My 10 Best Smartphone Apps for Ministry

Regardless of your platform, there are some great apps for ministry on your smartphone.  I'm on Android, but many of these apps are on many platforms, so go look for them in your apps' store, market, marketplace, catalog, or world.  (These are in no particular order.)

1. BIBLE by youversion.com (Lifechurch.tv)

 What has the world come to that I have 15 Bibles on a shelf behind me, and I rarely open one?  No, I'm not boycotting the Word of God.  This app is just amazing.  Available on every smartphone platform, this app has almost every version of the Bible you can think of.  You can search for keywords or verses, bookmark, highlight, write notes, and share to social media.  It also has reading plans to help you read through your Bible or read for devotions.  Go get it.  It's the single reason I allow some of our youth to keep their phones during lessons.

Tip: If you have a phone with an Amoled or Super Amoled screen: Set to "Low Light" for white letters on a black background.  Because of the technology of Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode screens, it will save you battery life, and looks great.  (Eg. Samsung Galaxy S, SII, Nexus One, Nexus S, etc.)

     

     2.  EVERNOTE

In ministry, you sometimes have to take notes.  Evernote is a cloud-based notes app available on most platforms that allows you to take notes, upload pictures, and get to them from phone, tablet, or computer.  It's great for thinking through sermon ideas, taking notes at board meetings, or keeping track of anything.  It's simple to use and works great.

     3.  DOCUMENTS TO GO (or other document editor)

Sometimes you need to edit documents on the go and this app is great for it.  Kind of pricey for an Android app, but a document editor is required to outline a sermon, write your newsletter article, or put together a devotion while mobile.  I've used Polaris, Quickoffice, and Docs to Go; and the latter is the most full featured, in my opinion.  (At least for Android.)  At camp, this app became a life saver, as I planned, wrote, and preached from my phone for every Chapel time.
      

      4.  AMAZON KINDLE

See my previous post on the use of the actual Amazon Kindle.  The app certainly comes in handy on your smartphone as well.  You can't take your Kindle everyone, but every technoholic has their phone at all times.  It definitely came in handy for me when I needed some extra commentary during Sunday School.  I went to the Amazon store through the app, found a helpful book, bought it, and used it to inform our discussion; all while sitting in the classroom.  

Tip: Amoled users: repeat tip from BIBLE.

      5.  DROPBOX

Do you have documents that you need to get to from multiple places?  How about pictures?  Sign up for Dropbox and get 2GB of free cloud storage.  Then, get the app and you can share anything you might need between computers and your smartphone.  I keep worship song tabs, sermon outlines, and worship planning sheets all in Dropbox so I can get to them from anywhere.  It's also a great way to share files with others.

See also: Box.net

       6.  BUSINESS CALENDAR (or other calendar app)

Four and a half years ago I got my first smartphone because I needed a calendar to organize my daily life.  It still remains one of the most important functions of my phone.  On Android, Business Calendar gives more functionality, better widgets, and better UI to the phone than the regular Calendar app.  Mine keeps me organized with my appointments, meetings, and plans.  It also allows my wife and I to share calendars so we know what each other is doing.  One of the best features of this particular app is the ability to see the text of appointments on the month setting of calendar.  Many only show dots to represent them.  Go get it.

        7.  FACEBOOK

I know, how dare I mention Facebook here.  Well, I have found Facebook to be one of the best ways to communicate with people and this app lets me do it on the go.  I can update my status, write messages to people, and even control our church's and youth group's pages.  If you're not using Facebook for ministry by now, you might as well be preaching from scrolls.  

        8.  GOOGLE MAPS (navigation)

As a self proclaimed horrible navigator, I need me some GPS.  Sadly, even in our Pleasant Mountains, I often need someone to tell me how to get to people's houses.  On Android, Google Maps Navigation is phenomenal, but you can use whatever your platform has available.  I use it to go visit someone for the first time, get us where we're going on youth trips, and know how long it takes to get to a conference.  

        9.  TABS by ultimateguitar.com

As a worship leader, free song tabs are not difficult to come by, but a good mobile app to find them is.  This app for Android is great for finding songs with written chords or tabs, so I can learn and teach our praise team.  You may have the ability to hear it and play it (Jamie), but some of us just aren't that gifted.  This app will get you out of a bind.

       10.  LOGMEIN IGNITION

This is an expensive app, but a worthwhile.  Logmein.com is a great place to connect all of your computers for remote usage.  And it's free on your PC.  But if you want access to your computer via your smartphone, this app works great.  I use it to work from home or on the road when I need access to specific data or files on my computer.  It's nice to be able to tell my secretary the file is sitting in the printer while watching the kids, or heading to a meeting.

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These are obviously not the only apps that are good for ministry, but they're some of my favorites.  I skipped the obvious PHONE app, EMAIL, and CONTACTS; cause I feel that's a given.  Hope this helps if you're new the smartphone game.