Mobile Ministry Magazine

As I've undertaken the responsibility of becoming more involved in ministry, I've come to realize that having a personal computer is an invaluable tool for my success in ministry, especially considering that the majority of my ministry is done online. More and more, it has become apparent that my personal computer needs to become more of a tool and resource, instead of simply being an overpriced amp; expensive toy that I use to play games (and do occasional work); it has become my mission to make my computer into a tool that is used primarily for ministry, instead of a gaming device.

I'll be perfectly honest and say that I currently spend more time surfing the Internet, chatting and playing Madden or Tiger Woods than I use my computer as a tool for spiritual growth. Now, granted, I use my computer for real work as well, such as graphic & web design, but even that is limited. So, one day, the Lord sat me down and showed me how irresponsible I was being with this brand new notebook computer that I had purchased back in February. He opened up my eyes to how my computer could become a ministry resource that could further my spiritual development and help others gain a greater understanding of HIM.

The first thing that the Lord brought my attention to was the time that I spend on my computer. I was idly using my computer and just wasting a lot of time, when it could be better used to perform other tasks. Instead of playing a game of Madden or aimlessly surfing the Internet, I could be spending my time studying the Word or praying, or be out ministering to people. The primary thing that was revealed to me was how easily I can use my computer to do these things. First, instead of spending so much time reading the latest sports news, I can be reading a website like Gospelcom.net (http://www.gospelcom.net) or CrossWalk (http://www.crosswalk.com) to be getting the latest Christian world news, or reading articles that will build me up spiritually. Secondly, there is a world of free and reasonably priced software available that can help me in my personal study times.

Since redirecting your focus on the Internet is fairly straightforward, I want to elaborate on the second half, which deals with setting up your computer for ministry related tasks, especially from the standpoint of someone who teaches/preaches the gospel.

Initially, we need to get rid of all the unnecessary software that is on our computers. It's my philosophy that a clean computer is the best way to have an effective computer. Get rid of all the software that you don't need, especially that software that loads on startup because that will only distract you during those times when you need to turn on your computer for studying purposes. If you need some of those programs (like instant messaging programs), just make sure that they're set to not load at startup. By getting rid of the useless software, you essentially increase your disk space and remove some of the clutter that can distract you from ministry tasks.

The next step is to install some necessary & practical Christian software. There are two pieces of software that I feel are essential for anyone who uses their computer for ministry purposes. The first is a good Bible study software. There are several free pieces of software that are available such as e-Sword (http://www.e-sword.net) and BiblePro (http://www.bibleocean.com) which you can easily download and install on your computer. You can even make donations to these companies and they'll gladly mail you a CD version of the software. Or, if you're in the market, there are more advanced software packages that are reasonably priced such as SwordSearcher (http://www.swordsearcher.com - $49.95) and WORDsearch (http://www.wordsearchbible.com - my personal choice of software). As far as free software, e-Sword is definitely the way to go. Why Bible study software? It'll help you get into the Word in a more in-depth manner, as well as provide you the opportunity to more accurately dissect the Scriptures. Any student of the Word should have one of these programs in their library.

The next piece of software that I feel is a must is a Prayer Journal. A prayer journal will allow you the opportunity to type/write out your prayers to the Lord so that you can better keep track of prayer requests and answers to your prayers. It also is a valuable tool to use as a personal journal/diary to keep track of everyday events. I personally use Prayer Journal from Legacy of Love Software (http://www.legacyoflove.net - $24.95), and they also have a Palm add-on for $10. I personally prefer this software as it's the best I've found thus far, and it can do almost anything you would need a prayer journal to do (plus it's password protected). I'm pretty sure you can find a free version online if you needed one; I found one online @ http://www.hallee.org/PrayerJournal.htm (I haven't tested or tried it).

Another invaluable tool, which I just recently ran across is called InstaVerse, which is a free system tray application which pops up whenever you hover over a Bible reference while surfing the Internet. This tool is a great time saver as it keeps you from having to go get your Bible or opening a new browser window or tab to open Biblegateway.com. It immediately pops up so that you can read the passage. It even allows you to quickly insert Bible passages into your documents or emails. You can download this utility at http://www.instaverse.com. Another great piece of software for those that write sermons amp; Bible studies is Sermon Library, also from Legacy of Love, which can be purchased for $30.

Now that you've got the software installed on your computer, the most important thing to do now is to use it! Trust me, it doesn't mean anything if you have the software on your computer and don't use it. I'm a guilty party. I've owned Prayer Journal amp; WORDsearch for several years now, and must admit that I don't use them nearly as often as I know I should be. Anytime I'm studying the Scriptures, I should have WORDsearch open and be using that as my primary tool (next to a physical Bible) for studying. I should also be using Prayer Journal on a daily basis. If I had a Palm, I'd probably make more use of it, since it has the Palm add-on. Indeed, having a computer built for ministry is absolutely worthless if it's not being used for ministry.

I would even go so far as to suggest that you setup a separate profile on your computer that is strictly used for Bible study & prayer. Why? Because you can set it up so that nothing else loads on your computer other than what you need to accomplish the task at hand. Plus, it'll allow you to remove from the profile all the software that you don't need. I will probably do this so that I can become more disciplined in my Bible study amp; prayer efforts when it comes to my computer.

I've said all of that to summarize it in these few words: in order to have a computer setup for ministry, you are going to need to have the necessary software installed on your computer, and have it setup so that any distracting software is out of your view when using the computer. And again, remember, you have to make the effort in order to make your computer work for you as a ministry tool!

written by LaRosa Johnson
Jesus4Life Ministries