Using iPad in Church?

Nathan Parker
Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755
edited November 21 in English Forum

I'm getting a new iPad Air for Christmas (as soon as it arrives). I can't wait to use the Logos app for reading and Bible study, plus all the other uses I'll get out of my iPad.

I'm also wondering about this. Currently at church I carry a leather Bible, note taking journal, and music book to play the prelude with. Could I replace all of this using an iPad Air? I know I could use the Logos app for Bible study, either take notes in Logos or another app, and scan my sheet music into the iPad, as well as download our church hymnal app.

Who else uses their iPad in church, and what other good apps could I use to accomplish all of this?

Nathan Parker

Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

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Comments

  • spitzerpl
    spitzerpl Member Posts: 4,998

    I stopped carrying a paper Bible about 2 years ago. I use Logos for my Bible, Notability for recording sermon notes, and Goodreader for preaching notes when I preach.  I must admit every once and a while I miss the paper Bible but over all the benefits have outweighed the negatives.

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    I stopped carrying a paper Bible about 2 years ago. I use Logos for my Bible, Notability for recording sermon notes, and Goodreader for preaching notes when I preach.  I must admit every once and a while I miss the paper Bible but over all the benefits have outweighed the negatives.

    True. While I love my leather Bible, having everything in one device would be handy and a lot less to carry! :-)

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • Bill Anderson
    Bill Anderson Member Posts: 603 ✭✭

    Currently at church I carry ... note taking journal, ...

    The iPad isn't the best for taking notes because you need a capacitive stylus and they are harder to write with.

    My Samsung Note 8.0 on the other hand has an active Wacom digitizer and is great for taking notes.

    You'll love the iPad for everything else.

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    Currently at church I carry ... note taking journal, ...

    The iPad isn't the best for taking notes because you need a capacitive stylus and they are harder to write with.

    My Samsung Note 8.0 on the other hand has an active Wacom digitizer and is great for taking notes.

    You'll love the iPad for everything else.

    Yeah, I had the Note II and it was a fun phone. Went back to iPhone since I went back to being a Mac/iOS guy. :-)

    For taking notes, I was thinking of just typing them out. I'm a fast typist. Probably looks better than scribbling them out anyway. :-)

    I'm just curious how many people are taking tablets to church over printed Bibles, journals, etc. It's another use case I'm wondering if I should jump on.

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • JT (alabama24)
    JT (alabama24) MVP Posts: 36,489

    The iPad isn't the best for taking notes because you need a capacitive stylus and they are harder to write with.

    I type much faster than I write, hands down... but... I certainly can't type as fast on my iPad as I can on my MacBook Pro (or regular Mac keyboard). In most cases I would be OK. Thinking back to a couple of profs... I could imagine some situations where I would have difficulties keeping up.

    macOS, iOS & iPadOS | Logs |  Install

  • spitzerpl
    spitzerpl Member Posts: 4,998

    With notability I find writing with my finger to be very acceptable. I can also tke a screen shot of a passage and mark it up with arrows and lines connecting thoughts, then export it to pdf. My pastor usually has a sermon note page in the bulletin. I take a picture of it in notability and write on the note page so I don't have to write as much. It also comes with the benefit of being able to easily erase a mistake and adding color for distinction.

  • Jack Caviness
    Jack Caviness MVP Posts: 13,489

    I'm just curious how many people are taking tablets to church over printed Bibles, journals, etc

    I have replaced my printed Bible with an iPad, but then I don't take notes during the sermon—would be too distracting for me. Fortunately, God blessed me with very good short-term and long-term memory.

  • Mike Binks
    Mike Binks MVP Posts: 7,434

    I use the iPad in Church all the time.

    Admittedly most of the time I am preaching and it would look odd if I started taking notes.

    When I am not preaching I try to concentrate on the sermon by giving it my full attention.

    tootle pip

    Mike

    How to get logs and post them.(now tagging post-apocalyptic fiction as current affairs) Latest Logos, MacOS, iOS and iPadOS

  • Jamie Page
    Jamie Page Member Posts: 80 ✭✭

    There are a number of great handwriting apps for the iPad.

    Notes Plus and GoodNotes both have zoom features that make handwriting look just as good as on real paper.

    Note Moka is GORGEOUS. I hope that eventually they'll bring back the zoom feature. They have a zoom feature now but it's not even close to as useful as the previous two apps.

    You could also create your notes right in the Logos app as the documents/notes features have developed really well.

  • Dave Dunkin (Logos)
    Dave Dunkin (Logos) Member, Logos Employee Posts: 1,043

    I use a Logitech keyboard case for typing notes in church. It's a lot faster for me than the on-screen keyboard. I used to use a lower quality keyboard, but the keys were mushy, resulting in errors that made it no faster than the on-screen keyboard.

