the coronavirus pandemic". Vox. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  8. ^ McFarlan Miller, Emily (April 15, 2020). "There's an app for that: Christian mindfulness, meditation apps find their moment". Religion News Service. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  9. ^ Shu, Catherine (June 29, 2017). "Pray.com, a community-building app for faith organizations, raises $2M in seed funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  10. ^ Shu, Catherine (March 14, 2018). "Interfaith social network Pray.com raises $14M Series A to add new features to its mobile app". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "Venture Funders Flock to Religious Apps as Churches Go Online". Bloomberg.com. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  12. ^ Heilweil, Rebecca (March 27, 2020). "This social network for churches is thriving in the coronavirus pandemic". Vox. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c "WATCH: Joe Biden and Mike Pence take part in virtual National Day of Prayer event". www.audacy.com. 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  14. ^ a b c Funke, Daniel. "Fact check: Biden administration didn't 'reject' National Day of Prayer". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  15. ^ a b TEAM, PUSH. "Gary Valenciano invited to perform at National Day of Prayer in the US". Push. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  16. ^ GMA (2021-05-03). "Lecrae, Heather Headley, Nona Jones Join Pray.com National Day of Prayer Online May 6". The Gospel Music Association. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  17. ^ "Nat'l Day of Prayer to focus on praying for nation's physical, mental and spiritual health: Pray.com co-founder". The Christian Post. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  18. ^ "Pray.com Added As Limited-Run SiriusXM Channel 154". All Access. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  19. ^ "FEC OKs Members of Congress Appearing in Online Commercial Content". JD Supra. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
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