Rendezvous Homeschool Family Retreat
Event website, family registration, and native iOS & Android apps — schedule, year chat, family directory, and staff check-in for the week at Lake Williamson
Next gathering May 3–7, 2027 · Lake Williamson Christian Center, Carlinville, IL
The Challenge
The Problem
Rendezvous needed more than a brochure site. Families register months ahead, then live the week on campus — they needed a modern registration platform and native apps for schedule, chat, directory, and check-in once they arrived.
Key Issues
- • No centralized registration or lodging calculator
- • Manual payment tracking and thin admin visibility
- • Outdated design and poor mobile experience
- • No on-campus app for schedule, chat, or family directory
- • Staff check-in stuck on paper / ad-hoc tools
Previous Site
The Solution
We built rendezvousil.com as the registration and admin hub, then shipped native iOS and Android apps that share the same Turso data, Clerk accounts, schedule API, and year chat — so families register on the web and live the retreat week on their phones.
6-Step Registration Form
Intuitive multi-step form guiding families through registration, lodging selection, merchandise options, additional preferences, and payment.
- ✓ Progressive disclosure design
- ✓ Form validation & error handling
- ✓ Mobile-optimized experience
Dynamic Cost Calculator
Real-time pricing calculator with multiple lodging options (Motel, RV, Tent Camping) and age-based pricing for children.
- ✓ Multiple lodging tiers
- ✓ Age-based pricing
- ✓ Instant cost breakdown
Fully Responsive Design
The platform is optimized for all devices, ensuring families can easily register from smartphones, tablets, or desktops.
Features
- ✓ Mobile-first design
- ✓ Touch-friendly inputs
Performance
- ✓ Fast loading
- ✓ Optimized images
Admin Dashboard
Event Management
- ✓ Real-time registration tracking
- ✓ Payment status monitoring
- ✓ Health information management
- ✓ Volunteer coordination system
- ✓ Email communications hub
- ✓ Data export capabilities
Key Metrics
- ✓ Total registrations: 100+
- ✓ Payment status breakdown
- ✓ Family member tracking
- ✓ Session preferences
- ✓ Lodging assignments
- ✓ Merchandise inventory
Native iOS & Android apps
The same family accounts that register on the web unlock a five-tab companion app for retreat week — Home day board, year chat, live schedule, family directory, and More (volunteering, FAQ, staff tools).
Live day board (Home)
Configurable sections: check-in status, now/next, weather, announcements, next meal, chat unread, and volunteering — driven by the same home-board API as the web ops tools.
Year chat
Group channels with unread badges, photo messages, polls, reactions, and Ably realtime — push to linked family accounts so parents don’t miss announcements.
Schedule & map
DB-backed daily schedule with meal menus, worship volunteer slots, and venue map pins. Admins edit once on the web; apps refresh without an App Store release.
Directory & staff check-in
Browse the family directory, manage your card, and — for staff — role-gated check-in (including QR on Android) plus admin dashboards from More.
One stack, three clients
Web, iOS (SwiftUI), and Android (Jetpack Compose) all talk to the same Next.js APIs — Clerk auth, Turso data, Resend email, Ably chat, Venmo payment workflow, and Vercel Blob for photos. Family account linking means spouses and teens share directory and chat access after registration emails match.
- ✓ Shared schedule JSON — no app update for mid-week edits
- ✓ Express re-registration for returning families
- ✓ Check-in role for station tablets and phones
- ✓ Platform activity tracked (web / iOS / Android)
Results & Impact
Families Registered
Registration Steps
Admin Features
Native apps (iOS + Android)
Key Achievements
Successfully streamlined event registration with an intuitive multi-step form that reduced confusion and improved completion rates. Families can calculate lodging costs upfront and return via express registration the next year.
On campus, the native apps carry the week — schedule, year chat, directory, and staff check-in — while organizers keep using the web admin for meals, volunteers, audit, and Live Updates TVs.
Technologies Used
Frontend
- • Next.js 16 (App Router)
- • React 19 · TypeScript
- • Tailwind CSS
- • shadcn/ui
- • SwiftUI (iOS) · Compose (Android)
Backend & Database
- • Turso (libSQL / SQLite)
- • Clerk (families + staff roles)
- • Server Actions & API routes
- • Vercel hosting
- • Cloudflare DNS
Integrations & Tools
- • Resend email
- • Ably (year chat realtime)
- • Venmo payment workflow
- • Vercel Blob (photos)
- • Admin audit + check-in
Ready to Build Your Platform?
Whether you need an event registration system, web application, or custom software solution, let's discuss how we can help your organization succeed.