As many of you know, I am one of those very strange individuals who doesn’t own a Smart Phone. Oh the humanity…
The short story: I hated how addicted to social media I was. I hated how I spent every moment in grocery lines and waiting rooms glued to a screen. Two summers ago, I got to spend two weeks loving up on a bunch of kids with special needs, and while I was there, I realized no part of me missed my lame smart phone.
This is Kiki, my favorite human on the planet.
When I got back, I made the drastic decision to ditch the smart phone for someone a little less high maintenance. Enter: Flip.
Bonus: Adele and I have the same phone… so…
This little change saves me over $80 a month and I felt more FREE. I used much of that money to become a monthly sponsor for Kiki. Visit BeyondOurDoor.org to sponsor a kid yourself or other amazing projects around the world.
[Check out my full post: Why I Said Goodbye to my Smart Phone here]
Don’t worry, I am not completely a senior citizen when it comes to phone technology…
I bought an iPod Touch so I can stay up-to-date with all Insta-Snap-Book happenings and all the other awesome Apps. Don’t worry, my elementary students aren’t impressed either. Through the years I have found a number of glorious tools to help my faith journey and today I am going to share them with all you beautiful people.
Despite my lack of smartphone, I still have found a number of glorious tools to help my faith journey and today I am going to share them with all you beautiful people. Woop, woop!
Enough about me… this is about you. So let’s do this!
1.) YouVersion Bible App – The Best Bible App!
Description: Over 1,000 Versions of the Bible including audio, bookmark your favorite verses, search hundreds of reading plans and get notifications each day if you choose. Turn any time into time with God. Waiting in a long line at the grocery store? Instead of coming through political rants on Facebook, spend a few moments in the word of God to find a few moments of peace and encouragement.=
Why you need it: It’s the ESSENTIAL Bible App.
Cost: Free
2.) Pray As You Go – Daily Prayer App
Description: Pray as you go is a daily prayer session designed to go with you… wait for it… wherever you go. A new prayer session is produced every weekday and one session for the weekend. It is not a ‘Thought for the Day’, a sermon or a bible-study, but rather a framework for your own prayer.
Lasting between ten and thirteen minutes, it combines music, scripture and some questions for reflection. This App is perfect for a walk or while snuggling under a warm blanket. After the bible app, this is my absolute favorite!
Why you need it: It’s an amazing tool for prayer and creating space to be with God wherever you are.
Features: Daily prayer sessions, liturgical calendar, questions for reflection.
Cost: Free
[Looking for other prayer ideas? Check out 30 Ways to Up Your Prayer Game]
3.) SermonAudio – Worldwide Downloadable Sermon Database
Description: Talk about sermon overload… this incredible resource has over 1.2 million sermons! Holy flamingos, that’s a lot of Jesus talk! You can search this database by topic, speaker, featured sermons, or event categories. You can download audio or video sermons to your phone for when you have some spare time. I love to listen to Francis Chan on my morning commute.
Why you need it: It’s THE BEST resource for downloading awesome sermons.
Features: Search for sermons by topic, speaker, featured sermons or event categories. Save sermons to listen to at any time.
Cost: Free!
4.) Verses – Bible Memorization App
Description: I desperately want to be one of those people who have a ton of Bible verses memorized but I just super am not. I can usually share the gist… along with a guess of what book it can be found in. This App has been a huge help in actually making memorizing God’s Word happen in my life!
Why you need it: Stay close to the passages your memorizing with the Verses app. Play quick memory games to advance and keep track of your progress alone & with friends.
Features: Verses excells at quick, low energy, memory games. Our games range from Familiarize to Memorize to Recall. Create a collection and invite your friends to keep each other accountable. A little friendly competition can be a good thing.
Cost: Free!
5.) Got Questions– Answers about Faith, God, Jesus, the Christian Life.
Description: If you have a heartbeat, I guarantee you have questions about where you came from, what the purpose of your life is and whether or not there is a heaven. This app is an amazing resource to look through and share with other believers whether they are new to faith or life-long believers.
Why you need it: Part of this whole faith journey thing is wrestling with really tough questions. Also it is one of my favorite apps to share with new or on-the-fence believers. 🙂
Features: Search for sermons by topic, speaker, featured sermons or event categories. Save sermons to listen to at any time.
Cost: Free!
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6.) Jesus Calling Devotional – Daily Devo App
Description: It seems like some Christians find ways to be mad about everything from Beauty and the Beast to Justin Bieber. I happen to LOVE this devotional and it has been incredibly helpful to me (and millions of others).
Why you need it: A short daily devotional that includes quick Bible verses to read.
Features: This App includes everything from the book. You can also search by topic and easily share to social media.
Cost: $9.99 – A hefty price. You can get the physical book cheaper, however, the convenience of always having this with you might be worth it.
7.) Spotify – Music App
Description: The essential music playing App. Free with ads and option to go premium for more features.
Why you need it: Listening to encouraging and uplifting music has been a game-changer for me as far as my attitude towards God. Sometimes I need to just put on some worship and praise God until I find a little slice of peace and gratitude. BONUS: I’ve used my skillz as a DJ to create dozens of playlists for you to listen to and enjoy. Make sure to follow me on Spotify here.
