Come to any Church Requel teaching session, and when I ask people to open their Bibles, many folks whip out their smart phones and iPads. Am I a terrible teacher? Would people rather be checking their email, weather or sports scores? Or is something else going on?
Most in our congregation are opening their Bibles on their mobile device. Almost all are using the Bible application named YouVersion, available online and for almost every imaginable mobile device, including the iPad, the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and Windows phone. YouVersion is absolutely free! It is now installed on over 20 million devices with more than a hundred different Bible versions available in many different languages.
Over the next several weeks I will be doing an extensive, multi-part review of the YouVersion Bible application. We're going to examine the basics of YouVersion, the how-to stuff so you know how the app works. We're also going to look at this from both the congregant's point of view and the pastor's point of view. Why is it so important for you to know about and use regularly the Bible app? What is the consequence for you as a disciple of Christ? What is the significance for your friends? And if you're another pastor, we'll talk about why it's vital that you too should be focused on getting your congregation hooked into YouVersion.
Check back every day. We'll have something new for you. Also I encourage you to use the comment section below to ask questions and to share your own story. I'd love to see some dialog!
Here's your first chance for feedback. Do you use YouVersion? Why? What do you like about it?
Have you missed any of the other YouVersion Review posts? Here are your quick links: