Understanding engagement metrics
Apollos automatically tracks how members engage with your app — every meaningful action, from opening a devotional to completing a gift — so you can see what's working without setting anything up yourself.
How it works
Whenever a member does something meaningful in your app, on your TV apps, or in your website embeds, Apollos records it as an engagement event. Those events power the Dashboard and, if you've connected it, Amplitude.
You don't need to configure any of this — tracking happens automatically. But knowing which moments Apollos measures helps you read your analytics with confidence and decide what to encourage in your community.
The key engagement moments
These are the actions Apollos treats as the most important signs of a healthy app community:
| Metric | What it means for your church |
|---|---|
| Signup Completed | Someone created an account — your front door. Growth here means your invitations, QR codes, and announcements are working. |
| Daily Habits Completed | A member finished their daily practices (gratitude, prayer, scripture). This is the strongest signal of a daily spiritual rhythm. |
| Community Joined | A member joined a group. Community membership is one of the best predictors of long-term engagement. |
| Prayer Completed | A member prayed for someone or completed a prayer action — your community caring for each other. |
| Donation Completed | A member gave a gift, including the amount, fund, and whether it's recurring. |
| Content Viewed | A member opened a sermon, devotional, article, or other content you published. |
| Video Completed | A member watched a video all the way through — much stronger than just pressing play. |
| Comment Submitted / Reaction Submitted | A member responded to content — participation, not just consumption. |
| Community Engaged / Community Shared | A member interacted with a community beyond viewing it, or invited someone else in. |
Everyday activity metrics
Beyond the key moments above, Apollos also tracks broader activity that fills in the picture:
- Button interactions — which features and calls-to-action members tap. Often the first step on the way to a key moment (e.g. tapping "Manage giving" before completing a gift).
- Screen and page views — which parts of the app members visit.
- Video playback — plays, pauses, and how far members watch.
- Push notifications — whether notifications arrive and whether members open them.
- Links into the app — when a shared link or notification brings someone to a specific piece of content.
- Form submissions — completed forms, like event signups.
- Poll activity — if your church uses polls: polls viewed, votes submitted, and changed votes.
Use these metrics well
A few practical ways churches put engagement metrics to work:
- Watch the journey, not just the totals. The healthiest pattern is members moving from Signup → Daily Habits → Community → Giving. If lots of people sign up but few complete daily habits, focus your communication there.
- Promote daily prayer and habits. Churches that actively encourage daily practices through the app consistently see far higher overall engagement.
- Compare campuses. Multi-campus churches can ask questions like "which campus has the highest giving participation?" in Amplitude.
- Celebrate participation. Use the Dashboard's Top Completions and streak leaderboards to recognize your most engaged members.
Troubleshooting
Why don't my numbers match my ChMS attendance?
Engagement metrics measure app activity, not attendance. Many faithful attenders may use the app rarely (or not at all), and some app members may engage from far away.
Why are metrics low even though people downloaded the app?
Downloads aren't engagement. Look at Signup Completed first — if people install the app but don't create accounts, focus on making sign-in easy and worth it. See Get the app & sign in for the member experience.
Do I need to set up tracking myself?
No. All engagement tracking is built into Apollos and happens automatically across your mobile app, TV apps, and web embeds.