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Pros
Gloo is here to make you successful whether it is reaching your community or staying in communication with your own congregation. It's simple to use and very effective.
We've been using it since it was Thryve and have loved seeing such amazing improvements. It was also a huge blessing to have it be free for quite some time during Covid.
It's a great resource for reaching the congregation and community. It has been very easy to navigate and the support team is great.
The features and community have really resonated with me, and I believe it has a lot to offer. I love sharing my positive experiences and encouraging others to check it out.
Cons
The contact groups and integrations can sometimes get messy.
Some explorers were confused when I contacted them. I am not sure how to fix that.
I don't get many replies. No visitors have come from the new mover mailers.
I am not using 10% what I need to be using and that is a problem.
Showing Most Helpful
Showing 25 of 72 reviews
"Gloo is Great! "
Overall: Overall, we love how we can send texts to people in our congregation easily whether they are in LifeGroups, Young Adult Ministry, Men's Ministry or anything else. We love using Gloo over emails because people tend to actually respond and check their texts so it is so much more efficient than sending emails.
Pros: Compared to other texting systems, what we love most about Gloo is that we never run out of credits for the month and our texts can be as long as we want and include pictures and gifs and memos!
Cons: The integration with Planning Center isn't always perfect. Although we have found some work arounds, the integration with Planning Center has some glitches.
"Made for ministry and a ministry budget"
Overall: We switched to Gloo from a texting platform that was charging us for every little thing and was really geared towards marketing, not churches. At that time we had a free plan on Gloo for our kid's ministry at our church. I was thrilled that I could use a platform with so many features for free! Adding the Gloo+ membership to get more groups and add subaccounts for other ministries in my church was huge! Now can we have something for newsletters? :) I would love a newsletter platform that is designed for Churches and non-profits.
Pros: Affordability, and that it's geared toward churches and not marketing like many other platforms.
Cons: It has so many features that it can be confusing for new users that aren't computer-savvy.
"Maybe too early to tell"
Overall: As a text blast tool, it's great. I have not seen any fruit from it's use, though. I don't get many replies. No visitors have come from the new mover mailers. Few explorer's issues are fully resolved before they just stop responding to messages. I feels like I can use Gloo to dispense information to my congregation, but little else. It's been about four months. Maybe it's still too early to tell...
Pros: It's really easy to connect with my congregation and I love that texting is free.
Cons: I keep having issues with notifications. I am currently in the third time of not receiving notifications when someone sends a message. Seems to primarily be a mobile app issues.
"Gloo is working great for us: happy campers :-)"
Overall: I've had a Gloo account for YEARS but never had a use for it. He Gets Us opened up an opportunity for us primary to connect with Explorers. The Explorer feature opened up an opportunity for use to see how we could use Gloo's features in the context of using texting within our church. The journey we have been on with Gloo this past several years has been challenging has we navigated the platform and process changes, but overall, it has been worth it! And thank you for working with us on the price, that is a factor.
Pros: LOVE the opportunity we have to connect with Explorers! Even if we only build a relationship with a few, it has kept our team's focus on reaching our community for Christ. REALLY LIKE the texting engagement! You have made it easy create keywords and manage them with workflows.
Cons: Understanding the functionality between the desktop platform and the app is not for the weak at heart. It can be difficult to train users. You've done a good job with the online resources, but the messaging, people, discover, and measure features I'm still trying to navigate. I'm still trying to figure out when to use a 1+ in the US and when I can just use the 10-digit number. It seems like I sometimes get a response from a different number than I text. This could be a carrier issue or an issue with handling Explorer conversations vs inhouse connections.
"All churches should give it a try! "
Overall: Very responsive and proactive texting platform.
Pros: Very user-friendly. Much easier to put data in, edit, etc. than other user platforms. Wish we had converted sooner.
Cons: Did not quite understand the text message "counter." But - reached out to customer service and they were tremendous help.
"It’s a Ministry Time Savor"
Overall: I tell every pastor I know about gloo. I’ve used texting services for years and no one can compare. I love the resources, the explorers, the scheduling and follow through texts I can send. It has truly been a life saver for me. I use to spend hours texting and now I can personalize texts to groups but only write one text.
Pros: The ease of sending messages to one or many from my phone and scheduling for a later time and day. I love getting names of people in need from my community so I can help
Cons: It’s hard to think of any. We love it and all my staff uses it which is the only program they feel confident to use
"Don't wait! Get gloo NOW!"
Overall: I waited a year to try this even after I was offered a year to use it free of charge. Even though I missed out on that generous offer, I again checked out gloo and not only received another great deal with no contracts, but found the best customer service from this company I've ever received anywhere. Gloo is here to make you successful whether it is reaching your community or staying in communication with your own congregation. It's simple to use and very effective!
Pros: I liked Gloo's low cost to use! I couldn't afford NOT to use this system!
Cons: Haven't found anything I don't like yet.
