Brief Summary
This episode of the Lila Rose Show features Alex Jones, the founder of Hallow, a leading prayer app. Alex shares his personal journey from agnosticism back to Catholicism, detailing the inspiration and development of Hallow. He discusses the app's mission to help people deepen their relationship with Jesus, its impact on users, and the challenges and blessings of leading a faith-based technology company. The conversation also explores the meaning of holiness, the role of celebrities in evangelization, and the importance of surrendering to God's will.
- Alex Jones shares his journey from agnosticism to founding Hallow, a leading prayer app.
- Hallow's mission is to help people deepen their relationship with Jesus through prayer and scripture.
- The app has reached millions, offering a variety of prayer and meditation resources.
- Alex discusses the challenges and blessings of leading a faith-based tech company.
- The conversation explores themes of holiness, evangelization, and surrendering to God's will.
Intro
Lila Rose introduces Alex Jones, the founder of Hallow, highlighting the app's success with over 300 million prayers prayed. She praises Alex and his family and expresses excitement to discuss Hallow, his leadership approach, and the company's impact as a leading Catholic technology firm. Alex expresses his gratitude and acknowledges the importance of Lila's work.
How did Hallow start?
Alex recounts his journey from being raised Catholic to falling away from the faith in high school and college, considering himself agnostic or atheist. He describes his initial fascination with secular meditation through apps like Headspace and Calm, which led him to explore Christian spirituality. This exploration prompted him to seek guidance from priests and religious figures, questioning the intersection between meditation and faith.
Discovering Meditation
Priests told Alex that meditation and faith have been intertwined for over 2,000 years through prayer. He initially viewed prayer as merely expressing thanks, apologies, and requests, but a priest challenged him to consider listening to God. This led Alex to discover contemplative and meditative prayer practices within the Church, such as Lexio Divina, Ignatian spirituality, and the Rosary.
intro - imagine prayer
Alex shares his experience with Lexio Divina, where he meditated on the word "hallow" from Luke 11, which is where the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. This experience profoundly impacted him, bringing him back to his faith and leading him to quit his job and start Hallow. The app was initially created for personal use but expanded as friends and family began using it.
How many hours has been prayed on Hallow?
Alex shares the app has facilitated over 750 million prayers, with users actively engaging in prayer sessions. This equates to more time spent in prayer on the app than has passed since Jesus's time. The app features prayers in eight languages and is used in over 150 countries, excluding China due to their restrictions on religious expression.
Good Ranchers
Lila Rose promotes Good Ranchers, a company that provides meat sourced 100% from American farms and ranches. She highlights their seed oil-free chicken nuggets and offers a special deal for listeners, including a free add-on for a year and $25 off the first order with the code "Lila".
What’s the end game w/ Hallow?
Alex expresses his belief in the transformative power of prayer, envisioning a world where everyone seeks God's guidance daily. He hopes Hallow can play a role in building God's kingdom by helping people find peace, meaning, and purpose. He also shares his aspiration for Hallow to contribute to someone's journey to becoming a saint.
What does it mean to be holy or a saint?
Lila Rose pauses the conversation to clarify the meaning of "saint" and "holy" for a diverse audience, including non-Catholics. Alex explains that Hallow aims to help anyone deepen their relationship with Jesus, regardless of their Christian background. He shares a story about an Evangelical woman who uses Hallow extensively, focusing on scripture meditation.
Jesus Changes Everything
Alex emphasizes that growing in holiness involves giving more of one's heart to the Lord. He references an image of a girl offering her heart to Jesus, symbolizing the desire to dedicate one's life to Him. He acknowledges his own struggles with worldly attachments and the ongoing process of conversion.
Hallow
Lila Rose promotes Hallow's Pray40 challenge for Lent, featuring narrations by Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, Jonathan Roumie, and Sister Miriam James. She encourages listeners to sign up for free at hallow.com/lila to deepen their relationship with God during Lent.
Family Prayers
Lila Rose and Alex discuss the challenges and joys of family prayer, particularly with young children. They share anecdotes about using Hallow's kids' content, including stories of saints, and the importance of framing these stories in the context of eternal life. Alex reflects on the presence of the crucifixion in churches and the need to be honest with children about the realities of faith.
Raised $50million in one day
Alex reflects on the growth of Hallow over six years, during which he got married and had three children. He shares that the business now has 100 full-time employees and has raised $105 million. He emphasizes the importance of his wife and faith in balancing family and work. Alex shares that despite raising $50 million in one day, his daughter hugging him was a better moment.
We Heart Nutrition
Lila Rose promotes Weart Nutrition, a family-owned vitamin and supplement company that donates 10% of its revenue to Pregnancy Resource Centers. She highlights their customized vitamin packages for different stages of life and offers a 20% discount with the code "Lila" at weartnutrition.com.
Alex’s Spiritual Director
Alex discusses his spiritual director, who advises him to prioritize silence, the Rosary, and daily Mass. The director emphasizes that these practices should lead to love and service. He encourages Alex to focus on daily acts of love towards his wife rather than grand gestures.
Living “in the pocket”
Alex shares an analogy from Kevin James about living "in the pocket," referring to moments when things are difficult and challenging. He explains that these moments are opportunities to grow in love and deny one's own anger and frustration. He emphasizes the importance of striving to be a better husband and demonstrating Christian love in daily life.
What’s it like being CEO of Hallow?
Alex discusses his role as CEO of Hallow, focusing on product and content development. He emphasizes the importance of building a world-class app and content, aiming to be the best in the world, not just within the faith community. Alex shares a story about a design student who converted after using Hallow, highlighting the app's intuitive design.
Praying after initial failure
Alex recounts the challenges of raising the initial seed round for Hallow, facing numerous rejections and feeling stressed and inadequate. He describes praying and making a deal with God, promising to give Him credit for any success and accepting failure as His will. The next day, he received an offer from a key investor, leading to a successful fundraising round.
Real Prayer
Alex shares insights from mystics like St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, emphasizing the importance of the interior life and growing closer to Jesus. He describes St. Teresa's analogy of the interior castle, where the soul moves closer to Jesus at the center. Alex highlights that real prayer is better than worldly pleasures and involves a radical change in life.
Celebrities in Hallow?
Lila Rose raises the topic of Hallow's use of celebrities, addressing concerns about mixing spirituality with business and influence. Alex defends the partnerships, highlighting Mark Wahlberg's positive impact and ability to reach a wider audience. He explains that Hallow's decision to operate as a startup allows it to take risks and reach those who are not actively seeking Christian content.
Parable of Coins
Alex shares the story of the Parable of the Talents, emphasizing the importance of using one's gifts and talents for God's kingdom. He explains that Hallow's mission is to reach those who have fallen away from the faith, and partnerships with celebrities like Mark Wahlberg help achieve this goal. Alex emphasizes that the core of Hallow is about helping people grow deeper in their spiritual lives.
Super Bowl commercial
Alex discusses Hallow's Super Bowl commercial, explaining that the decision to simply pray during the ad was a way to reach those who may not have prayed in a while. He shares that despite the economic risks, the commercial was ultimately successful. Alex encourages listeners to find Hallow on app stores and thanks Lila Rose for the conversation.
