Saturday 29 September 2007

20 Christian Facebook Applications

Are you on Facebook yet? Facebook is a very popular social networking site, which has been growing massively in popularity since May, when they began allowing anyone to build applications to go on Facebook. There are currently over 4,800 Facebook applications and counting.

Facebook Applications are widgets or gadgets which fit onto your profile, which allow you to share things with others. Many Facebook Applications allow you to bring in content from other websites onto your profile, such as your bookmarks or photos.

Many Facebook applications, while not specifically Christian, are useful for Christians to share things with their friends: for example you can use a book sharing application to share Christian books you may be reading with your friends, or you may use other applications to share Christian websites or videos which you find on the web.

However, there are a number of specifically Christian Facebook Applications which you may want to add to your Facebook profile. A list of well over 20 Christian Facebook Applications in various categories is presented here, updated to include the latest new ones.

What have been your experiences with Christian Facebook Applications? Also, if you find any other Christian Facebook Applications which I have not mentioned, please add these in the comments.


UPDATE: NEW CATEGORIES

The list has been updated and now has 39 Christian Facebook Applications, including several in new categories.

Just Added

The following seven applications have just been added:

"The Bible is an amazing book - the world's all-time best-seller - which can offer guidance, comfort and wisdom for life if you take the time to read it properly. Using this tool, we help you read the Bible in 365 days."

"This application allows Facebook users to display their favorite Bible passage on their profile. They can choose whatever passage they want and may change it as often as they want. All passages are English Standard Version. Hopefully more versions will be added in the future."

"Grace@Work exists to help Christians grow in their understanding of the Word, the world, and themselves, so that they can better follow Christ. This application keeps you up to date with the latest Grace@Work eCommentaries."

"Blessed are those who bless others. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you. Be blessed and bless others."

"Watch the Australian Christian Channel from Facebook! This also has an inbuilt chat feature, so you can talk to other people about the channel in real-time!"

ORU News - New
"Oral Roberts University News"

ORU Events - New
"Oral Roberts University Events"


Bible Study

Bible Notes - This provides a Bible to read, where you can select your favourite book and chapter, add your own notes and highlights, have these show up on your mini feed, and share them with your friends.


Daily Bible Verses

When you set up your profile on Facebook, as a Christian you very likely will want to include a daily Bible verse. I have so far found 12 Facebook applications which will provide this:

Daily Bible Verse - has a link to a popular Discuss the Daily Bible Verse group.

Daily Bible Verse - by MyChurch.org. Passages are taken from the NIV.

Daily Bible Scripture - you can choose between 6 different translations

Bible Verse A Day - by By VerseADay. You can choose from one of 6 Bible versions to receive the daily Bible verse from.

Bible Verses - has buttons to go to the next verse and to share the verse with friends.

Favorite Bible Verses - Place your favourite Bible verses on your profile. Offers the KJV and the ASV, has a link to a Bible discussion forum. This is good because it allows you to select exactly the verse you want to show to others.

Daily Bible Verses - "Get 4 bible verses and bible proverbs delivered to your mobile pod page every day." Colourful and graphical, links to games, a clock and Bible chat.

Verse of the day - "Add uplifting and life-giving Bible verses to your profile to keep the word of God constantly in front of you. This is a great way to share the gospel with your friends!" Links to Crosswalk Bible Study Tools and Verse of the Day Bible Study Group, lets you save verses and share verses with friends.

Holy Bible - Puts your favourite verse or a random verse on your profile, gets verses from the ESV.

Daily Verse - Adds a Flash element to your profile which displays the BibleGateway verse of the day. You must click on the Flash box to see the verse.

The Daily Bible Verse -By DailyBible Verse - New
"Add a Daily Bible Verse to your Facebook. Verses are from the NIV translation of The Holy Bible. theDailyBibleVerse.org"

Impact: Daily - New
"This application displays the daily Impact Bible passage and devotional. Each passage is hand picked to inspire and provide thought for each day. Includes a discussion box, multiple translations, devotionals and customizable styles. More inside..."

I was looking to add the KJV to my profile, and I found that both of the applications which offer 6 different translations: Bible Verse A Day and Daily Bible Scripture could do this. I contacted the developer of Bible Verse A Day with a concern I had, and he made a change that same day. Favorite Bible Verses allows you to choose your favourite Bible verses, as well as the KJV. Bible Notes allows you to study the KJV and add notes and highlights, and share these with friends. Impact: Daily allows you to choose the KJV for the verse on your profile page, but does not change the version used for the shared Bible study verse. The MyUtmost daily devotional uses the KJV.


Daily Devotional

MyUtmost - New
"My Utmost for His Highest" - View the daily devotional written by Oswald Chambers right from your facebook page! - This is wonderful, and it also uses my favourite, the KJV.

"Daily Devotions allows you to read and comment on any Bible devotion found at DEEPERDEVOTION.com."


