Contact: Ann Goade, 972-924-3925

ANNA, Texas, Oct. 25, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Keeping children occupied during a church service has always been a challenge for parents. Ann Goade, mother of three, questioned whether coloring sheets were the best way to teach her children to actually listen and participate in the service. That's when she created Big Church Bingo, a phone app to encourage children to listen to what is being said during a church service by listening for key words used in the game.

To play, a grid of words you might hear in a worship service will appear randomly each game. As you hear a word, tap on it. The icon will darken (tap again to bring it back, if mistaken). Once you have five darkened icons in a row (horizontally, vertically or diagonally) you get a bingo. You may continue listening for the words to gain a blackout or choose a new game and start again.

Big Church Bingo© keeps track of points. Each bingo equals one point. Parents may choose to implement a reward system for points. For example, 1 point may earn a piece of gum or candy, 5 points may earn the privilege of choosing what's for dinner and 10 points may earn a date night with mom or dad. Families can be creative and have fun personalizing their reward system.

The word bank and icons can be customized. Add additional words you might hear that are not listed. Take pics and use for each word's icon. Searching for the right item to represent a word can be a fun, family activity. Children will be so excited to see their own smiling face representing the word children.

Big Church Bingo© is currently available in the itunes store for use on iphones, ipod touches and ipads. For more information, please visit bigchurchbingo.com.

Ann lives in Anna, TX with her husband, William, and their three children, Lawrence, Rachel and Gracie.