One content engine for a Spanish-language radio ministry’s app and website

Why the ministry needed one platform

Listeners find the ministry in two places: the app on their phone and the website on their computer. Both need the same thing at the same moment: what’s playing now, the newest podcast episode, today’s devotional.

The website ran on a licensed enterprise content system that didn’t share content, accounts or features with the app, so the two grew apart.

The ministry needed one platform: a single source of content, one account per listener, and a website its own staff could update.

How we approached it

1. One content engine. Cloud functions gather the stream’s now-playing data, podcasts, live video and Bible text into one database that the app and the website both read.
2. Move the website to WordPress. We migrated 154 pages off the licensed system with a scripted import, then rebuilt the site on a custom WordPress theme and plugins the ministry’s staff can edit.
3. Keep the audio playing. On the website, the player keeps streaming while listeners move between pages. In the app, audio continues in the background and on the lock screen.

Reliability on a ministry budget

Much of the work is invisible to listeners and saves the ministry money and risk.

• Off a licensed CMS. The website moved from an enterprise content system to WordPress that staff update themselves.
• Fewer paid services. Sign-in moved to Firebase Authentication, and Bible content now comes from the ministry’s own database instead of a paid third-party API.
• Secrets out of the app. Protected content is served through Firebase App Check, and keys no longer ship inside the app.
• Stability. The top four crash causes reported by Crashlytics were fixed, and new features ship behind remote switches that can be turned off without an app update.
• Tested security rules. A 51-case automated suite checks who can read and write each part of the database.

Notifications for this app are managed in a console we built for the ministry. Read that case study →

Built with

• Flutter: one codebase for the iPhone and Android app.
• Firebase: Authentication, Firestore, Cloud Storage, Remote Config, Crashlytics, App Check and Cloud Messaging.
• Cloud Functions: 38 functions that collect content, power the Bible and push updates to the website.
• WordPress: a custom block theme and custom plugins for the audio player, now-playing, podcasts, the Bible, accounts and the prayer wall.

What changed for listeners and staff

The app has been in the App Store and Google Play since September 2024, and its latest release shipped in September 2026.

• Always current. Now-playing updates every minute in the app and on the website.
• One listener, one account. The same sign-in, saved content and prayer wall work in the app and on the site.
• Uninterrupted listening. The stream keeps playing across website pages and in the app’s background.
• A website staff can run. Pages, podcasts and devotionals are managed in WordPress instead of a licensed enterprise system.

Is your content living in too many places?

If your app, website and team are working from separate copies of the same content, one shared engine can save time, money and confusion.

Your Software Department™ builds and maintains platforms like this on a flat monthly subscription: unlimited software requests, daily progress updates, and most requests shipped in 3–7 days. See how Your Software Department works →

Questions about radio apps and websites