Featured App: Inspiring Body of Christ Church (IBOC) in Dallas

Walk into the Inspiring Body of Christ Church in Dallas and the first thing you do is pass under a 75,000 gallon saltwater aquarium. It is a fitting welcome to a church built on Jesus’ words in Matthew 4:19: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” But the church’s reach does not stop at its doors. The IBOC app, built with AppPresser, puts live services, events, messages and giving in the pocket of every member and visitor, and its users have rewarded it with a perfect 5.0 rating on iPhone and a 4.9 rating on Android from nearly a hundred reviews.

In this featured app spotlight, we take a closer look at the people behind IBOC, what the app does, who it serves, and why it is such a strong example of what happens when a WordPress site and a mobile app work together.

Who Is Behind the IBOC App

The Inspiring Body of Christ Church, known simply as IBOC, is a non denominational church in southwest Dallas that describes itself as a high praising, high worship, Bible believing church. Its founder and senior pastor is Rickie G. Rush, an internationally known speaker and teacher whose engaging, humorous style has earned him the nickname “the Master Illustrator” for the way he makes Scripture simple to understand.

Pastor Rush’s story with the church starts years before its first service. In May 1980 he founded the Dallas Inspirational Choir, a community choir of 150 voices. In the summer of 1990, he and 63 charter members officially founded IBOC, and the first service was held on October 7, 1990. Within six months the church had grown to 450 members, and on Easter Sunday 1991 it celebrated its first service in its own building, the former Southern Bible Institute.

The growth never really stopped. IBOC moved from overflow rooms to four morning services, launched a radio ministry in 1995, and eventually built a 176,000 square foot worship center on a 36 acre campus with a 5,000 seat sanctuary. Outreach Magazine once ranked IBOC among the largest churches in the country, and today its membership is counted in the thousands, with Pastor Rush often citing more than 15,000 members.

The church’s creed explains what drives that growth: “The greatest tragedy next to dying without God and without hope is to stand at the judgement day empty handed having lived in a world full of sinners without winning one person to Christ.”

What the IBOC App Does

The IBOC app keeps members and visitors up to date with everything happening at the church. With the app, people can watch live services, view upcoming events, take sermon notes, give, and much more. It has been serving the congregation since its first release at the end of 2017, and it received a fresh update with new font design in October 2026.

The app includes:

• Watch Live, streaming the Sunday 10:00 AM service so no one has to miss worship.
• On demand messages, so members can catch up on sermons any time.
• Sermon pre orders, right from the watch screen.
• Sermon notes, so listeners can capture what they learn during the message.
• Events and the church calendar, including major services like Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
• New Here, a welcome section with information on the pastor, first time visits, church life and the University of Dreams.
• Giving, with one time and recurring donations and a message from Pastor Rush about generosity.
• Media, bringing the church’s video and teaching content together in one place.

The app is free on iPhone and iPad and is also available on Android.

App Screenshots

Here is a look at the app. Notice how the design carries the church’s signature aquarium blues throughout, and how large, round buttons make every section easy to tap, whether you are a longtime member or visiting for the first time.

Test Drive the App

The best way to understand what makes the IBOC app special is to try it yourself. Download the free app, check out the upcoming events, and tune in to Watch Live on Sunday morning.

Key Features That Stand Out

Church From Anywhere

For a church this size, live streaming is not an extra. It is how many people attend. The Watch Live screen puts the Sunday service a single tap away, with on demand messages right beside it for anyone who could not tune in live. Members who travel, work Sundays or are homebound stay connected to their church family.

A Warm Welcome for First Time Visitors

Visiting a large church for the first time can feel intimidating. The New Here section answers the questions newcomers have before they ever pull into the parking lot: who the pastor is, what to expect on a first visit, what church life looks like and how to get involved. It turns the app into a front door for the ministry.

Events That Fill the Room

IBOC is known for big moments, from Christmas services to New Year’s Eve worship. The Major Events screen showcases each one with full color artwork, and the church calendar keeps the regular rhythm of Sunday worship and Monday School in view.

Monday School and Growth

IBOC reimagined Sunday School and Bible study as Monday School, held Mondays at 7:00 PM. The church also offers the University of Dreams and other ministries focused on growth. The app connects members to these opportunities so learning continues all week long.

Simple, Generous Giving

The Giving section makes supporting the ministry straightforward, with one time gifts, recurring donations and Givelify options. A video message from Pastor Rush explains the biblical principle behind tithing, so giving feels like worship rather than a transaction.

An Outstanding Rating

Ratings are one of the most honest signals an app can earn. At the time of writing, the IBOC app holds a perfect 5.0 rating from its iPhone users and a 4.9 rating from 94 Android users. That is an exceptional result for a church app, and it shows that the experience works for a large, diverse congregation.

It also says something about the relationship between a church and its people. When thousands of members rely on an app every week to watch, give and stay connected, their expectations are high. Meeting those expectations on both platforms is a real accomplishment.

Watch: The IBOC Aquarium on Tanked

IBOC’s aquarium is a big part of its identity, and it caught national attention when Animal Planet featured it on Tanked. Here is a look at the tank that greets everyone who comes to worship.

Who the App Serves

The IBOC app serves a broad and loyal community. It is built for:

• IBOC members who want services, events and giving in one place.
• Online worshipers and e members who attend from home or from other cities.
• First time visitors who want to learn about the church before they arrive.
• Families keeping track of youth ministry, baptisms, christenings and special services.
• Monday School students and anyone growing through the church’s teaching ministries.
• Givers and supporters who want a simple, secure way to support the ministry.

For a congregation of this size, having one official app that everyone can rely on keeps the whole church family moving in the same direction.

IBOC in the Press

IBOC and its one of a kind aquarium have drawn attention well beyond Dallas:

• Fishers of the deep, Church Executive
• Dallas Church Aquarium Featured on Animal Planet Series Tanked, Commercial Integrator
• Megachurch Tank, Tanked on Animal Planet

What This App Shows About AppPresser

The IBOC website, ibocchurch.org, runs on WordPress, and that matters. The site already holds the church’s events, service times, ministry pages, watch pages and giving options. With AppPresser, that content does not need to be rebuilt somewhere else. The app draws from the same WordPress site the team already manages every day.

For a large church, that is a big deal. When a new event is announced, a service time changes or a new series begins, the team works in the tools it already knows. The website and the app stay in step, and the staff can focus on ministry instead of mobile development.

The IBOC app also shows how far an AppPresser app can go with design. Custom artwork, an aquarium inspired theme, big tappable buttons, live streaming, events and giving all come together in an app that feels unmistakably like IBOC. It is a strong reminder that a church app can carry the personality of the church itself.

Congratulations to Pastor Rickie G. Rush and the entire Inspiring Body of Christ Church family on building an app that has earned a perfect 5.0 rating on iPhone and a 4.9 on Android.

Do You Want Your Own App?

If your organization already runs on WordPress, launching your app with AppPresser is simple. Your app pulls directly from the website you already manage, so every update you make to your site appears in your app automatically. Ready to get started on your app right now? Check out our pricing page.

Not on WordPress yet? AppPresser can still help. Our team can move your website onto WordPress and then set up your app, so everything works together from the start. And if you need something more tailored, from custom features to a completely custom app, our custom development services have you covered.

Prefer to talk it through? Book a quick call with our team and we’ll walk you through your options.

If you need help or have any questions, tell us about your organization and what you’d like your app to do, and we’ll get back to you with a clear answer on costs and next steps.