Second Chair mark
LDW.BUILD presents · an A.I. back office

Second
Chair.

A staff for the church that can't hire.
With the Watchman: the box that watches the operation.
01 · The problem

Churches under 400 run on
a pastor plus volunteers.

The bulletin isn't late because you don't care. It's late because nobody was ever hired to do it.
01
The work isn't getting done, because nobody was hired to do it. The bulletin, the announcements, guest follow-up, volunteer texts. It doesn't disappear; it moves into a pastor's evenings.
02
Nobody can see the operation. Giving in one system, attendance in another, volunteers in a spreadsheet, streams on a platform. The numbers get looked at once a month, usually too late.
01 · The problem · a typical 120-attendance church is absorbing
23HRS
Every week
Unbudgeted admin labor
0.6FTE
Of a position
Nobody was hired for
$26,300
Per year
Labor nobody budgeted
That $26,300 is already on your books; it's just being paid in volunteer burnout. 68% of America's ~332,000 Protestant churches run under 100 people, and they will never be able to hire the back office they need.
02 · The insight

Churches don't need
another AI tool.
They need staff.

Everyone sells content tools. Nobody staffs the back office. You don't prompt Second Chair. You hire it.
The fork · two tools, two different problems

One does the work. One watches the operation.

Product one

Second Chair

The work isn't getting done, because nobody was hired to do it.

What it is
An assistant you name, plus the roles you need, working every week. It learns your church from your own sermons, site, and bulletins.
What you get
Finished drafts every Monday: announcements, guest follow-up, volunteer asks. Each shows its source. You approve; it never sends.
Who it's for
The church where the bulletin happens Sunday night and guests don't hear back.
How it arrives
You sign up and teach it. Nothing to install.
Price
$400/mo under 100 · $899/mo at 100–399. Founding churches lock $699/mo for 36 months. Cohort opens January 2027.
Product two

Watchman

You can't see what's happening until it's already a problem.

What it is
A small always-on device with one round screen, wired to the systems you already use. It watches overnight and puts your whole operation on one screen.
What you get
The Wall: giving, attendance, streams, volunteers, alerts, live. A morning brief only when something changed or needs a decision. The same instrument on your phone, with push alerts when a line is crossed.
Who it's for
The church whose numbers live in five places and get looked at once a month.
How it arrives
Hands-on install. We wire it to your systems and hand you the screen, the device, and the app.
Price
Priced per install, a handful of churches a year. Includes setup, ongoing care, and the mobile app.
Product one · Second Chair

An assistant you name, plus the
roles you need, working every week.

·
It arrives empty.It learns your church from your own sermons, site, and bulletins. Nothing else. When it lacks something, it asks instead of guessing.
·
Everything is cited.Each draft shows the sermon or page it came from, tappable to the exact line.
·
It gets to know you.It learns your taste by showing you real options, and from what you edit.
·
Nothing sends without you.There is no send button. Drafts only. It wears your logo, your colors, your name for it.
Product one · The weekly loop

Your queue fills at 3am Monday.
You approve it over coffee.

1
Arrive empty. Your staff knows nothing yet, and that's by design.
2
Teach it. Paste a sermon, or give it your website and let it study you.
3
It works before you wake. Announcements, guest follow-up, volunteer asks.
4
You approve. Four finished pieces, about ten minutes, then done.
Product one

Live demo.

Switch to the live app now.
Riverbend Community Church · sample data.
/riverbend
Concept render
Product two · Watchman

A small always-on device,
wired to the systems
you already use.

It watches overnight and puts your whole operation on one screen. Plus a morning brief, only when something changed, went stale, or needs a decision.
Concept render
Product two · What's inside

A Raspberry Pi 5, in a shell
we make ourselves.

Commodity hardware any tech person can service, one network cable, and the same numbers your team sees on the wall. Nothing exotic to break.
The Wall · actual product

Attendance, giving, and reach at a glance.

The Wall · actual product

Giving this week, year to date, against benchmark, and cash on hand.

The Wall · actual product

It tells you what's wrong before you ask.

App design
Product two · In your pocket

The same instrument,
on your phone.

Same numbers as the wall, never a different set. Push alerts only when something crosses a line. And it never pushes a pastoral emergency to a phone screen; a crisis goes to a person.
The covenant · governs both products

We run your back office.
We never touch the pulpit
or pastoral care.

Never the pulpit.No sermon writing. Sermons are used only so the voice sounds like you.
Never pastoral care.Counseling and care are human work.
Minors refused at the door.Children's data is rejected at ingestion, not redacted and kept.
Individual giving never shown.Only totals. Never who gave what.
Crisis goes to a person.Anything reading as self-harm or abuse routes to a human, no draft written.
Nothing sends without you.Drafts only, on both products. Enforced in code with a blocking test suite.
Which door is yours

Start with Second Chair

"It all falls on me and it's always late."
PainWork piling upFirst winA Monday queue of finished workTime to valueDays

Start with the Watchman

"I find out too late, every time."
PainFlying blindFirst winThe whole operation on one screenTime to valueThe install
Eventually most churches want both, and they pair well. But start with one.
The offer

Two doors, priced plainly.

The hire you can't afford is $45,000 a year. This starts at $4,800.
Second Chair
$400/mo under 100 · $899/mo at 100–399 · founding churches lock $699/mo for 36 months. Private cohort opens January 2027.
Watchman
Priced per install, a handful of churches a year. Includes setup and ongoing care. Discovery conversations now.
One call to action, for everyone in the room

Take the free
Church Staffing Report.

Fourteen questions, about four minutes, no card. It tells you which of the two problems you actually have.
Start the Staffing Report
SECOND CHAIR · WATCHMAN
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