Features: Create your own playlists and listen to them anywhere.
Cost: Free with Ads. If you sign up for Premium, you can download music to listen to offline and no ads! The student version is only $4.99 a month, or $7.99 for everyone else.
[Also check out my Essential Christian Workout Playlists Here]
8.) Daily Audio Bible – Exactly like it sounds.
Description: My favorite podcast in APP form. Ever have a season where life is so chaotic you have no time to read the bible? Or, do you start a Bible reading plan only to abandon it 3 days later? This App has really helped me in times I’ve felt distant from God. Every day a new recording is released with a reading from the Old Testament, New Testament, a Psalm and a Proverb. Perfect for at night before bed or on a commute.
Why you need it: It’s a great way to get to know the word of God more intimately.
Features: Audio recordings, Bible readings in text form as well as many other awesome resources.
Cost: Super Free!
9.) Storybook Bible for Kids – The Best Faith App for Kids!
Description: Help your kids fall in love with the Word of God through this fun, interactive app! Including over 40 bible stories, finally a faith App that kids will love!
Why you need it: A go-to app for kids that mostly doesn’t involve birds flying through the air (except the dove’s in Noah’s Ark…)
Features: 41 Bible stories just for kids, kid-friendly navigation, games, and activities that help kids remember what they’re learning, touch-activated animations and two-year companion curriculum for churches available.
Cost: Freeeeeeeee!
10.) You & Me Forever App – An Awesome App to Grow Your Marriage!
Description: Well, as ya’ll now, I am super not married. However, I am a bit of a Francis Chan superfan and this App is so cool. It includes his entire book, “You & Me Forever,” along with videos and end of chapter exercises. You can highlight and share parts with a “reading buddy.” You can also listen to the book.
Why you need it: If I were married or engaged, we’d be reading the crap out of this book together. What a cool way to grow in your relationship and engage with an awesome book.
Features: Full book (for free), audio book, save and make notes, share and highlight parts with a partner, end of chapter activities.
Cost: Free.
11.) IHOPKC – International House of Prayer App
Description: While I have never been to the International House of Prayer, I am a big fan of these people. They have incredible teaching, worship, and training opportunities. This App includes tons of awesome messages as well as hundreds of hours of video of worship sets.
Why you need it: If you’re looking for some worship from home or great messages, this App is amazing. They also have event archive videos from their big events and conferences.
Cost: Free.
12.) Podcasts App – Millions of Podcasts at Your Fingertips!
Description: W.
Why you need it: I
Features: F
Cost: Free.
[Looking for Podcasts? Check out my post 15 Awesome Christian Podcasts]
13.) Audible – The Best Resource for Audio Books!
Description: ALL THE AUDIOBOOKS! This app by amazon is an amazing resource to purchase great books to listen to over and over. A few of my favorites: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller and Love Does by Bob Goff. Also for you writing/creative types: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Why you need it: Audiobooks are perfect for commutes, road trips, gardening, walks… turn wasted time into a time to grow and learn.
Cost: The App is Free. If you use my affiliate link here – you get a free 30 day trial AND any free book to get you started! After your free trial most audio books range from $4.99-$9.99.
[Check out my post 20 Christian Books That Will Ruin Your Life. Many of them are available on audiobook!]
14.) iDisciple
Description: Confession: I didn’t find this app until I started writing this article and I LOVE IT. Holy Grape Tomatoes it’s kind of blowing my mind. From articles to music to videos, radio, daily devotionals, growth plans. It goes on and on and on. Seriously, if you get one App, start here. Stop wasting your time scrolling through Facebook and open this bad boy instead.
Why you need it:
Features: SO MUCH INFORMATION! Choose subjects that interest you including Adoption & Foster Care, Bible, Career, Children/Teens, Emerging Generation, Evangelism, Leadership, Life Challenges, Marriage, Men, Money, Parenting, Personal Productivity, Prayer, Purpose, Relationships, Spiritual Growth, Women, Worldview.
Cost: The App is Free (and usually has an offer for 3 free books). After that, most audio books range from $4.99-$9.99. Many libraries also have audibooks you can check out for free. My library uses the OverDrive app.
15.) EveryDollar App – Dave Ramsey Budgeting App
Description: I haven’t written about money much, but I am a HUGE Dave Ramsey fan. If you haven’t heard of him, he is the man who created Financial Peace University, author of a ton of great finance books and hosts a daily radio show. He has totally change my life. This is his App that helps you budget and track your expenses.
Why you need it: Honoring God with your finances begins with learning to manage your money.
Features: Create a monthly budget then attach to your bank accounts to keep up to date on your spending.
Cost: Free. You can sign up for a free account but to attach your bank accounts you’ll need a Every Dollar Plus Membership!
UPDATED: Friends! Definitely add the Faithplay App to your collection! I love the ease of having all my Christian podcasts and audio in one place.
Do you have any Apps that didn’t make my list? Leave them in the comments below!
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