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June 15, 2010

Making Smartphones Smart for Ministry

Useful apps for the iPhone and other phones church leaders use.

 by Carol Childress


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Editor’s Note: Since its launch in 2007, the iPhone has changed the way we use mobile phones, creating a wave of applications and other features that turn these devices into mobile computers. With Apple upgrading its iOS4 software on June 21 (Wired recently compared iOS4 to Google Android’s 2.2), and launching sales of the iPhone 4.0 on June 24, we asked Carol Childress, a self-professed “iPhone junkie,” to share some of the apps she believes can help church leaders.

Time magazine named the iPhone the invention of the year in 2007. Just writing that sentence sounds like ancient history, and it is, in terms of innovations in current technology. I have fond memories of standing, sitting, reading, listening to music, and chatting with others who waited in line with me for the better part of June 29, 2007, to buy my first iPhone.

Despite all the hype at its release, I don’t think Steve Jobs, AT&T, or few others really understood how quickly the iPhone and other smartphones would change the telecommunications industry. The telephone now is almost the least functional feature of my iPhone. Actual telephone usage on all wireless phones is declining. In 2009, for the first time in the United States, the amount of text, e-mail, streaming video, music and other services on smartphones and other mobile devices surpassed the amount of voice data in cell phone calls.

A major reason for this shift is the introduction of third-party applications that convert an iPhone and other smartphones into a computer, a book, a wallet, a movie screen, a photo album, a remote control, or almost anything you can imagine in a single, hand-held device. Because of these apps, my phone has become the single-most indispensable tool I own. The same likely is true for ministry leaders who use smartphones. For leaders who have been reluctant to move to a smartphone, the scope of available apps, new smartphone models, and the increasing competition between carriers may be compelling enough to make the switch.

There are more than 225,000 apps available through the Apple App Store and more than 5 billion apps (that’s with a ‘b’) have been downloaded since it opened in July 2008. Paid apps account for almost three of every four available apps and the average cost of a paid app that is downloaded is $3.04. There are also more than 50,000 Android apps now available (Android apps are available off of their developers’ sites, from Google, Motorola, and a variety of other places).

With so many apps available, and 15,000 new ones submitted weekly to the Apple App Store, it’s hard to know which ones to download, which ones to keep, which ones to use to improve productivity, and which ones to help manage your life and time. Of the more than 250 apps I have downloaded, I have found several to be consistently useful in life and ministry.

The ones I find most useful are arranged by category below; all can be downloaded at the Apple App Store (also accessible via iTunes). Many iPhone apps have an Android, Blackberry, or Palm equivalent, so if you are not an iPhone user, check the app developer’s website to see if there is an equivalent available.

Unless a price is indicated, the app is free to download.

Personal Productivity Apps

The two major apps in personal productivity are Things ($9.99), based on David Allen’s Getting Things Done time management system, and Omni Focus ($19.99). Both are award-wining apps with devoted followers. I use Omni Focus because it is a better fit for my style of organization and the synching between my iPhone and laptop is seamless. For a simpler and less expensive app, I suggest Dunnit ($3.99).

Part of the iPhone’s appeal is the ability to access critical files and presentations without carrying your laptop all the time. Two apps that I use frequently are DropBox and Documents To Go. Both allow access to files that are synched across multiple computers and the Internet. In the case of Documents To Go ($9.99), I can create, view, and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

I use Dragon Dictation to dictate brief text and e-mails and I love its simplicity and accuracy. Any necessary editing can be done quickly. When I need to capture simple notes of a meeting or jot down an idea lest I forget it, I use SimpleNote. The most versatile and useful app I have found to track my expenses is XpenseTracker ($4.99) and after using it for six months, I cannot imagine my iPhone without it.

Bible Apps

There are dozens of Bible apps, but Bible (by LifeChurch.tv) is my favorite because it has 41 translations; its search features are easy to use, and it’s free. A close second favorite is Pocket Bible. It also has multiple translations in addition to devotionals, commentaries, study notes, and other resources. It is also free, but there is a fee for individualist related products.

