Mobile Ministry Magazine

Having received the Nokia N95 (North American edition) as the prize for my second place finish in Nokia's Mobile Web Server Challenge, I am now about the business of using it and its associated applicaitons and services to turn what we know about church and Bible studies on its head.

First thought, and something that I will certainely try and pull off (in some form), is using my mobile device as a learning center for a Bible study. For this we have a few items:

• My N95
• Nokia's Mobile Web Server
• JoikuSpot
• Friends with various wireless devices
• eBible or YouVersion

As you can see, we have a common contact point in the N95. The N95 will serve as the WiFi router for the other mobile devices with JokiuSpot (did you think we'd be meeting in a coffeehouse). And then we will balance having Bibles and resources with eBible and/or YouVersion, while the lesson and its comments will be placed on the Mobile Web Server.

Location: the middle of a park. There are a few reasons for this location. One, we are outside of a building and able to enjoy the beauty of God's creation while engaging His Word. Also, we put people in a place where they are less tight from sitting in a traditional church environment. Lastly, this is open enough that it would invite others to sit with us, but not feel like they cannot just pull out a pen and paper, or a laptop of their own, and jump right into the discussion.

Of course, making sure that this is something that can be found on a map would make it easier, so we use the MapSpot add-on with JokiuSpot to put the hotspot on a literal map so that people could see and engage with us, and have a means to get directions to our location.

This assumes a few things, such as connectivity issues as not being a problem, and that those involved would have the technology to engage this environment. Of both of these, I see them as being much less of an issue for the current and next generation of mobile users than what has been had previously. Devices and networks are ready for this if you will.

After all of that its just about digging into His Word. Using what we have been given in terms of His Word and Spirit to hear what God would have us learn at that moment. And then with the technology we can engage virtual audiences with audio, text, and video. We have a means for people to follow up on things as they are saved on the mobile web server and easily accessible. And then we have engagement. Its all about people and giving them avenues to engage the Word and their communities.

Thoughts (because I've not done it just yet, but I will)?

Labels: community, eBible, internet tablet, iPod Touch, Laptop, Mobile Web Server, mobility, N95, smartphone, study, YouVersion

...accoring to LifeChurch.tv, that is the number of minutes that people spent reading the Bible on their iPhone on the iPhone 3G launch day last week (either via the iPhone version of the YouVersion website or the new iPhone Bible app).

YouVersion has a new Bible application for iPhone users that works both online and offline. Pretty nifty user interface if you ask me, and there's a ton that can be done with it.

Labels: Bible, iPhone, software, YouVersion

Ok, so that last post might have painted YouVersion's iPhone-friendly format in a bad eye, but the truth is that besides this and Laridian's iPocketBible, there really aren't more touchscreen-friendly Bibles for iPhone devices.

The iPhone version of YouVersion isn't live just yet. They have made a small preview of the iPhone version here.

Labels: Bible, iPhone, Laridian, software, YouVersion

According to a post at Chrurch Relevance LifeChurch.tv has launched YouVersion Beta. It is an online bible that lets you:
• Read the Bible in multiple versions
• Star and tag verses and content
• Associate images, videos, links, and text to verses or series of verses
• Create an online Bible journal

Versions include:
• King James Version (KJV)
• American Standard Version (ASV)
• English Standard Version (ESV)
• New Century Version (NCV)
• New King James Version (NKJV)
• Smith and VanDyke Arabic Bible
• World English Bible

This seems similar to eBible. There was not a link to the service in the story (or at least it didn't show in my RSS reader). I will update this article from a desktop later with that info and a screenshot.

Information for this post came from ChurchRelevance.com

Update with Additional Thoughts

Getting a view of YouVersion on my desktop, rather than via the Treo's screen, I can see that this is a well layed-out design. It seems to promote reading moreso than studying. If you will, this seems a site more or less geared to a reader than one who is communially studying the Word. I'd have to get a mobile device to see how it would play out, considering the issues in this site with my Treo. Nevertheless, there's another option towards making some personal inroads into reading and understanding the Word.

Labels: Bible, tech, YouVersion