This week my iphone has helped when:

• On the way to a meeting last week, I realised that I didn’t actually know where the meeting was taking place and didn’t have the phone number for the person I was meeting. What did I do? I launched the email application on my iphone, opened the confirmation email, and found the directions.

• Visiting friends for dinner at their new house, I entered the address in Google Maps on my iphone, the route was calculated, and I followed Google’s directions to the front door.

• I met up with some friends to discuss sermons we were preparing together. I realised I had forgotten my Bible, but I opened a Bible app on my iphone, and was able to read the passage, and even search for similar passages and do a bit of cross-referencing.

Reading this, you may be thinking that the iphone is useful only if you are continually forgetful and don’t plan ahead.

Yes - if you are like me, it is useful! However, the usefulness of the iphone extends much further and into the realms of Christian ministry. Much of the usefulness of the iphone revolves around the increasing number of apps that are available for download.

‘Apps’ (short for applications) are one of the central features of the iphone. For the uninitiated, apps could best be described as software you can download to your phone. Many are free, or cost as little as $1.19 – worlds away from the cost of traditional software. At the app store you can download apps that help you search for recipes, track how far you run, share photos with friends, monitor your Twitter account, find an ATM, play games – the list is nearly endless (Apple is advertising that they have “25,000 apps and counting” – not limitless, but certainly an impressive number of applications!). Here’s a little video by Apple selling the benefits of the apps.

As fun as it is to return to my youth and play Sim City on my iphone, I’ve also discovered the usefulness of apps for ministry. Putting together a definitive list of the best iphone apps is fraught with danger. It’s like creating a list of the best cars – as soon as it’s published many of the cars on the list will be out-done by another car. However, here are six apps that I continue to find useful (plus a suggestion for an app that urgently needs to be developed!).

Things

How do you keep track of what you need to do when? Do you keep track?!

I discovered Things last year and haven’t looked back. Put simply, Things is an electronic ‘to do’ list. You can create different lists (‘projects’) and tick them off once completed. You can create a list of what needs to be done today, out of the existing list of things to do. Originally Things was just available as software for the computer – now it’s available as an iphone app so I can take my to do list with me everywhere, update it on the run, and sync it to my computer when I return to my computer. It’s particularly useful for ministry because ministry is a mobile vocation – a lot of time is spent away from the desk, phone calls are received at any time of the day, we run into people in the street who remind us of something we need to do. How many times have you said “I’ll pray for you” and then forgotten to do it? None of us wants to do this, and Things is a great app for staying on track and remembering all that we need to do.

Evernote

I think every pastor needs Evernote. Evernote had a beginning similar to Things – it started out as computer software and a web application, and was then launched as an iphone app last year. “Capture. Sync. Find” is the purpose and appeal of Evernote, enabling you to capture information you discover on the internet (or elsewhere), then file it, and (most importantly) easily find it again when you need it. The app for iphone has some great tools, for example you can create a text note (write it down), a snapshot note (take a photo), or a voice note (speak into your phone). You can also view all of the notes you created on your computer, and sync between your computer and iphone. One of the best uses for Evernote (and there are many) is collecting and filing sermon illustrations. Every pastor needs a good system for this, and Evernote does the job admirably.

Air Sharing

Air Sharing is another handy app for the pastor on the move. It enables you to copy files from your computer to your iphone (including PDFs, Word documents and more). This means that when you’re sitting on the train you can catch up on your reading, without the need to carry around a bundle of printed papers (not to mention doing your bit to help the environment!). 

Bible

When I found myself without a Bible at my meeting last week, the Bible app came to the rescue. Developed by the folks behind YouVersion [link: ]http://www.youversion.com/], Bible allows you to search and read the Bible in multiple languages and translations, add bookmarks (to return to the same place later), get a list of passages to read each day, and even read contributions other readers have made about things they have read. It’s a great app for keeping the Bible close-by when you’re on the move.

BibleReader

BibleReader is another great Bible app that is very similar to Bible – i.e. you can search and read the Bible (although many of the translations cost money). The power of BibleReader lies in the many commentaries and Bible study tools that are available to download and access on your phone. There’s also a large collection of ebooks available, from well-known and respected authors such as John Piper, Charles Spurgeon and John Bunyan. Again, a number of these resources cost money, but it may well be worth your while if you spend time away from your computer and want to use that time to study.

Gratitude

Are you thankful? There is plenty in ministry to make you discouraged. Without continual prayer and thankfulness - deliberately searching out and noting the goodness of God and the evidences of His grace in your life and the life of others, the weight of ministry could quickly become overwhelming. We need to give thanks in all circumstances! Gratitude is a simple app that helps me to do just that. Each day I can write down dot points of things that I am grateful (thankful) for. I can then look back over time in the journal format to remind myself (particularly in times of discouragement) of God’s goodness to me. The graphics in the app are a bit ‘buddhist’ (you’ll see what I mean if you take a look!), but I’ve found Gratitude to be a great way to promote thankfulness in my life. 

Where’s the prayer app?
I’ve been scouring the app store to find a good app to help me – a Christian – to pray.

The Muslims and Buddhists and seemingly every other religion have created some powerful and multi-functional apps to help them pray.

For example, earlier this month the Catholic app Prayer was launched. It looks like a great app, but I don’t want help praying to the saints (I want help praying for the saints!). There’s also the iPray Pro app for Muslims – but I don’t need location support, a list of Islamic events or reminders to help me to pray five times a day!

The Christian prayer apps are few and far between, and those I’ve checked out (eg Prayer List and My Prayer Lists ) haven’t been particularly inspiring.

Apps such as Things and Evernote could be used to set up reminders to pray for particular people on particular days, and keep a journal of answered prayer, but I think I’ve discovered a gap in the market. Perhaps that’s challenge a Christian iphone developer might like to take up!