Jacksonville, FL
ThyWord launches on Ash Wednesday as a voice first prayer companion for the fastest growing segment of the wellness app market.
While meditation apps like Calm and Headspace have built a multi-billion dollar market around mindfulness, a massive audience has been largely overlooked: the 230 million Americans who identify as Christian and want a daily spiritual practice beyond Sunday morning worship.
ThyWord, launching today on the App Store and Google Play, is a voice first prayer companion that lets users speak their prayers naturally and receive a relevant Bible passage in response. It is designed for the millions of believers who want to pray more but struggle to maintain the habit in the middle of busy lives.
Joseph, a second time entrepreneur with years of experience in enterprise technology, sees an underserved market. "There are apps for meditation. Apps for journaling. Apps for sleep. But there has not been a simple, voice first tool that helps Christians pray every day. That is what we built."
The concept grew from Joseph's own experience. A father of four in Jacksonville, Florida, he found that his spiritual life had become limited to one hour on Sunday mornings. He calls it the "6 days between Sundays" problem, a pattern he believes most American Christians experience but rarely talk about.
Joseph's co-founder Bijees brings a deep understanding of how churches operate. He built ChapelDesk, a platform that helps churches of any denomination manage their online presence and stay connected with their congregations. Together, they represent an unusual combination:
enterprise technology experience and hands on church technology experience, both pointed at the same underserved audience.
What makes their partnership even more remarkable is a detail that neither of them planned. A verse from the book of Isaiah that Joseph had kept framed on his wall for years turned out to be the same verse Bijees had been carrying in his wallet. They discovered this only after deciding to build ThyWord together.
After years in enterprise technology, Joseph is now turning his attention to a personal mission. "My grandmother prayed every day of her life," he said. "I always wanted to live up to that, but I could never figure out how. ThyWord is my answer."
The app's launch timing is intentional. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period when Christians traditionally take on new spiritual disciplines. ThyWord is positioned as a daily companion for that journey and beyond.
Early feedback has been powerful. A schoolteacher that Bijees met at a parent conference, who was grieving the loss of her mother, told him after seeing what ThyWord does: "I wish I had this right now."
"That is exactly the person we are building for," Joseph said. "Someone who is going through something difficult and wants to connect with God but does not know where to start. You just speak. And the right Scripture finds you."
ThyWord is free to download and available on both iOS and Android. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida and is partnering with churches across the country to make the app available to congregations.
About ThyWord Inc.
ThyWord Inc. is a Jacksonville based company building a voice first prayer companion app for Christians. Founded by Ajith Joseph and Bijees, two seasoned technology entrepreneurs and fathers who wanted to build something that helps people stay close to God every day.
Headquartered at 245 Riverside Avenue, Suite 100, Jacksonville, FL 32202. Learn more at thywordapp.com.
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