"Gloo Helps Us Communicate"
Pros: The ease of communicating with potential guests to our church
Cons: The limitations of integrations with Facebook, organizing groups, and ease of moving people around.
"Gloo is vastly improving our communication! "
Overall: Gloo has been an excellent addition to our communication tool belt. It is a well thought out platform with excellent features built making it easy to create a thoughtful communication plan.
Pros: Gloo is very user friendly. It integrates seamlessly with Planning Center making it easy to create lists and target groups to communicate with. Excellent customer service…The Gloo Team met with us personally via Zoom to discuss features and answer questions. The built in workflows and guidance on when/how to communicate with newcomers is thoughtful and improving the way we personalize our comms.
Cons: It took some time to learn the terminology.
"Higher Discipleship Capabilities"
Overall: Gloo has helped us connect more frequently with our congregation because we are able to send so many more messages than with our previous system for the same cost!
Pros: Continually updating feature. Customer service has been great! The (virtually) unlimited texts for the price is fantastic!
Cons: Every so often there are minor outages to systems we have setup, but customer support has been great to work with and corrected issues quickly!
"A Must-Have Tool for Church Communication"
Overall: As a pastor, I have spent a considerable amount of time searching for the right church texting app, and after trying several options, Gloo stands out as the best. We opted for Gloo Plus, but even the free version covers 90% of what the other paid apps offer. Gloo enables us to reach our congregation effortlessly, and after all, isn’t the Kingdom about reaching people? This platform provides a level of professionalism without requiring a technical expert. Straight out of the box, it’s easy to navigate and communicate with large groups. One of the standout features is the wealth of resources aimed at increasing both our knowledge of the product and our faith. Gloo also excels at engaging those who are actively looking for a church, and it’s packed with the tools necessary to keep everyone informed and connected. We won’t stop using Gloo – you can quote me on that!
Pros: its ease of use and professionalism without needing an expert. The platform is packed with tools to engage your congregation and those seeking a church, along with resources that boost both your knowledge of the product and your faith. Plus, the free version offers nearly everything other paid apps do.
Cons: Not to many cons. Other than there is so much info you can go down a rabbit how taking in all the knowledge. Not sure that’s a con.
"Fantastic with a Side of Awesome - Highly Recommended for Church Texting"
Overall: Overall, we’ve had a really positive experience with Gloo. They’ve got a solid mix of free and paid features, and top-notch customer support—a team of superheroes on standby, always ready to save the day. They’ve kept things running smoothly, and they’re always quick to help when needed. In short: great service, excellent support, just a couple of bumps along the way.
Pros: Using Gloo is like walking into a bakery and they just give you a warm croissant. No strings attached. You think, “There’s gotta be a catch, right?” Nope! You get a handful of great features without even opening your wallet. It’s like a taste test of awesomeness. But then—THEN—you start seeing the paid features. And it’s like being offered whipped cream with that croissant for a very reasonable price. You don’t need it, but do you want it? Heck yeah! You might find yourself thinking, “Take my money, I’m sold.” And let me talk about customer support for a second—oh boy! It’s like they’ve gathered the friendliest humans on earth, handed them capes, and said, "Go forth, and help the people!" They’re always there, texting you back quicker than your best friend, ready to fix things. And they ACTUALLY follow up. You know those support bots that make you want to throw your phone into the ocean? Not here. These folks actually care (yes, I said it). Gloo gives churches the option to text your contacts directly through the website and/or app. I mean, come on, that’s basically like being handed a magic wand to organize your communications. Imagine texting all your important people, without even leaving the app or paying a penny. It’s like they've consolidated your life into one neat, manageable app. And I’m here for it. One more cool feature: if you want, they'll connect you with people who are reaching out to the church for help. People search online when they're feeling down, see an ad, and use it to communicate. Gloo sends them your way. They call them Explorers. Now you can have text conversation with a new person who is literally asking the church for help. So, in short: free? Yes. Extra options for a fee? Also yes, but worth it. Customer support? Superheroes, really. Texting ability? Game-changer. What are you waiting for? Get on this train before it leaves the station!
Cons: There's an elephant in the room—they took away the rolling dates broadcast feature. And honestly, I’m still not over it. This was the holy grail for following up with guests. It was like having a personal assistant who knew exactly when each guest first attended your church and would gently remind you to check in with them at the perfect time, calling them by name, communicating with them over time. Now? It’s like that assistant quit, and you’re left staring at a calendar, trying to remember when Guest McFirstTimer first showed up (was it last Sunday? Or three Sundays ago? Did he even come at all?!). Now I have to manually follow up, which feels like using a rotary phone in a world of smartphones. Sigh. If you never knew the rolling dates feature existed, you’re probably fine. But if you did, like me, you’re likely sitting here, shaking your fist at the sky, wishing for the good ol’ days when it was available. For free. It was so good, and now it’s gone, like a great TV show canceled after one season.
"Life-changing Connections."
