Church conflict doesn’t always begin with division, it often begins with disconnection.

That’s something Brent Long, CEO and System Architect of SteepleMate, understands deeply. After decades of working with churches both small and large, he saw a common thread: when people stopped praying with each other, they started talking about each other.

“You’d be surprised how many problems disappear when people pray together,” Brent says. “Prayer changes the heart. And hearts that are aligned in prayer are slower to divide.”

In many churches, prayer requests are tacked onto the end of a service, briefly mentioned and quickly forgotten. Brent knew that had to change.

“A prayer request isn’t just a need - it’s an invitation into someone’s story,” he says. “When someone shares a burden with their church, it should be treated with dignity, not reduced to a bullet point.”

This conviction shaped one of SteepleMate’s earliest features: the digital prayer wall. It allows members to share prayer requests online or on-site, keep them updated in real time, and track answered prayers - all within a secure, respectful platform.

Churches often struggle to cultivate spaces where people feel safe enough to be real. SteepleMate is designed to lower those barriers and raise spiritual trust.

“We’ve heard from churches where people never shared publicly before,” Brent explains. “But when they could submit something from their phone, or walk up to a kiosk in the lobby, they finally opened up.”

It’s that anonymity-meets-accessibility that has made a powerful difference - especially for newer members or those navigating private battles.

One of the most understated benefits of shared prayer is its ability to redirect conversations.

“Gossip fades in a prayerful church,” Brent says plainly. “Because when you're carrying someone’s burden, you can’t easily criticize them. You're interceding, not interfering.”

According to Brent, churches using SteepleMate’s prayer tools often see a notable decline in interpersonal tension - and a surge in intentional connection.

“When people see their name on the prayer feed and realize their church is praying for them… that kind of love is unforgettable,” he says.

Brent is the first to admit that software isn’t the solution to every church problem. But when designed with intention, it can become the vehicle for the solution.

“We don’t replace relationship - we support it,” he says. “Our goal is to make sharing, praying, and following up feel natural, so trust can be built without friction.”

Through automatic notifications, leader dashboards, and small group syncing, SteepleMate ensures that no request falls through the cracks - and every prayer has the potential to start a deeper conversation.

At the core, Brent’s philosophy is simple: churches don’t need more programs. They need more heart.

“When someone knows they’ve been prayed for, they feel seen by both their community and by God,” Brent says. “And when that becomes the culture? That’s when the real healing starts.”