Church management system
Member directory, event scheduling and volunteer coordination for Japanese churches.
Why not: Too broad to do well, several established products already serve this, and the maintenance burden would crowd out everything else.
← Back to home
Scope
What we don’t build
Ideas we’ve considered and decided against, with the reasoning. Saying no to these is what lets us keep the sites we do run properly looked after.
Online giving platform
Donation handling with Japanese payment methods and tax receipting.
Why not: Heavy regulatory and liability requirements, and existing services already work internationally.
Church finder app
Helping Japanese speakers find a church near them.
Why not: The data goes stale faster than it can be maintained, and churches are already findable through search and maps.
Sunday school curriculum
Digital children’s ministry resources in Japanese.
Why not: Content needs ongoing theological review, which belongs with publishing ministries rather than with us.
Bible study tool
Cross-references, commentary integration and study plans.
Why not: japanbible.net already covers scripture access, and commentary licensing is expensive and complicated.
Catechism learning app
Interactive doctrine lessons for new believers.
Why not: Denominational differences make shared content difficult, and churches generally prefer their own materials.
Sermon archive platform
A searchable Japanese sermon library with transcription.
Why not: Video platforms already handle this well, transcription is costly, and sermon rights are unclear.
Lyrics projection software
A worship team projection tool tied into jpraise.org.
Why not: Established products dominate this space and integrating with them costs more than it returns.
Church livestream platform
Simplified streaming for smaller Japanese churches.
Why not: Existing platforms are free, familiar, and better than anything we could justify building.
Evangelism resource library
Tracts, videos and testimonies in Japanese.
Why not: Several organisations already do this well, and curation is endless work.
Language exchange community
Connecting Japanese learners with Japanese Christians.
Why not: Community platforms need constant moderation and carry real safety concerns.
Prayer request app
Private prayer sharing inside a church community.
Why not: Sensitive personal data, and most churches are content using the group chats they already have.
Grief counseling self-help tools
Digital self-guided resources extending JBCA’s work.
Why not: Needs professional oversight and carries real risk to vulnerable people; better handled by trained counselors.