Tech Talk: Walk with Jesus on the Road to Easter with EasterNow App

Editor's Note: We are aware that this app's content is not specifically Catholic. However, readers may benefit from the historical information the app contains. -Barb

EasterNow, a new free app, lets users experience the events of Passion Week in real-time with step-by-step notification of Jesus' events and locations from Palm Sunday to Easter Morning.

The app was birthed by husband-and-wife team Gregory S. Love and Kimberlee D. Norris out of their more than 20-year history and passion for ministering to students at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1999, Love began sending text messages to his small group of students, walking them through the events of Passion Week to illustrate each event's seamless connection to Old Testament prophecy.

"The response was profound," Love said. "Through the years, we added new groups of students who forwarded the texts to others, and by 2016, we realized more than 15,000 individuals were receiving the messages in real time. It was clear the experience was impactful, but texting hundreds of people was unsustainable. Thankfully, technology came to the rescue, and EasterNow was born."

The EasterNow app utilizes any smartphone's internal notification system to walk through Passion Week with an integrated map, scripture and deeper analysis of the historic events. Users receive the first alert beginning with the Triumphal Entry at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 9. Subsequent alerts arrive on the following Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

"The goal is to bring all the events of Easter to life," said Norris. "When individuals are continually reminded of every step of Christ's painful journey to the cross and triumphant resurrection three days later, they experience Easter in a unique and extraordinary manner."

The EasterNow app has been a labor of love for Love and Norris, who are best known as child sexualabuse attorneys and founders of MinistrySafe, a leader in sexual abuse prevention and education created to help ministries meet legal standards of care and reduce the risk of child sexual abuse in ministry programs. For more information, visit MinistrySafe.com.

EasterNow is available for free download through the iTunes App Store and Google Play thanks to MinistrySafe. For additional information, visit EasterNow.com.

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