There are few Lectionary apps, but my favorite is named just that, Lectionary (99 cents).

Book Apps

While I have several e-book reader apps, I use Kindle more than any other right now, primarily because Amazon allows me to view all of my books on the compatible laptop application. The new iBooks app, available June 21, may alter my e-reader choice. When I want to purchase a book, I use Book Search, which allows me to find the best price online and buy the book via my iPhone.

News and Research Apps

On a daily basis I scan a number of national and major regional newspaper apps. But to customize my reading and enable me to read on a wide variety of topics, I rely on two news aggregator apps, iNews and Zinio. A third app, Instapaper, lets me save web pages for later off-line reading, and while there is a paid version, I find the free Lite version satisfactory. Questia (99 cents) provides access to my online Questia subscription account. With thousands of journals, magazines, and books, Questia is a major research site and the subscription rate options are reasonable. For radio news, I use allRadio2, which allows me to customize listening preferences from stations around the world. NPR News lets me find any public radio station in the U.S. 1Cast is great for headline video clips that can be downloaded or e-mailed. Finally, SportsTap lets me follow the scores for any major college or professional sporting event.

Travel Apps

Using Trip Deck, I have all my travel information—flights, hotels, rental cars, and itinerary—in the palm of my hand. Shoeboxed lets me digitally capture my receipts, create expense reports, and export them in common formats. Mile Bug helps me track my mileage for business and personal use and export the reports.

Camera Apps

In addition to the normal pics of family, friends, and places, I use my iPhone camera to capture meeting notes (all those easel pad notes that get hung on the wall) and document examples of cultural shifts for use in blogs and presentations.

These three apps greatly improve the basic iPhone camera: Perfectly Clear ($2.99) provides exceptional clarity to any photo. Camera Zoom 2 99 cents) gives me a zoom lens and also a stabilizer. Pano ($2.99) lets me take a series of photos and turn them into one panoramic shot.

Other Very Useful Apps

With CardStar, I have stopped using those annoying plastic cards with my customer bar code (which fill up my wallet and key ring) and instead ask the person at the register to scan the appropriate bar code off of my iPhone. App Box Pro is like a Swiss Army knife for my iPhone and worth every penny of its 99-cent cost.

Another indispensable 99-cent app is My Medical. It lets me store all of my health information—doctors, prescriptions, tests, surgeries and insurance info—for my family and me. It is great for scheduled doctor visits and any medical emergency.

With Red Laser, I can scan the bar code on any item and determine the best available price either locally or online.

Finally, if you ever have lost your wallet, driver’s license, or passport, you will want to purchase Stolen Wallet ($2.99). A friend recently used it to pass through security and board his plane to fly home after losing his wallet while on a business trip.

Game Apps

No discussion of apps could be complete without a few games so here are some of my favorites for time-killers: 3 Point Hoops, Word Squares, Paper Toss, and Virtual Pool ($2.99).

Finding More

I have found that the best recommendations for apps come from friends and colleagues, a small number of websites I check on a regular basis, and the iPhone app setting on my personalized Google News page.

We are in an age in which our communication, our social interaction, our lives, and our ministry are being re-shaped by technology. The role played by smartphone applications is still too new to fully understand its impact, but one day, there will probably be an app for that, too.

In the meantime, I will continue to ask one of my favorite questions to discover more: “Do you have any new apps?”

Carol Childress is the founder and leader of FrameWorks Consulting. She helps faith-based leaders understand the context of 21st century culture and its implications for mission and ministry. Carol can be reached at carol@carolchildress.com.

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Posted by Matt Branaugh on June 15, 2010 8:00 AM

Related Tags: cell phones, computers, desktops, Google, iPhone, laptops, Media, netbooks, phones, purchasing, smart phones, software, technology

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