Overall: Over the past year, Gloo has enabled me to connect with a large number of people who are looking for support as they face various challenges in their lives. Many of these connections resulted in long-term mentoring relationships. Gloo has provided the means and resources to touch people's lives in a meaningful way, and I recommend this service to anyone who wants to do the same.
Pros: Gloo provides an effective, easy-to-use system that connects people looking for support with people who can help. They provide tools to easily communicate with staff and explorers, and keep their information organized
Cons: I can't think of any aspect of this service that I am unhappy with.
"Great app for us!"
Overall: Overall, I love it. It is reliable and clean in its presentation of what I send.
Pros: The fact that if the recipient of a text wishes to answer, I and the only one who gets those.
Cons: I wish I could send a memo in the ios version of the app.
"Dr. Dave Pafford - Nexus Church"
Overall: Overall, it's been a very positive experience. I've worked with large budgets before but because we are a church plant, we have to be creative and work with free or almost free resources. I have the ability to go back and forth in that respective with a service like Gloo.
Pros: We've leveraged the use of Gloo versus other text services because it started out as a free service. We like the team, mobile, and desktop features.
Cons: Gloo doesn't allow very large picture or video files. It's limiting in that regard.
"So much more than a texting service"
Overall: I've been using it for about 4 months now. The app is helpful to give quick responses to people who respond to broadcasts.
Pros: Gloo+ Texting makes it easy to integrate more than just texts. I can incorporate longer messages, compose documents (memos), have automatic responses based on respondents words.
Cons: Asking for people's whole name and email automatically. Some people don't want to give email and full name.
"Gloo is "A Game Changer" "
Overall: I’m a huge fan of Gloo+ and often tell others about it! The features and community have really resonated with me, and I believe it has a lot to offer. I love sharing my positive experiences and encouraging others to check it out. It's a platform that I truly believe can make a difference for many people. Please do no go up in price!
Pros: I really appreciated the free texting and broadcast feature. It made it incredibly easy to stay connected with others and share important updates or messages quickly. This functionality enhanced communication and helped build a sense of community. Additionally, I found the tech support to be quick and very helpful. Whenever I had questions or encountered issues, the support team was responsive and knowledgeable, which made my experience much smoother. Their assistance gave me confidence in using the platform fully
Cons: While I found the onboarding process to be somewhat easy and cool, I think it would have been even better with the support of an onboarding specialist. As a tech-savvy person, I managed to get through it, but having someone available to guide users through the features and setup would make the experience smoother for everyone. It would help ensure that all users feel confident and supported right from the start. I am not using 10% what I need to be using and that is a problem.
"I love Gloo"
Overall: Overall I love Gloo and it was an almost seamless transition from Text in Church. Still missing a few features that I need added then I can leave TIC for good. Right now still using both.
Pros: The ease to send communications and setup groups.
Cons: I dont have the ability to select multiple messages and mark them all as read.
"Great texting app for churches and non-profits! "
Overall: We've been using it since it was Thryve and have loved seeing such amazing improvements. It was also a huge blessing to have it be free for quite some time during Covid.
Pros: Affordable, always being improved, lots of ways to do more in the community through outreach.
Cons: That it syncs ALL groups from CCB, even those archived for a long time.
"Regretting our decision to move over to Gloo."
Overall: We regret switching from Text in Church. We were sold on the idea that it would always be free, but we had no idea there was a free side and a paid side. If you are considering switching, I would take three months to test it before switching.
Pros: I like the amount of text we can put in a single text. That amount is 4 times what we could put in our last text system.
Cons: I find the web interface is glitchy, and depending on what browser you pick, some features do not work.
"WBW Gloo Experience"
Overall: Overall, my experience with gloo is enjoyable.
Pros: I like receiving referrals from gloo. Also, that we have the ability to decline a referral.
Cons: I think the broadcast feature could be more user friendly.
"Gloo Is Amazing!!!"
Overall: Gloo is an amazing piece of software, suites the needs of our cord as we have many campuses. I believe once we’re finished vetting we purchase Gloo+. Ib have recommended to many friends and colleagues.
Pros: We’re currently vetting GLOO, however it, by far surpasses the other texting services for churches
Cons: Technical glitches in the software. The platform was changed, but some of the interface OS still the same.
"Solid texting alternative "
Overall: Over all my experience is very favorable. I like the features I have.
Pros: Ease of use, they keep improving the platform to make it easier to use. Great and easy way to connect with people.
Cons: Cost. I wish they would setup up the subscription progress. Instead of paying the full amount for everything, to pay to the level you need.
"Love it and more to be added"
Overall: Good - Wish more premade templates - Works and use it all the time
Pros: Free version is great but limited great tool for connection
"Don't wait, sign up with Gloo"
Overall: Customer service has been outstanding! Any help we need has been easily available.
Pros: A wide array of features that help our Church and individual ministries. The free messaging is a BIG deal too.
Cons: It took a little while to learn to navigate. But seems to be getting better.