Most people today have a smartphone or a tablet (many people like me have both). iPhones and tablets can be used for much more than checking Facebook and playing games, there are several useful apps for spiritual growth and pastoral care. Below are four apps I use almost daily for my personal growth and duties as a pastor.  I hope this list is helpful, but please know that it is not exhaustive as there are hundreds or thousands of useful apps for the daily christian walk.

YouVersion Bible App: 

You Version is an incredible Bible app published and given away by LifeChurch.tv, out of Oklahoma. Life Church (pastored by Craig Groeschel) is one of the largest churches in America. Their innovation and creativity have led to some great resources for smaller churches (like HBC) and Christians around the world. The Bible App is one of their best products, which they give away for free.

Since launching in 2008, YouVersion has been installed 209,418,150 times offering 1,228 available versions of Scripture  in 895 languages. It also offers hundreds of Bible reading plans, including the Professor Horner Reading Plan which is what I personally use. The reading plans range from short 3-day devotionals to “Bible in a year” plans.  If reading or listening to Scripture on your smartphone/tablet is something that works for you, I recommend doing it on the YouVersion Bible app. To learn more about YouVersion or to download the app click here

Right Now Media:

HBC has used Right Now Media since February 2014, one of the best ways to describe it is “the NETFLIX for Bible Studies.” The great thing about RNM is that it is a video streaming service for thousands of Bible Studies, you don’t have to download the videos or purchase them individually. Right Now Media covers a wide array of topics, suited for just about anyone. Bible Studies are not the only thing RNM provides, they also have Christian conferences & customizable training videos. This resource  empowers Community Group leaders with videos immediately available for ministry or personal growth, it also eliminates the need for ordering DVD’s. The company continues to release new studies & resources to keep their content fresh.  Because HBC has a subscription anyone associated with our church has free access to any of the videos available, all you need to do is email the church office with your name & email address and we can get you access to this incredible resource. For more information on Right Now Media click here.

Prayer Mate:

Prayer Mate is a unique app made for organizing prayer.  Some people may not be up for using their tablet or smartphone while they pray but this app simply organizes your prayer life. Personally for me it allows me to pray for everyone on the church by name as well as the requests that come in every Sunday through the bulletins and the prayer wall. Prayer Mate also brings topical prayers to mind (salvation of family & friends, Syrian refugee Crisis, freedom of for Pastor Saeed, etc.). I like to pray Scripture as well and Prayer mate will bring up my favorite passages to pray through.

As a pastor, one of my duties is to pray for the church with consistency and “without ceasing”  but for a “scatter brain” like me this can be difficult. I have always carried a notebook for prayers and requests, but this app works as a reminder for me while I am in prayer. It gives me names, topics, and events that I have committed to prayer. I recommend it to anyone who is open to using a tablet or iPhone while in prayer & needs help in remembering their prayers. For more information on Prayer Mate click here or here. Available for free on Apple or Android devices.

Verses: 

Verses is a Bible memory app (currently only available for iPhone & iPad).  For me, this is the best way to memorize Scripture. The app uses  games  which progressively get more difficult and requiring you to learn the verse or verses you have chosen. Finally, to master the verse you have to write it out (typing the first letter of each word in the verse). It also  reminds you to continue studying your memorizes verses with their “health bars.” It’s a fun and creative way to memorize Scripture. The progression is quicker using the app, rather than writing them out or making flash cards. I enjoy using several different types of approaches to the memorization. Often times if you see me looking at my iPhone, I am playing one of the Verses games. Typically, I work through the verses app and complete all the games in the app and then I write them in my notebook to ensure that I have really memorized them. Recently they updated the app which now allows users to make collections and “discover” which is simply collections of verses other users have worked through. I have not used “discover” much but it seems to be their approach at connecting  Bible memory with social media. To learn more about verses click here  to watch a short video click here to download verses click here.

Wrap Up:

The apps listed above are certainly helpful, but they do not replace daily prayer and a submission to God’s word. Some people may not want to include smartphones or tablets in their devotion, but for me it helps to stay organized. Without a doubt the one I use the most is the YouVersion Bible app. Which ones do you use? If I left one of your favorites out, please let me know and  I’ll update the list.