The World Map of Christian Apps: 48 tools every Christian should know about
It’s a big world out there when it comes to Christian apps.
Devotionals, Bible readers, church management software—there are so many Christian apps out there! So the Disciplr team and I plotted the first “World Map of Christian Apps”: a visual guide to the landscape of digital tools created for the Church.
This map pulls together Christian apps of all kinds: from native iOS and Android, Web-based, desktop software, and even a PowerPoint plugin. It’s not a comprehensive list, but it should give you an idea of what’s out there. And of course, remember that this is an observation, not a recommendation.
And by the way: you can download a free copy of this map [at the bottom of this page](https://disciplr.com/world-map-christian-apps/#download\_
Pretty cool, right? You’re welcome to share this on your blog and social networks—especially if you’re a fan of any of these apps! Here’s the embed code:
Now, let’s take a closer look at each of the Christian apps on the map!
Bible apps
These apps are all about reading and studying the Bible.
The Bible App by YouVersion
iOS | Android | Web | Desktop
It’s the Christian app of Christian apps. YouVersion’s app has been downloaded well over 100 million times. It’s quick, free, and probably the Bible app your friends use.
From their website: Our focus remains on relevancy as we consistently strive to demonstrate and teach people how God’s Word relates to everyone, no matter where they are in life. […] We aren’t just building a tool to impact the world using innovative technology, more importantly, we are engaging people into relationships with God as they discover the relevance the Bible has for their lives.
Bible.is
iOS | Android | Web
This family of Christian apps feature text, audio, and video Bibles in 1600+ languages (including multiple international sign languages). According to their site, Bible.is has the world’s largest Bible language library.
From their website: Together with the ministry of Faith Comes By Hearing, Bible.is provides a vast library of Bible translations to bring God’s church together making disciples from every nation, tribe, language, and people with the tools and technology of today.
Bible Gateway
iOS | Android | Web
Google any Bible reference, and there’s a good chance Bible Gateway is your #1 result. But they’re more than an online Bible reader: they have mobile apps and lots of supplementary resources.
From their website: Bible Gateway is your rich social and personal connection to freely read, research, and reference Scripture on your desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone … anywhere; in more than 70 languages and more than 180 versions! Its simple yet advanced searching capabilities allow you to quickly find and compare particular passages in multiple Bible translations based on the keywords, phrases, topics, or Scripture references you have in mind.
Olive Tree
iOS | Android | Web | Desktop
The Bible Study App by Olive Tree is a widely-used tool for Christians who like to dig around while they’re reading the Bible. Plus, John Piper has said it’s his go-to Bible app.
From their app page: Over 4 million people on 6 continents use ‘The Bible Study App’ to read and study God’s Word! This Bible app is more than just an e-reader, ‘The Bible Study App’ links your Bible reading with outstanding commentaries, maps, and dictionaries for an in-depth study experience. You can take notes, highlight verses, bookmark passages, and sync all of these things between different devices. Install now to explore over 100 free downloadable resources that make ‘The Bible Study App’ a must have.
Logos Bible Software
iOS | Android | Web | Desktop
Logos Bible Software has been a powerful research library for preachers and seminarians (though they’re becoming more lay-friendly). Their intricate tagging system makes Logos an invaluable tool for hardcore Bible geeks.
From their website: With easy‐to‐use tools and a massive theological library, Logos 6 delivers insight. Pinpoint answers in seconds, study the Word in its cultural context, uncover meaning in the original languages, and answer questions with confidence.
Accordance
iOS | Desktop
Accordance is the elegant Bible scholarship software for savvy readers and ministers. It focuses on speed, ease of use, and building a specialized library of relevant resources for Christians.
From their website: Your time is valuable, so Bible study software shouldn’t be cumbersome or complicated. Accordance Bible Software places all the tools you need right at your fingertips in one easy to use, lightning-fast interface. And with a host of amazing new features in Accordance 11, going deeper in the study of the scriptures has never been simpler.
e-Sword
iOS | Android | Desktop
It’s the iconic, barebones free Bible study tool. The e-Sword app lets you search and compare various Bible translations, plus some quick original-language lookups (using Strong’s numbers). It’s well past 25 million downloads.
WORDSearch Bible Software
iOS | Android | Desktop
It’s a Bible app that helps Christians search the Word—it might be the most straightforwardly named app on this list! You can also build out a library of Bibles, commentaries, lessons, maps, and more resources from their store.
From their website: WORDsearch Bible Software, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources, has been a provider of premium Bible study software since 1987. WORDsearch is recognized as the leading Bible software “serving those who preach and teach to change lives.” WORDsearch offers preachers and teachers over 4,500 Bibles and books that make Bible study faster, easier and more enjoyable. The QuickVerse brand is also a part of the WORDsearch family of Bible software.
Bible Web App
Web
This sleek Web app lets you read Bibles, commentaries, and even Greek and Hebrew texts side-by-side. It’s free to access, and its search result graphics are a delightful treat for Christians.
From their website: Online Bible study application with bonus study features for studying Greek and Hebrew. Developed by Digital Bible Society with major contributions from John Dyer and Michael Johnson.
Blue Letter Bible
Web
Another iconic Bible Web app, the Blue Letter Bible has been making the Bible and other reference works free on the Web since 1995. They took the name “Blue Letter Bible” from the fact that way back then, most hyperlinks were blue. Their vision was to link every word of the Bible to supplementary reference works—which would make for a lot of blue letters!
From their website: Blue Letter Bible provides powerful tools for an in-depth study of God’s Word through our free online reference library, with study tools that are grounded in the historical, conservative Christian faith.
Bible memory apps
These apps focus on Scripture memorization using various memory techniques.
Fighter Verses
iOS | Android
Fighter verses pulls together curated lists of Bible verses to commit to memory. And it’s not just for one-off memorization—this app comes preloaded with two 5-year memory plans!
From their app description: The Fighter Verses Bible memory system was created to help believers persevere in the fight of faith by arming them with God’s Word. Designed for children through adults, this system allows individuals, groups, or entire churches to memorize and review at their own pace.
Scripture Typer
iOS | Android | Web | Desktop
Another powerful Scripture memory tool that helps you memorize Bible verses by engaging the Word with your eyes, ears, and hands.
From their website: Scripture Typer is the complete Bible Memory System for mobile devices and the web. Scripture Typer breathes new life into your Bible Memory time by actively engaging three separate cognitive areas: audio, visual & kinesthetic (touch) memory.
Church presentation tools
These apps are all about getting sermon presentations, lyrics, video, and other church communication pieces up on the big screen.
ProPresenter
Desktop
From their website: ProPresenter is a cross-platform (Mac and Windows) lyric and media presentation package built specifically to make high-quality live productions easy — such productions include worship gatherings, sporting events, conferences, or even broadcast television. Taking full advantage of the latest technologies of your computer, ProPresenter operators control a presentation on one screen, while dynamically affecting the visuals and lyrics experienced by an audience on one or more screens.
Sharefaith Presenter
PowerPoint plugin
Here’s an oddball in our list: Sharefaith Presenter isn’t a standalone app. It’s a PowerPoint plugin that builds all the features a church needs right into PowerPoint for you.
From their website: 89% of churches use PowerPoint. Instead of creating yet another presentation software, we decided to re-invent PowerPoint through a powerful worship software plugin. Sharefaith Presenter lets you add text over any video, build custom countdown timers, access the largest worship lyric database, create your own custom worship set and directly insert over 58,000 worship media and videos straight from Sharefaith. You can also directly add Scripture from the built-in NLT and ESV database.
Proclaim
iOS | Android | Desktop
Church presentation software tends to be geared toward the worship leader. The team at Faithlife made Proclaim: a solution that’s more pastor- and sermon-centric. Proclaim integrates with CCLI SongSelect, Planning Center (also on this list), Graceway Media, and Logos Bible Software.
From their website: Proclaim puts everything your services needs on the screen. Cloud-based collaboration lets your team work on the same presentation from anywhere.
Apps for church management
These are the “meta” apps—they help churches stay organized, get to know their congregations, and streamline communication among staff, volunteers, and attendees.
The Church App
App platform for iOS, Android, and Windows
Subsplash’s offering isn’t so much an app as an app platform, but it’s the engine behind many prominent church and Christian organization apps today. Apps for the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, John MacArthur’s Grace to You, Matt Chandler’s The Village Church, The Gospel Coalition, and R. C. Sproul’s Ligonier Ministries have all been created through Subsplash’s platform.
From their website: The Subsplash Platform / The Church App is a mobile app platform built by Subsplash that enables you to create high-quality, highly-configurable apps for your church, ministry, or organization. The result is a suite of rich and powerful mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Android Phone, Android Tablet and Windows Phone. You can present full-length sermon audio and video, articles, images, blogs, and more. Many of these features allow end-users to share your content through Twitter, Facebook, and email. Event listings, maps, and online giving can be presented and integrated.
SimpleChurch CRM
iOS | Web
SimpleChurch CRM is centralized solution for churches to engage their congregations, improve their outreach, keep track of child check-in, and accept donations online.
From their website: [SimpleChurch CRM gives you] the insights and information you need to help your church or ministry reach its full potential, right at your fingertips. All the insights and information you need to help your church or ministry reach its full potential, right at your fingertips.
Breeze ChMS
Web
A Web-based church management software for small to mid-sized churches, Breeze lets churches keep track of members, giving, child check-in, groups, events and more. Plus, they charge a flat rate of $50 per month for all their features.
Elvanto
Web
This church management software began as one man’s rostering system for his local church and has grown to a system used by thousands of churches around the globe. They give a portion of the money they make away to help the worldwide Church.
From their website: We believe in living for a cause greater than ourselves. Our heart pours out to help new church plants, support orphans and widows around the globe, help churches build their own grounds, fund bible colleges and missionaries in developing countries, build orphanages so children can have a home, and support missionaries around the world so that they can pursue their calling.
FellowshipOne
Web
A 100% Web-based church management system that helps churches offer exceptional member care, steward their time and finances, and engage their communities.
From their website: ACTIVE Network’s Fellowship One is a 100% web-based Church Management Software (ChMS) for any size church. Ministry data is unified in a single-source, Cloud-hosted database that provides greater flexibility, accessibility, cost effectiveness, and security than self-hosted solutions. Fellowship One provides a complete view of members’ involvement, needs, and contact information, available anytime, anywhere with Internet access, so leaders can spend more time on ministry and reduce inefficiencies.
Planning Center (Services)
iOS | Android | Web
One of the most well-known solutions on this list, Planning Center is famous for helping churches plan, schedule, and rehearse services.
From their website: Schedule your teams, manage your music, and revolutionize the way you plan your worship services.
Church apps for giving
Not everyone remembers to bring something for the plate! These apps give Christians convenient, mobile-based giving options.
PushPay (eChurchGiving)
iOS | Android
PushPay is a mobile giving solution for churches. They focus on reducing barriers to generosity, and their apps make it easy for people to make a donation in 10 seconds or less.
From their website: Pushpay’s platform is designed to engage and encourage existing and new givers. It allows regular givers to easily give more and helps you engage the 80% not giving regularly…yet.
Kindrid
iOS | Android
A text-based mobile giving solution: Kindrid lets congregants text the amount they want to donate to a church’s shortcode. It’s another crazy-simple tool from the folks at LifeChurch.tv.
From their website: Kindrid is a new approach to giving rooted in an understanding of generosity. Our goal is to empower you to engage new givers, increase generosity and further your church’s mission. The Smart Giving platform by Kindrid equips you to receive donations of any amount with a single text and provides powerful backend tracking and management tools. The Kindrid team also provides you with slides, videos and other resources to help effectively promote mobile giving among your congregation. Churches we work with have found Kindrid to increase both their total unique givers and total amount of money given.
Church networking apps
From the very beginning, church has happened in community. These apps help people find new church communities and/or connect with their local church families.
FaithStreet
iOS | Android | Web
FaithStreet helps newcomers find and connect with churches near them. FaithStreet boasts more than 16,000 church profiles—plus online giving options for congregants. It’s a popular connection tool for Christians.
From their website: Before FaithStreet, there was no high-quality, online service that helped a newcomer to a city (or to a faith) discover and explore faith communities near them. We talked to many other people across the country who shared the same problem, and we thought we could help them.
Later, after talking to hundreds of pastors and other leaders, we discovered that congregations were also frustrated by their inability to reach people using the Internet. We created FaithStreet to help solve both sides of this problem. On FaithStreet, your congregation can create a great-looking profile that newcomers will visit every day.
The City
iOS | Web
The City is a church community platform that began as the dream of Amazon systems architect–turned–pastor Zach Hubert. It’s a ministry-oriented way for congregations to engage each other and their communities in ministry. The City is built with the philosophy that people want to be heard, people want to be known, people want to be connected, and people want to make a difference.
From their website: Where church software used to be almost entirely focused on back-office automation, it’s now clear that software can play a vital role in mobilizing entire congregations for ministry. And that’s why we built The City.
The Table
iOS | Web
The Table is a social network that helps church members get to know one another, stay connected throughout the week, pray for one another, and serve one another.
From their website: The Table is a custom social platform that aims to encourage community in your local church, empower leaders and move people beyond the pews and into authentic, life changing relationships. It enables church to happen between church services.
Church Community Builder
Web
Church Community Builder is a church management system built to empower church leaders through stellar technology, solid coaching, and practical networking.
From their website: At Church Community Builder, we care about church leaders, and our web-based software is designed (and continually being improved) to support the vital work you do. We’re known for this software, but believe it or not, software is not our deepest passion. Helping your church staff (both paid and unpaid) become more effective at how you do ministry is what fires us up! Our software is a powerful tool, but the real magic happens when our software is used to multiply your ministry efforts by combining it with effective process.
Christian curriculum apps
Part of the Great Commission is to teach disciples to follow Jesus’ teachings—these apps help Christians pass on the teachings of the Bible and the church through curriculum.
Disciplr
Web
Disciplr is new to the app landscape: it’s a Web-based Christian ministry toolbox for teachers in the local church. The way churches select and use curriculum hasn’t changed much over the past 40 years—Disciplr gives teachers a “simplr” way to choose what they teach, customize lessons, and manage classroom schedules. It launches in summer of 2015, but you can get early access by joining their waiting list.
RightNow Media
iOS | Web
A vast selection of video resources for Christians: especially small group studies, kids’ media, and sermons.
From their website: RightNow Media is like “Netflix for the church” because we have a huge library with thousands of video sessions that people can access anytime, anywhere. Our creative team films and produces RightNow Media Originals featuring teaching from respected teachers and pastors. We also distribute video resources produced by over 100 other major Christian publishers and ministries.
New City Catechism
iOS | Web
Timothy Keller and Sam Shammas have adapted the Reformation catechisms for today’s churches to make the New City Catechism. It combines the typical question-and-answer catechism content with video explanations from Don Carson, Mark Dever, Timothy Keller, John Piper, etc.
From their website: New City Catechism is comprised of only 52 questions and answers (as opposed to Heidelberg’s 129 or Westminster Shorter’s 107). There is therefore only one question and answer for each week of the year, making it simple to fit into church calendars and achievable even for people with demanding schedules.
Christian media apps
These apps serve up the media that helps Christians evangelize, stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the world, and minister to their churches.
Gospel Central
iOS | Android | Web
Another newcomer: Gospel Central is an app for seekers and evangelists. Gospel Central lets people upload video testimonies of how they came to Christ, and tag their testimonies based on their experiences.
From their website: When someone is experiencing a spiritual battle or desperate times, they are often also experiencing profound loneliness. What they need is to know that someone has faced exactly what they are facing, and by God’s saving grace have come through it better and stronger. […] Now you can send a two-three minute video testimony from someone who has been there and can meet the person you want to encourage right where they’re at. Imagine being able to send someone a video and list of FAQ’s and biblical encouragement related to their struggle. Finally, imagine a clear gospel presentation at the end of each testimony that gives them the opportunity to accept Christ on the spot.
Jesus Film Media
iOS | Android
It’s the JESUS Film in full-length and segments (plus a few other films), in more than 1,100 languages. Wow.
From their website: Jesus Film Media is the digital expression of The JESUS Film Project®, an extension of the overall vision to reach everyone, everywhere by equipping people to use our tools and resources in new ways! Finding just the right film resource or tool has never been easier.
Christianity Today
It’s the news from the Christian world in app form.
From their app page: Every issue provides insightful commentary, penetrating interviews with leading Christian thinkers, and theological analysis on current issues, trends, people and news events that impact people of faith. Existing print subscribers get complimentary access to all tablet editions, including the iPad app.
RELEVANT
iOS | Android
It’s RELEVANT, but optimized, upgraded, and generally all-tricked-out for your tablet.
From their website: Don’t miss RELEVANT’s industry-leading tablet magazine, featuring interactive design, exclusive audio and video content, and a lot more! It takes the magazine experience to a whole new level.
Ministry Grid
Web
A product of LifeWay, Ministry Grid is an online training library for local churches. In Ministry Grid, individuals and churches alike can purchase or subscribe to training materials. These materials cover the whole nine yards: video lectures, print resources, and even quizzes for assessing progress. You earn cool badges for completing courses, too.
From their website: The Bible teaches in Ephesians 4 that a healthy, unified church is the result of training and equipping the people in the church. Why, then, do only 1 in 4 churches have a plan to train? A lack of time, know-how, and expenses are real obstacles for many churches, but they don’t have to be.
Ministry Grid is here to help.
Christian apps for kids
Bible Pathway Adventures
iOS | Android
This engaging Bible storybook app helps parents teach their kids about God and His Word. The interactive Bible stories explore the historical context of each narrative (complete with archeological tidbits) and help kids and parents alike know the Bible better.
From their website: The Bible Pathway Adventures’ storybook app is an educational tool designed to help parents and kids spend time together learning about God. Inspired by God’s Word, we’ve taken the timeless biblical stories and added world-class narration and eye-popping illustrations to bring the Bible’s most famous characters to life.
We want to encourage the type of discipleship that begins in the home and spreads outwards to the wider body of Christ. That’s why we’ve created the world’s first discipleship storybook app – to help parents kick-start this lifetime journey. After all, you’ll be the first teacher they’ll ever know.
Bible for Kids
iOS | Android
We’ve already looked at the Bible App by YouVersion—this is its kid sister. The Bible for Kids app is designed to help kids fall in love with God’s Word through interactive illustrated Bible stories.
From their app page: Through interactive adventures and beautiful animations, kids explore the big stories of the Bible. The Bible App for Kids is a delight-filled experience designed to encourage kids to return again and again. It’s the beginning of a lifelong love of God’s Word.
SUPERBOOK
iOS | Android
The app complement to the Christian Broadcasting Network series of the same name, SUPERBOOK gives kids interactive animated Bible content, as well as a list of kid’s FAQs about the Bible.
From their website: This […] app for kids is a media-rich experience that helps bring the Bible to life with videos and images from the Emmy nominated SUPERBOOK animation series as well as engaging interactive games.
All content is embedded within scripture, so children can easily interact with it from within the context of the Bible. This app also includes profiles of people, places and artifacts from the Bible as well as providing Biblical answers to questions that are common to kids.
Adventure Bible Memory
iOS
This Bible verse memory tool is especially made for kids who love Zondervan’s Adventure Bible.
From their app page: Bible memory is fun for kids with the Adventure Bible Memory iPhone app. Do verse scrambles by filling in the blank, choose easy/medium/hard, and earn cool prizes like adventurous pictures and sounds. Even record your own voice reading your favorite verse. This app includes over 1300 verses from the Bible chosen just for kids.
Bible Coloring Book + Christian coloring pages for kids
iOS
The title of this is self-explanatory: this app serves up Bible-story coloring pages for kids to color in on your iOS device.
From their app page: The app includes one coloring book of 12 stories and people from the Old Testament that you can color with crayons or tap to fill. You can even choose to color with crayons that magically stay within the lines! It works great on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. There are 8 additional coloring books that you can purchase within the app, and from time to time we’ll release more. At any time you can upgrade the app to the Deluxe edition with a single in-app purchase.
