When Alicia Lee was a Goldman Sachs banker in Manhattan, she also served as a faith leader in her spare time at a church that was just a 10-minute walk away on Wall Street.
“The need is very urgent, and that's why we built Faithly,” Lee told NTD. “Our pastors and ministry leaders are carrying this huge weight but they don't have the same infrastructure or support that other professions take for granted.”
The killing this week of conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk, Lee says, highlights the necessity for Christian leaders to have a safe place to network.
Kirk, a self-professed Christian and close President Donald Trump ally, was shot and killed on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.
"After the death of Mr. Charlie Kirk, I think the need to be in a trusted space is only going to increase," Lee said. "Faithly sets a precedent for transparency within the church. My hope is that with more digital connection, we can have a better understanding of what's happening across the church."
With 230 million profiles, the United States has the most LinkedIn users.
“We're not calling Faithly social media because LinkedIn is the digital rolodex, the digital clearinghouse or platform for folks who have corporate jobs, not social media,” Lee said. “Up until now, pastors, clergy, and other ministry leaders haven't had that platform.”
Lee believes Faithly can fill the void by interconnecting church leaders.
"Pastors are supporting and caring for people who are going through some of the hardest seasons of their lives. That's often why they go to church and reach out, so pastors carry a huge amount of weight and oftentimes they don't have support systems and networks that can lift them up in their work," Lee said.
Features on the app include a job board with church employment opportunities, private chat groups for denominations, ministry roles, and special interests, event tools for promoting conferences and trainings, as well as church-related podcasts and profiles.