I've been working on the Catholic Diocese App (for Android and iPhone) for the past year and a half, and it's my hope that every Catholic diocese or organization that wants an app can have one.

In fact, it's easy enough that even non-developers should be able to help dioceses get up and running on the app in just a few minutes, once they get the hang of the process! I've made this quick demonstration video of how you can customize the App to your diocese or organization's needs in about five minutes:

Basically, all that's involved is:

1. Downloading the Zip archive of the Catholic Diocese App from GitHub.
2. Replacing graphics like the App Icon, Default image, and news icon with your own.
3. Changing a couple strings in Localizable.strings and another file.
4. Building the app, then submitting it to the App Store.

Customizing the Android version of the app is similar, but requires Eclipse and the Android SDK instead of Xcode.

Elizabeth Westhoff, the Archdiocese of St. Louis' Director of Marketing, wrote an excellent article summarizing the many ways she and others in St. Louis are using iPhones and a shoestring budget to promote the faith through video, pictures, social media, etc.

I love this section:

The production of each of these videos is something unseen in most other archdioceses across the country and for those of us who have been involved in their production; it has been a complete labor of love with an understanding that it is yet another way of getting out the messages of Christ.

One of the most amazing things we have been able to do is to use our iPhones as recording equipment.

When one or two of us go out on these “simple” video shoots, I’m always afraid the people on the other side of the “camera” are thinking we’re not prepared, or professionals, or something else along those lines. We show up with a tripod, lights from Home Depot, a battery-operated microphone, an iPhone and nothing else. We have everything we need, really.

It looks like there's another great opportunity for Catholics today; eCatholic, a company that helps parishes with their online presence, is hiring a sales and marketing rock star:

We are currently looking for someone to join our team in the unique role of eCatholic Evangelist. The goal of this position is to passionately, proactively, and creatively spread eCatholic to parishes, dioceses, and schools around the country. In short, we are looking for a sales and marketing rock star.

Read more details and apply on the eCatholic website.