I'm working on a feature for Presbyterians Today about digital evangelism, and found some very thought-provoking ideas on various blogs and websites.For example, several bloggers noted the rapid increase in the use of "smart phones" and urged pastors and churches to develop mobile internet strategies. Church IPhone apps? Why not? There probably are some already. And lots of churches use Facebook as a communications tool, which is probably accessed most frequently through cell phones.
Another idea was prompted by the fact that last Christmas Amazon's Kindle sales of e-books were greater than its sales of "hard" copy books. Looking at the growing popularity of e-books and the phone apps that allow users to access them as well, some suggested that churches should cut down on their paper bulletins and seasonal publications and publish them as pdf's or html's on Kindle instead.
That makes some sense to me. I have several translations of the Bible on my IPhone and use it in worship to follow the sermon scripture--and I see others in the congregation doing the same thing.
What kinds of apps would be helpful in evangelism? I'd like to see an apologetics app that had FAQ's so you could quickly find good answers to common questions about the Christian faith.
What would you suggest? Or maybe you have seen some good ones. If so, please share!
What kinds of apps would be helpful in evangelism? I'd like to see an apologetics app that had FAQ's so you could quickly find good answers to common questions about the Christian faith.
What would you suggest? Or maybe you have seen some good ones. If so, please share!
I guess it makes sense depending on the age and tech savvyness of the church. I preach from a computer, bulletin and sermon in flash file and we post a bulletin on line in the same format. However, to have people access it during worship doesn't seem practical. I've got 3 members with iphones and couple of others with various smart phones but I look forward to your article.
ReplyDeleteAlan
love the apologetics app idea - I'm sure there are daily prayer apps for the offices already. A church calendar app that would merge with individual calendars could be useful as well!
ReplyDeleteesp if the calendar app included minister duty scheduling... that's always the one page of the newsletter I post on the bulletin board
ReplyDeleteThere are growing opportunities to use mobile phones for evangelism. We at Internet Evangelism Day have tried to cover many of the options at here.
ReplyDeleteOf particular significance is having a series of video clips on your phone as 'conversation starters', such at the clips we have showcased here.
Blessings
Tony
Wow! Thanks, Tony. Appreciate the links very much.
ReplyDelete