A Christian accountability app built on a shared rule of life

Ordo is a Christian accountability app for small groups. A few people write a rule of life together, then each day write a short reflection, respond to the day’s scripture and check in on their commitments. Reflections stay hidden until everyone has written, then open at once. Ordo does not monitor devices.

Two different things called “accountability apps”

If you search for a Christian accountability app, most of what you find is software for internet accountability. These tools usually run on a phone or computer, watch browsing or screen activity, and send a report to a chosen partner, often to help someone resist pornography. Many people have been genuinely helped by them, and for that particular struggle they can be a sensible part of a wider plan with a pastor, counsellor or trusted friend.

Ordo is a different kind of tool. It does not install a filter, read your browsing or report what you do on your device. The accountability it supports is the older kind found in Wesley’s class meetings and in covenant discipleship groups: a few people agree how they will follow Christ, then regularly and honestly say how it is going. If you are looking for device monitoring, Ordo is not that. If you are looking for a way to keep faith with a small group, read on.

What to look for in an accountability app for Christians

• Honesty over performance. If people can read everyone else’s answers before writing their own, answers drift toward what sounds faithful. Look for a design that protects candour.
• A small, private group. Accountability works with three to six people who know one another, not a public feed or a large audience.
• Shared commitments you can name. It helps to write down what you have agreed to, so the check-in has something specific to answer to.
• Grace for missed days. Streaks and badges turn a bad week into a score. Christian practice has always expected falling short, and beginning again.
• Clear privacy. You should know exactly who can read what you write.

How Ordo works for an accountability group

1. Invite a few people. Groups are invitation-only. There is no public profile and no feed.
2. Write your rule of life together. Ordo’s rule has six parts: scripture, prayer, reflection, absence, accountability areas and review. Each member can name personal accountability areas, and the group chooses a light, moderate or deep weight. See what a rule of life is if the idea is new.
3. Keep the day. Each day asks three small things: write a reflection on the prompt, read the scripture and respond, and check in on your commitments. It takes about ten minutes if given honestly.
4. The reveal. Reflections are held until every member has written, then released to everyone at once. No one can read ahead or shape their words to match.
5. Review each season. Ordo follows the church year, and at the close of each season you receive a formation letter drawn from your reflections, a natural point to ask whether your rule still fits.

Many groups pair this daily rhythm with a weekly or fortnightly conversation in person or by video. Our guide to running a Christian accountability group covers size, confidentiality and the quiet ways groups go wrong, and there is a separate list of accountability questions to ask.

Who it is for

Ordo is made for theologically serious Christians across traditions. Anglican and Lutheran groups often find the church year and the Daily Office familiar ground. Reformed and Presbyterian groups tend to value the weight given to scripture and to honest self-examination. Catholic and Orthodox Christians will recognise the rule of life and the Jesus Prayer, though Ordo follows the Western calendar. Pentecostal, Baptist and non-denominational groups can weight their rule lightly and keep it simple. It suits men’s and women’s groups, friends from the same congregation, and pastors who want peers to be honest with.

If it is just you and one or two others, see the page on Ordo as an accountability partner app. For a larger midweek group, see Ordo for small groups.

How Ordo differs

Ordo does not monitor anything. It cannot tell your group what you looked at, and it will not try. What it asks for is a few honest lines each day, offered freely to people who have offered theirs. That is a weaker safeguard against a specific temptation than a filter, and a stronger habit of truthfulness than most of us have on our own. Some people will want both.

There are also no streaks, badges, red dots or notifications telling you that you have been away too long. Eight companion creatures keep watch while the day still asks something of you, and rest once it is kept. Ordo will be here when you return. It is in beta on iPhone; join the waitlist to start a group.