What are the best phone apps for Christians? So you downloaded the YouVersion Bible and maybe you have a few apps you like, but you’re always on the lookout for others. Or maybe you’re like us and you just like to hear what’s working for other people.
We don’t claim to know the best phone apps for Christians in their entirety, but there are 10 apps that have caught our attention lately. Not all of them are explicitly Christian, but even if they’re not, we’re sharing how we’re using them for spiritual purposes.
[Note: We didn’t include devotional apps because there are just so many out there. And, let’s face it, we’d have to do multiple devotionals a day to try them all out and see which ones are our favorites. But if you have one you just love, feel free to share it in the comment section below!]
1. Stitcher
Stitcher is a free podcasting radio app. So many churches are now putting their podcasts on Stitcher now, so you don’t have to download them to your phone before listening because Stitcher streams them for you. All you have to do is choose which “stations” to follow. It’s one less thing you have to prepare for when you go on a road trip. The only problem is if you’re in a dead zone and have no cell coverage, you get nothing. But that’s not Stitcher’s fault, you know?
2. Fighter Verses
We mentioned the Fighter Verses app a while back, and it really is awesome. Not only does it give you 3 years of Scripture verses to memorize, there are all kinds of quizzes to help you memorize them. There’s even one that records your voice as you recite the verse and then lets you check to see if you got the verse correct. The Fighter Verse app does cost $2.99, but it’s well worth the price. And that’s saying a lot coming from us because we don’t like to pay for apps.
3. PrayerMate
This is a great, easy-to-use, and free app that helps you organize your prayer life. It came to our attention when we read Tim Challies’ review. He said it revolutionized his prayer life, and we thought that was kind of a big compliment coming from a pastor and blogger. It’s almost like categorizing your prayers on index cards, except on an app. You can categorize your prayer list(s) and the app will show you the items to pray for on each day. (Side note: Challies shares how he prays in concentric circles in the article. It’s a neat method and worth your time to read.)
4. Postagram
There’s nothing spiritual about the free Postagram app, per se. But, we like to send encouraging postcards to our friends through it. The way it works: You choose a picture from your camera roll, upload it to Postagram, add a message, and Postagram will create the postcard and mail it to the recipient for 99 cents. It’s just a fun way to tell someone you’re thinking about them, praying for them, or for sending them a verse of encouragement.
5. Bandsintown Concerts
We love Bandsintown. Plain and simple. Gone are the days of having to listen to the local radio station to find out if someone is playing nearby. This free app will sync with your music library and recommend shows for you based on your music collection or you can search the entire local concert calendar to see all of your options. You can also purchase tickets for shows in app, RSVP for events, and connect it with your social media accounts and see which of your friends have also RSVPed. But the best part? If you’re on vacation, you can pull up calendars for that local city and catch some live music while you’re there.
6. She Reads Truth
iPhone / Android (Coming November, 2014)
Women who were following along with the Bible reading plans on the She Reads Truth website were super pumped about this app. So much so that they fully funded the iOS app on Kickstarter in April of 2014. Then, in 21-days, they fully funded the Android app. This comprehensive free app offers an assortment of tools including a full Bible, free and paid Bible study plans, real-time commenting within the community, as well as a camera with photo overlays. But our favorite feature might just be the beautiful (and free!) Scripture lock screens for your phone.
7. Kids in Mind
This app isn’t for kids or about kids, really. Some of us have personal convictions about movies, and sometimes you want to know why a movie is rated R before you decide whether or not you’ll see it. Kids in Mind ignores the typical movie rating system and reviews movies with their own method. They rate each movie in 3 areas: sex/nudity, violence, and profanity. It doesn’t review the movies to offer praise or criticism; it’s a “just the facts” app. It lists all of the times profanity is used, and then gives the movie a rating on a scale from 1 (low) to 10 (high) in that area. It does the same for the sex scenes, as well as violence. They’ve archived a ton of movies, so it’s not just new ones. While the concept was originally developed for parents to decide if they wanted to see a movie with or without their children, it’s a great tool for Christians who are concerned about what they might encounter at the theater. There’s a free version version with ads and a paid one without ads for $1.99.
8. Jesus Film
If we’re seriously discussing the best phone apps for Christians, then we have to include the Jesus Film app. Missionaries show this film in countries all around the world and introduce people to Jesus, but now they can just show it on their smartphone. My, how far we’ve come from projectors and film reels. This free app has the Jesus Film and several others translated into tons of languages. Even if you’re not on the international mission field, it’s just good to know that a tool like this exists in app format. You never know when that piece of information will come in handy.
9. Prayer Calendar by Voice of the Martyrs
We hear about the persecution of Believers that goes on around the world, but it’s very easy to remain insulated and not allow ourselves to be confronted by it. This free Prayer Calendar from Voice of the Martyrs is an excellent way to force ourselves to not only be aware of what is going on, but to labor in prayer on behalf of our brothers and sisters around the globe.
10. YNAB (You Need a Budget)
We’re big fans of YNAB ‘round these parts. We’ve already shared with SingleRoots readers that when it comes to budgeting software, it’s our opinion YNAB is the way to go. Their mobile app aids in tracking your budgeting and syncs with the desktop client. Let’s face it: You need mobility if you’re going to be serious about tracking your spending. The YNAB app is $4.99, but there’s also a Lite version. However, the Lite version only syncs with Dropbox, not the desktop client. So, because of that, we think it’s worth shelling out the money. But that’s just our opinion.
In your opinion, what are some of the best phone apps for Christians right now? Share them below!
