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iPad Apps for Bible Teachers

7 iPad Apps For Bible Teachers – Vacation Week Repost

October 2, 2012 — 1 Comment

In anticipation of Apple’s upcoming iPad HD/3 announcement later today, I have assembled a list of must have applications for those who teach the Word of God using their iPad.  I have been using my iPad to help prepare and present my Bible lessons for the past year or so.  During this time there are several applications that have become invaluable in my preparation and presentations.  These are my go-to applications each week:

  1. eBible – If you are going to teach God’s Word, then you must have a copy of the Bible.  YouVersion may be the most popular Bible software for mobile devices and tablets on the market today, but it is not my go to application for reading the Scriptures.  eBible is quick, simple, and reads like a regular book (complete with turning pages on the iPad).  So eBible is my #1 Bible application.  The speed and simplicity make it user-friendly, the tools make it a must have application for Bible teachers.
    • The ability to create notes.  This is perfect for teachers, read the Scriptures take notes.  On the web, on your phone, on your tablet; it really doesn’t matter, they will be there for you when you next open the application on any device.  Personally I have started using the notes function to track when we studied a particular verse.  After teaching for 15 years and not following a set study plan, it is important to make sure that I am covering all different parts of the Scriptures.
    • The synopsis of topics in the Scripture selection window.  Are you searching for a particular story and don’t know exactly which chapter it is found.  Simple enough, just open eBible, click on the verse name to change verses, click on the hash bars to the right of the book you want, and watch as the selection expands to give you the chapters and synopsis of each.  (It took me about 30 seconds to find that the story of Eutychus starts in Acts 20:7 .)
  2. Logos Bible Study – If you have visited this blog before, then you probably know my love of the Logos Bible Study software.  But as a teacher of the Bible, Logos is the only way to prepare for a lesson.  Now to be honest, I prefer using Logos on my laptop or desktop computer for the monitor size and the amount of information on the screen, but I would be lost without being able to access my library of resources on my iPad.  If you own any of the Logos resources (or even if you don’t there are some free resources available) then you must install the Logos Bible Study application on your iPad.
  3. Evernote / OneNote – You need someway to keep notes synced across platforms.  Evernote is the perfect way to do this.  Take notes on your desktop, laptop, phone, or tablet and they are always available for you.  I even use Evernote to store PDF files of my notes so that I can open them on my iPad and use them during class when needed.  Evernote’s greatest strength is that it is available for all platforms and it just works as advertised.
    • I mentioned OneNote because Microsoft has recently released OneNote for the iPad and iPhone.  I really do like that application.  It is simple and the interface is clean, but there is one BIG issue; OneNote is not available for the OS X platform.  (although you can access your notes using Microsoft’s SkyDrive online) So if you are a Windows user you may want to consider OneNote for your note syncing needs.
  4. Keynote / QuickOffice – If you are going to use your iPad for presentations during your lessons then you must have a presentation software.  Both of these work great on the iPad and it is all a matter of your desktop presentation preference.  Keynote will allow you to edit and show keynote presentations straight from your iPad.  It will also allow you to show Powerpoint presentations, but for showing Powerpoint I prefer to use QuickOffice for the iPad.  
    Note:  since this article was written, Keynote has been updated and now the cloud storage works effectively for preparing the slideshow on my Mac and playing it on my iPad.
  5. Bible Pronunciations – You might remember my review of this application just a couple of weeks ago, but it instantly moved into my MUST have list for any serious student or teacher of the Bible.  This iOS application pronounces Biblical names for you so you don’t have to struggle with pronunciations while teaching.
  6. Box / Dropbox – A file sharing program is indispensable when it comes to preparing your lessons and transferring them to your iPad.  With box.net or dropbox.com’s iPad applications you can prepare your notes or slide show on your desktop and sync them on your iPad without having to plug up the iPad and sync with iTunes.  I use box.net because of the 50 gigs of storage I received when I installed the iPad application a couple of months ago.  Dropbox works well too, but since I use it primarily for business purposes, I tend to use the box.net application for my Bible studies.  The 50 gigs of storage on Box.net also gives me an online backup for all of my lesson outlines that I have collected over the years.  
    Note:  Since this article was originally written I have since switched to Google Drive to store and transfer my lessons to my different devices.
  7. kindle for iPad – I still love my kindle and over the years, I have purchased quite a few books from the Amazon kindle library, many of which are commentaries and study guides for the Scriptures.  My kindle application on my iPad allows me to quickly look up something in my kindle library without having to change devices.  For this reason it made the number 7 spot on my list of must have applications.

So there you have my 7 top iPad applications for teaching the Word of God.  There are many different applications available for you to use to study and teach the Bible on your iPad and with Apple’s newest device just around the corner (later today) I can only foresee the iPad becoming a more integral part of teaching the Bible.

Are you waiting to buy an iPad HD (or whatever they name it)?  What other announcement do you expect Apple to make today?

This article originally appeared on March 7, 2012.  I still use each of these applications each week when preparing and presenting my Sunday School lessons.  I look forward to your comments.
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Sele Mitchell

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I am a follower of Christ and a Geek. My passion is combining these two interests together. By using technology to enhance my walk with Jesus Christ I hope to help others understand the tools that are available to the Church and to the individual, using today’s technology. You can get a heads up on all of my ramblings by following me on Twitter @christndroid and if you like to pray for other please also add my Twitter Prayer Chain @Ask4Prayer. We can also be found on Facebook at ChristianDroid. I have over 25 years of general computer experience and am well versed in all operating systems and mobile platforms. I have been a Sunday School teacher for over 14 years and I administer our church website as well as other technology that is used in our ministry. Journey with me as we discover how you can further your walk with Christ using the technology we have available to us today.

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