Studies have shown that the average mobile phone user has between 60 to 90 apps on their device.
Also, they get to use an average of 30 apps every month and will open at least 10 apps daily.
You are even reading this article via an app on your smartphone or computer. This goes a long way to show you how important apps are to us as humans. What about pastors and church leaders? Are there apps that help to make our work easier? In this post, we look at 5 must-use apps for pastors and church leaders.
Best Apps for Pastors and Church Leaders
Apps help us to achieve several purposes. From personal time management to improving our health, financial management to social media. Let’s show you some apps that you must have as a pastor or church leader.
Time Management Apps
One interesting aspect of a pastor’s life is their time. Pastors have an unpredictable schedule. Yes, you have certain tasks that you must carry out during the week. Some of these tasks include preparing sermons, overseeing staff meetings, attending services, etc. The results of several studies show that pastors work about 50 hours every week on average. That’s for a normal week.
The question that begs an answer is, how many times does a pastor have a “normal workweek?” Many times, several activities crash your schedule. From extended counseling sessions to impromptu hospital visits and several other activities. Honestly, it is quite difficult for pastors to properly manage their schedules especially when they still have to cater to family.
The good news is that there are apps that help with time management. Some of them include:
- Google Calendar
- SelfControl
- RescueTime
Sermon Preparation Apps
Preparing sermons is an exhaustive exercise, especially when you lack access to helpful sermon resources. Of course, you’d spend time praying to be inspired by God. However, there is the place of using resources to give flesh to that inspiration.
Even with these materials, sermon preparation is still spiritually demanding, emotionally taxing, physically difficult, and mentally challenging. Regardless, preaching is one of the most rewarding activities that a pastor will carry out.
Technology has presented pastors with several amazing sermon preparation apps to make their work easier. These apps may not all be designed for sermon preparation but can perform the function easily. Below are some of the popular apps that you can use for sermon preparation:
Financial Management Apps
Many pastors have issues with managing finances, both personal and church finances. LifeWay conducted a study and the results show that many pastors worry about their financial situations. This same study revealed that many pastors leave the vocational ministry because of financial problems.
You don’t have to go through the same issues with the plethora of financial management apps available. These apps help you to keep track of your incomings and outgoings. They also ensure that you come up with financial reports with a lot more ease. Financial management apps help to send out invoices and can carry out several other functions to improve your finances.
Below is a list of financial management apps that you can use. Note that most of them can do a lot more than just manage your finances:
- ChurchPad
- Mint
- Expensify
Health Management Apps
It is very easy for a pastor or church leader to neglect their health because of how much time they spend working. If you are not careful, you can spend several weeks and months not taking steps to care for yourself. The result of this is burnout or acute health problem.
While there is so much that you can do t manage your health, you must ensure that you eat and sleep well. These habits are essential to maintaining a vibrant and healthy lifestyle that can do ministry effectively. Here are some apps to help you manage your health properly:
Personal Apps
Your “personal life” is just as important as your “ministry life,” if not more important. If you get it right with the former, handling the latter isn’t so difficult.
There are several things that you need to do personally these days. One of them is keeping track of online passwords. You are signed up to so many platforms online these days that remembering your passwords might be difficult. The good news is that there are apps to help you out in this regard.
Another aspect that you must consider is writing error-free messages. You don’t want to be writing messages that are loaded with errors. Such errors could distract the reader from the juices of your message. Here are two personal apps that can help you out:
Conclusion
We have shown five must-have apps for pastors and church leaders in this post. Which of these apps do you use currently? Share your experiences with us in the comments section. Meanwhile, check out ChurchPad for articles regarding church administration and church growth.