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Faith in Action

A plan to shift BibleChat subscriptions from "paying for features" to "giving with meaning." One real kid. One real letter. Two touchpoints in seven days.

The problem

We lose ~52% of weekly subscribers within the first renewal. That's 168,000 stay-or-cancel decisions per quarter. Feature improvements haven't moved the needle — because the problem isn't features.

The insight

When we asked users what BibleChat means to them, the answers weren't about features. They said peace, closer to God, guidance. And 35% said they want to spread God's love.

People don't churn from things that feel meaningful. They churn from things that feel transactional.

The intervention

We donated $5,000 to a foundation in Romania — $50 each for 100 children in need. Each child wrote a thank-you letter with their photo and story. We use these real letters as the emotional anchor.

Day 0 After purchase, the user meets Daniel — a real child their subscription helps. Photo, name, age, dream. Thirty seconds, one card.
Day 5 A push notification: "A letter arrived from Daniel." The user opens it and reads Daniel's handwritten thank-you letter — the real scan, in his handwriting, with a translation.
Day 7 Renewal decision. The subscription now means something beyond app access. Canceling means walking away from Daniel.

The test

3-arm A/B test. US iOS weekly subscribers only. 4,800 users per arm. 4 weeks to measure.

Arm A: Control (current flow). Arm B: Impact card only (Day 0). Arm C: Impact card + letter (Day 0 + Day 5).

Primary metric: Week 2 renewal rate. Secondary: Week 4, NPS, cancellation reasons.

The math

2.4pp
Lift needed
~$600K
Annualized value
$30/mo
Operating cost

A 2.4 percentage-point lift in W1 renewal (from 48% to 50.4%) across 168K quarterly decisions generates roughly $600K in annualized incremental revenue. The program costs $30/month to maintain.

Timeline

3 days to build. Impact card in the purchase flow (iOS). Push notification + letter screen. A/B test instrumentation. 4 weeks to measure.

What happens next

If it works

Scale to thousands of kids. Build a full Impact Hub in the app. Add community counter, shareable impact cards, and an annual Year in Review mixing faith journey with giving.

If it doesn't

We lost 3 engineering days and learned that emotional framing doesn't move weekly renewal. We still have 100 letters and a $5,000 donation that helped real kids.

The full vision

Phase 1 is a 4-week experiment. If the signal is positive, here's where it goes:

Phase 1

Two punches

Impact card at purchase + letter at Day 5. A/B test on US iOS weekly subs. 3 days to build, 4 weeks to measure.

Phase 2

Impact Hub + drip system

Persistent "Your Impact" tab in the app. New kid content each month — a collection mechanic. Users unlock letters over time, building emotional investment.

Phase 3

Community features

Community counter ("4,832 subscribers helping together"). Prayer-for-kids feature. Social proof layer — seeing others give makes giving feel normal.

Phase 4

Shareable impact cards + public page

OG-image share cards ("I'm helping Daniel through BibleChat"). Public /impact page for organic acquisition. The viral loop.

Phase 5

Year in Review with giving

Spotify Wrapped for faith + giving. "342 prayers, 89 chapters, 52 weeks of giving. You helped Daniel go to school." The retention bomb — makes canceling feel like abandoning a year of meaning.

Scale

1,000+ kids across countries

Partner with foundations in multiple countries. Rotate content monthly. The content library grows organically — each donation cycle produces new letters, new stories, new emotional anchors.

The materials

We already have real sponsorship cards, handwritten letters, and photos for 100+ children. This isn't a concept — the content exists today.

Daniel David Samuel Sofia Alexia Mateo Andra Maria Card Card Card

Showing 5 of 100+ sponsorship cards. Each includes photo, age, dream, hobbies, story, and handwritten letter.

Our rules

How we stay on the right side of the line between inspiring and manipulating:

Do

  • Lead with dreams and hobbies
  • Show kids as whole people
  • Use empowerment framing
  • Let the child's own words speak
  • Link to the foundation for verification
  • Kill it if guardrail metrics turn negative

Don't

  • Show kids on cancel screens
  • Use pity or poverty framing
  • Claim individual dollar amounts
  • Add CTAs or renewal prompts to letters
  • Mention ethnicity in the app
  • Imply exclusivity ("your personal child")