You've heard from a friend about this great new Bible app called YouVersion and you've downloaded it. Now what?
You'll want to setup YouVersion on your mobile device so it's quickly available to you. Find the app in your list of apps and then move the app icon to one of your main menu screens.
When you open the YouVersion app you will see a main menu screen something like this photo of my Evo phone running Android OS. When you see all the choices in the main menu, you'll know there's alot more here than any single Bible. Let's take a quick look at our choices in the menu.
The top left icon is your link to your preferred Bible. Press it and you'll be taken to your last read location of the Bible. We'll talk a great deal about versions in the next couple of posts. Here's a quick preview: You have 140 different versions available to you!!! There are 25 different English Bibles plus there are 44 different languages available currently. YouVersion is the ultimate parallel Bible!
You'll also see a bookmark icon on the main menu. Bookmarks are a great way to remember favorite passages and to memorize Scripture. You'll also find a "Plans" link. YouVersion has 150+ different plans, with options for customization and support to help you stay on track with a reading plan. This is a great way to make the Bible part of your daily life.
The 4th icon is the "Live" button, which gives you the opportunity to input your location (try your zip code.) Unless you live in a large metropolitan area, or have a particularly tech savvy pastor, you may not find a live event in your immediate area. Expand your search by typing in the name of your state - in my case, Ohio - to see examples of live events using YouVersion.
The 5th icon is the "Note" button. Here you will have the chance to see your notes. YouVersion gives you the opportunity to store your own notes AND ALSO gives you the chance to link to other resources connected to your reading. This is powerful as we'll discover together soon. These same notes can be viewed or entered on the YouVersion.com website, using your account. Finally, you'll find the "Settings" button. Press the settings button and you'll find several ways to personalize your reading and Bible Study experience. We'll talk more about these settings tomorrow.
One final note. This is the main menu for the Android version of YouVersion. Your YouVersion mobile app may look different in IOS, Blackberry, or Windows. For example on my iPad - using IOS - the Bible immediately opens with all these other pieces of the software in different menu locations. The important thing is to know that there are many resources here to assist you in your Bible reading and study. I plan on discussing each one in a different post!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, when I'll give you some hints on setting up your preferences in the YouVersion Bible app so it will really be Your Version of YouVersion!
Have you missed any of the other YouVersion Review posts? Here are your quick links:
