Preaching from an iPad

A quick question for those guys who preach with Notes on the iPad rather than printed notes - what app do you use for that?

Just got myself an iPad and wondering whether I could use it in the pulpit - but think a scrolling viewer (such as Dropbox) would be less than ideal - I think I'd prefer a viewer that allowed me to flick page by page (screen by screen).

Not sure if I feel confident enough to take the plunge yet, but it would save me having to print out my notes each time (typically I print 6-8 A5 sheets for notes which might translate to about 10-12 screen worths (?) on the iPad depending on text size and how readable it is compared with paper ...)

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Tobias Lampert

Just got myself an iPad and wondering whether I could use it in the pulpit

Just a matter of time until the iPad suddenly stops working during sermon! [:D]

Pedro

iBooks. Save your notes/manuscript with a font size of 16 with a double space paragraph in PDF format. You can send it to iBooks from dropbox. It works like a charm.

Some weeks ago I was preaching in the PM service, the lights went out and I was able to continue because of the IPad. Highly recommended!

Kenneth Neighoff

I preach from my IPad every Sunday and use it for Wednesday Bible Study. I use another Bible App, because I can use split screen and have my Bible on the left and the notes on the right. Plus on the notes, all Scripture references are hyperlinked so I just need to touch the link and the reference pops up.

Or you could use Pages or Docs to Go.

Bob Turner

I send my sermon notes as a PDF to iBooks and preach from there.

Its nice because it doesn't scroll loosely. I also like that I can have as many pages as I want, spacing everything out so I can see at a glance... as well as using lots of color, etc. Make sure to use 16-20 font size.

Kenneth - can i ask what program u use for the notes w/ Scripture like that?

Pastor Kenn Dixon, M.A., CDMP, APR

I have been using Documents 2 Go because you can edit and not have pages to turn. It just scrolls up no matter how many pages you have. One continuous flow. You have use two fingers to make bigger and it adjust automatically. Great app for preaching.

Kevin A. Purcell

A great way to move files back and forth to/from iPad is using Pages, DropBox and DropDAV. I wrote a post about it at the Notebooks link below. I now edit mostly on my computer and then import to Pages from DropBox app. Any edits I do on the iPad I save to DropDAV from Pages for later editing on the computer.

Wes Saad

I use Pages and enjoy being able to scroll. Makes it easier to follow from one page to the next.

What I did to get used to it was to use my iPad on Sunday evenings. I tried it out for a few weeks then started using it during the morning service as well. It takes a little getting used to for some things, but it has worked well.

Once I get the document into Pages (via Dropbox, usually) I will reduce the margins to about .25" so more of the text fills the screen and I increase the font size to make it easier to read. Hide all the Pages controls and lock the iPad orientation, and I'm good to go. No accidents with it yet.

One advantage of Pages over exporting to PDF and using something like iBooks is if you need to tweak your notes at the last minute, you can tweak in Pages but not in iBooks.

Mike Belcher

I preach with the Ipad in every service and have been for several months. There is an awkward period that you must get over. I normally type notes up on the computer. I export them to Dropbox where I put it in Goodreader for filing purposes and then open in Pages so I can cut and past the contents. I then use Biblereader to preach from. As a earlier post stated, you can spit-screen and have text on one half and note on the other. Another benefit is that you can tag the notes and make it easier to see what you preached in a particular book or subject. Works really great for me.

College Heights Baptist Church

I write my sermons on Pages and then export them to an epub file. Drag it into itunes, sync and it will be in ibooks. If you put the sermon date at the top of your notes each week formatted as a title then it will start a new chapter titled with that Sunday's date. I like being able to have each sermon in a series in one book. The only downside is you cannot add to it at the last minute but you can highlight and make a note. I include all my scripture and anything else I'll need in my notes. you can adjust the font in ibooks.

Tes

I use Pages and enjoy being able to scroll. Makes it easier to follow from one page to the next.

What I did to get used to it was to use my iPad on Sunday evenings. I tried it out for a few weeks then started using it during the morning service as well. It takes a little getting used to for some things, but it has worked well.

Once I get the document into Pages (via usually) I will reduce the margins to about .25" so more of the text fills the screen and I increase the font size to make it easier to read. Hide all the Pages controls and lock the iPad orientation, and I'm good to go. No accidents with it yet.

One advantage of Pages over exporting to PDF and using something like iBooks is if you need to tweak your notes at the last minute, you can tweak in Pages but not in iBooks.

HI, Christ ,is there any way to elaboate it for me? Would you please as best as possible make it understandable for me?

Kevin A. Purcell

Is there any way to elaboate it for me? Would you please as best as possible make it understandable for me?

Pages is a word processing app, similar to Microsoft Office's Word program. If you import the notes into Pages in one of a few different ways, then you can use it as he said in his post. This is how I preach every Sun/Wed. I create the file on my computer, save it to my DropBox folder. DropBox is a service that copies files to their web site for you if it is saved in the special folder it places on your computer. Then you download the DropBox app on the iPad and it lest you access these files. This offers a way to open the files in the DropBox app. Then you can export it with a special button in DropBox. It offers a list of programs that can be used on your iPad. Pages is one of them. It opens the file in Pages where you can increase the font size and make it easily readable.Using your finger you can move the screen so it scrolls down a page at a time to view the next page of notes in the sermon. Works great!

Dudley Rose

I write my sermons on Pages and then export them to an epub file. Drag it into itunes, sync and it will be in ibooks. If you put the sermon date at the top of your notes each week formatted as a title then it will start a new chapter titled with that Sunday's date. I like being able to have each sermon in a series in one book. The only downside is you cannot add to it at the last minute but you can highlight and make a note. I include all my scripture and anything else I'll need in my notes. you can adjust the font in ibooks.

I, too, get my sermon into an ePub. In my case I write it in Word on the computer, save it as a filtered HTML file and convert it to an ePub in Calibre (free). I upload the ePub to a neat iPad reader called iFlow (free). iFlow is a scrolling reader, like some above, but you can set it to scroll itself. You have precise control over the flow speed, and you can easily manually move the text if you start to get ahead or behind. When you let it go, the auto-scrolling simply resumes at the previous speed. It essentially works as a teleprompter. What I like about this setup is that I can make the font very large within iFlow, set it going, and be more or less hands free and able to move a ways from the iPad and still read the large text. I also use Voice Recorder HD (another iPad app, $1.99), set it to record before I begin, and then record the sermon in the background. The sound reproduction is excellent. I convert the audio file to an MP3 for posting/podcasting. I've tried a number of other ways of preaching from the iPad, all with pretty good results, but this one works the best for me, better than a printed manuscript, too.

Dudley

Tes

Is there any way to elaboate it for me? Would you please as best as possible make it understandable for me?

Pages is a word processing app, similar to Microsoft Office's Word program. If you import the notes into Pages in one of a few different ways, then you can use it as he said in his post. This is how I preach every Sun/Wed. I create the file on my computer, save it to my DropBox folder. DropBox is a service that copies files to their web site for you if it is saved in the special folder it places on your computer. Then you download the DropBox app on the iPad and it lest you access these files. This offers a way to open the files in the DropBox app. Then you can export it with a special button in DropBox. It offers a list of programs that can be used on your iPad. Pages is one of them. It opens the file in Pages where you can increase the font size and make it easily readable.Using your finger you can move the screen so it scrolls down a page at a time to view the next page of notes in the sermon. Works great!

Kevin, thank you for the explanation,even though I haven't understood. Is there payment for it?

Jacob Hantla

I write my sermons on Pages and then export them to an epub file. Drag it into itunes, sync and it will be in ibooks. If you put the sermon date at the top of your notes each week formatted as a title then it will start a new chapter titled with that Sunday's date. I like being able to have each sermon in a series in one book. The only downside is you cannot add to it at the last minute but you can highlight and make a note. I include all my scripture and anything else I'll need in my notes. you can adjust the font in ibooks.

I, too, get my sermon into an ePub. In my case I write it in Word on the computer, save it as a filtered HTML file and convert it to an ePub in Calibre (free). I upload the ePub to a neat iPad reader called iFlow (free). iFlow is a scrolling reader, like some above, but you can set it to scroll itself. You have precise control over the flow speed, and you can easily manually move the text if you start to get ahead or behind. When you let it go, the auto-scrolling simply resumes at the previous speed. It essentially works as a teleprompter. What I like about this setup is that I can make the font very large within iFlow, set it going, and be more or less hands free and able to move a ways from the iPad and still read the large text. I also use Voice Recorder HD (another iPad app, $1.99), set it to record before I begin, and then record the sermon in the background. The sound reproduction is excellent. I convert the audio file to an MP3 for posting/podcasting. I've tried a number of other ways of preaching from the iPad, all with pretty good results, but this one works the best for me, better than a printed manuscript, too.

Dudley

Very cool!

John Fugh, Jr.

I write my sermons on Pages and then export them to an epub file. Drag it into itunes, sync and it will be in ibooks. If you put the sermon date at the top of your notes each week formatted as a title then it will start a new chapter titled with that Sunday's date. I like being able to have each sermon in a series in one book. The only downside is you cannot add to it at the last minute but you can highlight and make a note. I include all my scripture and anything else I'll need in my notes. you can adjust the font in ibooks.

I, too, get my sermon into an ePub. In my case I write it in Word on the computer, save it as a filtered HTML file and convert it to an ePub in Calibre (free). I upload the ePub to a neat iPad reader called iFlow (free). iFlow is a scrolling reader, like some above, but you can set it to scroll itself. You have precise control over the flow speed, and you can easily manually move the text if you start to get ahead or behind. When you let it go, the auto-scrolling simply resumes at the previous speed. It essentially works as a teleprompter. What I like about this setup is that I can make the font very large within iFlow, set it going, and be more or less hands free and able to move a ways from the iPad and still read the large text. I also use Voice Recorder HD (another iPad app, $1.99), set it to record before I begin, and then record the sermon in the background. The sound reproduction is excellent. I convert the audio file to an MP3 for posting/podcasting. I've tried a number of other ways of preaching from the iPad, all with pretty good results, but this one works the best for me, better than a printed manuscript, too.

Dudley

Very cool!

For those who may or may not know - there is a website that will convert docx and pdf files to epub files.

http://www.epubconverter.org/

I've used this successfully with iflow reader.

Blessings-

John

Richard Wardman

I write my sermons on Pages and then export them to an epub file. Drag it into itunes, sync and it will be in ibooks. If you put the sermon date at the top of your notes each week formatted as a title then it will start a new chapter titled with that Sunday's date. I like being able to have each sermon in a series in one book. The only downside is you cannot add to it at the last minute but you can highlight and make a note. I include all my scripture and anything else I'll need in my notes. you can adjust the font in ibooks.

I, too, get my sermon into an ePub. In my case I write it in Word on the computer, save it as a filtered HTML file and convert it to an ePub in Calibre (free). I upload the ePub to a neat iPad reader called iFlow (free). iFlow is a scrolling reader, like some above, but you can set it to scroll itself. You have precise control over the flow speed, and you can easily manually move the text if you start to get ahead or behind. When you let it go, the auto-scrolling simply resumes at the previous speed. It essentially works as a teleprompter. What I like about this setup is that I can make the font very large within iFlow, set it going, and be more or less hands free and able to move a ways from the iPad and still read the large text. I also use Voice Recorder HD (another iPad app, $1.99), set it to record before I begin, and then record the sermon in the background. The sound reproduction is excellent. I convert the audio file to an MP3 for posting/podcasting. I've tried a number of other ways of preaching from the iPad, all with pretty good results, but this one works the best for me, better than a printed manuscript, too.

Dudley

Very cool!

Agreed! And thanks for tip about Calibre.