  • Jack Caviness
    Jack Caviness MVP Posts: 13,489

    When I am not preaching I try to concentrate on the sermon by giving it my full attention.

    What a novel concept. Is this a Scottish thing? [8-|]

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    The iPad isn't the best for taking notes because you need a capacitive stylus and they are harder to write with.

    I type much faster than I write, hands down... but... I certainly can't type as fast on my iPad as I can on my MacBook Pro (or regular Mac keyboard). In most cases I would be OK. Thinking back to a couple of profs... I could imagine some situations where I would have difficulties keeping up.

    Yeah, I'll be curious to see how fast I can type on the iPad. With my pastor, it'll be OK. Since my college work is online with pre-recorded lectures, I can always hit rewind. :-)

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    With notability I find writing with my finger to be very acceptable. I can also tke a screen shot of a passage and mark it up with arrows and lines connecting thoughts, then export it to pdf. My pastor usually has a sermon note page in the bulletin. I take a picture of it in notability and write on the note page so I don't have to write as much. It also comes with the benefit of being able to easily erase a mistake and adding color for distinction.

    Sounds interesting. What's the iTunes Store link to that? It is true that the basic outline is already in my bulletin each week, so this sounds like a fun concept to try.

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    I'm just curious how many people are taking tablets to church over printed Bibles, journals, etc

    I have replaced my printed Bible with an iPad, but then I don't take notes during the sermon—would be too distracting for me. Fortunately, God blessed me with very good short-term and long-term memory.

    That helps! :-) The basic outline is in the bulletin, but sometimes I like to include more details, and there's not a lot of room to write on the bulletin. Problem is then I have to re-copy the ensure outline into my note taking journal. Very tedious. :-)

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    I use the iPad in Church all the time.

    Admittedly most of the time I am preaching and it would look odd if I started taking notes.

    When I am not preaching I try to concentrate on the sermon by giving it my full attention.

    That would look odd. :-)

    I do concentrate on the sermon as well and give it my full attention, but I like to take notes to remember what the preacher is saying long term. Always great to look over my notes throughout the week and really remember the applications.

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    There are a number of great handwriting apps for the iPad.

    Notes Plus and GoodNotes both have zoom features that make handwriting look just as good as on real paper.

    Note Moka is GORGEOUS. I hope that eventually they'll bring back the zoom feature. They have a zoom feature now but it's not even close to as useful as the previous two apps.

    You could also create your notes right in the Logos app as the documents/notes features have developed really well.

    Sounds like interesting apps. Of the three, which do you prefer? I was thinking of using Logos Notes as well, but is it as good as using a dedicated note taking app, or should I take my notes elsewhere then compile them into a Logos Personal Book of all my pastor's sermons?

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    I use a Logitech keyboard case for typing notes in church. It's a lot faster for me than the on-screen keyboard. I used to use a lower quality keyboard, but the keys were mushy, resulting in errors that made it no faster than the on-screen keyboard.

    I've thought about those as well. Side question: Why use a keyboard case+tablet over say a MacBook Air? That's a concept I've been wondering about what the benefits are.

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • Dave Dunkin (Logos)
    Dave Dunkin (Logos) Member, Logos Employee Posts: 1,043

    Why use a keyboard case+tablet over say a MacBook Air? That's a concept I've been wondering about what the benefits are.

    The tablet+keyboard combo works well if you want a tablet most of the time. Sunday morning is really the only time I use my iPad with a keyboard. The rest of the time I have the smart cover on it. The iPad is still smaller and lighter than a MBA, plus it has built in LTE.

  • Nathan Parker
    Nathan Parker Member Posts: 1,755

    Why use a keyboard case+tablet over say a MacBook Air? That's a concept I've been wondering about what the benefits are.

    The tablet+keyboard combo works well if you want a tablet most of the time. Sunday morning is really the only time I use my iPad with a keyboard. The rest of the time I have the smart cover on it. The iPad is still smaller and lighter than a MBA, plus it has built in LTE.

    Good idea about swapping cases around. True about the iPad being smaller than MBA and built in cellular. Not sure if our church has Wi-Fi, so that is another plus (I'm getting an iPad Air with built-in cellular and on T-Mobile with the free data plan).

    Nathan Parker

    Visit my blog at http://focusingonthemarkministries.com

  • Stephen
    Stephen Member Posts: 237 ✭✭

    Currently at church I carry ... note taking journal, ...

    The iPad isn't the best for taking notes because you need a capacitive stylus and they are harder to write with.

    My Samsung Note 8.0 on the other hand has an active Wacom digitizer and is great for taking notes.

    You'll love the iPad for everything else.

    Bill, I have no issue with note taking. I use an Adonit JotPro. It's the best stylus I've found for note taking and with it, it's just like writing on paper. I also have a Targus keyboard case but my typing isn't very good :)