diff --git a/pecan/deploy.py b/pecan/deploy.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..36218d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pecan/deploy.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+from configuration import set_config, import_module, _runtime_conf as conf
+
+def deploy(config_module_or_path):
+    set_config(config_module_or_path)
+    for module in getattr(conf.app, 'modules'):
+        try:
+            module_app = import_module('%s.app' % module.__name__)
+            if hasattr(module_app, 'setup_app'):
+                return module_app.setup_app(conf)
+        except ImportError:
+            continue
+
+    raise Exception, 'No app.setup_app found in any of the configured app.modules'
+