The Lutheran Insulter
Web
We don’t recommend insulting people. But we would recommend visiting the Lutheran Insulter for some hilariously over-the-top burns from the reformer himself. The Lutheran Insulter serves up particularly caustic turns of phrase from Luther’s Works for use in playful banter with church historians, seminarians, Reformation geeks, and most definitely not your mother.
From their website: This insult generator presents some of Luther’s more crass words in good humor and not as a judgment upon the reformer. […] Some of his insults are inexcusable; a few are so crass as to make me reluctant to put them on this site (e.g. those to do with whoredom). However, when one reads his works, it becomes clear that these insults, a common rhetorical device in the polemical literature of the sixteenth century, were spoken in hopes of defending the pure faith against impure doctrine and guiding the church of his day back into the faith of the Church.
Christian prayer apps
These apps remind you when to pray and what to pray for. Most importantly, they help you keep your promise when you say, “I’ll pray for you.”
PrayerMate
iOS | Android
How many times have we told someone we’d pray for them, and then forget to follow through? This Christian app helps you keep track of prayer requests and faithfully pray for the people and causes you care about.
From their website: PrayerMate brings all your prayer points together. Whether it’s your personal prayer points for friends and family, regular updates from some fantastic mission organizations, or the latest PDF prayer letter that just arrived in your inbox, PrayerMate puts it all together in one place and helps you get on and pray.
Prayer Calendar by Voice of the Martyrs
iOS | Android
This app helps Christians remember their persecuted brothers and sisters throughout the world, and alerts users to specific requests daily.
From their website: Christians around the world have one primary request: “Please pray for us!” Support the body of Christ through daily prayer for the persecuted Christian church. This free iOS or Android application will help focus your prayer requests and remind you to pray each day.
Praying God’s Word
iOS
This Christian devotional app is the accompaniment to Beth Moore’s bestselling book of the same name.
From the app page: This app includes 30 prayers on the topic of Overcoming Unbelief that accompanies Beth Moore’s best selling book, Praying God’s Word. […] Every Scripture reference is linked to an online edition of the Holman Christian Standard Bible so you may read the referenced verses in context. You can save favorites, email prayers, and tweet or post to Twitter and Facebook.
Miles a Minute
iOS | Android
This video devotional from The Rock Church in San Diego features 365 video devotionals from Pastor Miles McPherson—and each one is only 60 seconds long (give or take). It’s an entertaining and uplifting devotional, but also doubles as a light media library for other pastors.
From their website: Miles a Minute was created as a way to speak God’s truth into the lives of those who don’t normally find themselves inside a church.
DVO
iOS
This image and type-based daily devotional app is created for daily, bite-size Bible reading and sharing. But it doesn’t stop with the user—DVO’s Bible art is super sharable on social media, so users can share their devotions with friends, too.
From their website: Our intention is to help people get “His word in”, in this busy, fast-paced life, in the most practical and convenient ways possible. So far we’ve reached more than 250,000 people with the Word of God….and still growing! Using social media and modern technology, we believe that every person should be empowered in their everyday living, with God’s word.
Daily Bible Inspirations
iOS | Android
Daily Bible Inspirations serves up Bible verses and inspiring images once a day on your phone or tablet. The verses are organized by an ordained pastor, and the images are easy to share on social media.
From their app page: This is the perfect app for you if you are a busy parent, a grandparent, a new Christian, a student, or anyone that wants to reconnect with God on a daily basis but may not always have time for daily devotions. All verses are personally curated by an ordained pastor with a PhD in Theology. (So they’re never pulled from a cold, impersonal database by a computer.)
X3watch
iOS | Android | Desktop
The leading online accountability (porn-and-other-bad-stuff–blocking) software, X3watch is the brain child of Craig Gross, who runs XXXchurch.com.
Adapted from their website: I created the software back in 2004 after hearing countless stories from people who were tired of keeping secrets. Over 1 million people have downloaded the software, and it is now available for Windows, Macintosh, iOS, and Android. So if I could tell you one thing it would be this: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Conclusion
This is only scratching the surface. There are plenty more Christian apps in these categories, with new tools and new categories forming all the time. But this map gives you a decent idea of what’s out there for the Church.
What are your favorite Christian apps? Leave us a comment with a link. After all, the landscape keeps changing, and we’ll probably need to make another map later!