Daily Inspiration

Their Eyes Were Watching God - "This Application is a collective effort of posting positive, inspirative and uplifting messages, experiences, photos, quotes, poems, and stories. Uplifting news, poems, thoughts or quotation each day." Daily Inspiriation, Poems, Bible Verses, Testimonies, Prayer Requests.


Sermons

"Shows the most recent sermons given at New Minas Baptist Church"


Evangelism

If you are looking specifically for a Facebook application to share the gospel with your friends, there is one so far designed for this purpose:

Good News - a Flash animation presentation of the gospel.


Personal Testimony

"Show the world your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! Share the joy of being saved!"


Fellowship

My Church - If you want to put your church community on your profile, the My Church application from MyChurch.org will enable you to do this.

Church - By LifeChurch.tv - New
"Church is an app that allows you to be a part of an online church community inside of Facebook. It was created by, and is connected to LifeChurch.tv."

"Stay up to date with what's going on at Renaissance Church in Kanata, Ontario, Canada."

City-Wide Worship and Prayer Updates - New
"Updates on City-Wide Worship and Prayer monthly events, bringing the Christian community of the National Capital Region (Canada) together, including updates for The Gathering."


Christian Marriage

ChristianMatrimony - New
"Matrimony, Matrimony, Indian Matrimony. Searching For Your Life Partner? Join Free!"


Prayer

This category is for Facebook applications which allow you to share your prayer requests with your friends:

Prayer Request - by MyChurch.org. This application allows you to add prayer requests to your profile and your mini feed. You can invite friends to pray for you, and pray for friends and their requests. You can keep a prayer journal to keep track of your and your friends' prayers.

Prayer Community - this application allows you to share your prayer requests with a praying community on Facebook. You can browse prayer requests, make commitments to pray and share praises.

PrayShare - this application is good for keeping your prayer topics private initially and only sharing them with selected friends.

Prayer Circle -send prayer requests to your friends to form a circle of prayer.

PrayLive -By Scripture Union - New
PrayLive helps you to pray with and for each other. You can post your prayer status, read a prayer focus, share and respond with your prayer friends, and view what others are praying for in a prayer cloud.


Praise and Thanksgiving

Give it up to God - New
"Gives you the opportunity to give God praise and thanks during your busy day."


The Cross

Your Cross - New
"Put our Christian Cross on your profile page.."


Christian Quotations

Looking for quotes from famous Christians to add to your profile? The following Facebook Applications provide this:

Famous Christian Quotes by MyChurch.org
Offers inspirational quotes from famous Christian leaders.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quotes by MyChurch.org
"Get quotes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on your profile. Be inspired by the Christian preacher, civil rights leader, and author."


I have also found a

Facebook Group

Christian Facebook Applications - "A group for developers and users of Christian Facebook Apps. We are stronger together!"


The following badge links to my Facebook profile:

Ambrose Burgin's Facebook profile

Tuesday 26 June 2007

Ubuntu Christian Edition

You may have noticed the increasing popularity of Ubuntu as an alternative PC operating system to Windows. Ubuntu is a version of Linux, and is free, open-source software.

Now there is a Christian version of Ubuntu: Ubuntu Christian Edition.

Ubuntu CE is based on standard Ubuntu, but includes a range of Christian software:
"Along with the standard Ubuntu applications, Ubuntu Christian Edition includes the best available Christian software. The latest release contains GnomeSword, BibleMemorizer, the e-Sword Installer with Module Manager, The Word Installer, Firefox Web Browser with Bible Fox Theme, and much more."
It is possible to install Ubuntu alongside Windows on the same machine. There are various ways of doing this: using virtualization software, burning a live CD, or using a Windows installer. A standard installation of Ubuntu can be converted to Ubuntu Christian Edition.

Monday 4 June 2007

Find Bible Verses Instantly with InstaVerse





If you are doing any kind of Bible study, you will frequently come across Bible references, where you need to be able to look up the reference in the Bible and read the relevant verse. Bible programs can make this quicker, but you still have to type in the Bible reference in order to find the verse you are looking for.

To help with this situation, WORDsearch have created a free program called InstaVerse, which automatically reads any Bible reference you point at with your mouse, in any web page, or in an E-mail in Outlook, or in a Word document, and instantly displays that Bible verse on the screen. The verse can then be copied and pasted into any document.

InstaVerse
comes with the King James Version free, and for many people that will be all they need. Other Bible translations, and also the Greek and Hebrew can be bought to add this functionality to InstaVerse.

But what if you are using printed study materials? Well, in that case, it may be possible to use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, such as OmniPage, TextBridge, Readiris or FineReader to scan the printed notes and turn them into an electronic document, which InstaVerse can recognise. That way, your computer will look up all your Bible references for you!

What if you are building web pages, and you want the verses to appear on the page when your readers point at the Bible references with their mouse? Well, you could encourage them to download InstaVerse, or you could also build tooltip Bible verses into the web page. For this you could use overLIB, a free JavaScript library for creating popup tooltip notes. You can use InstaVerse to find the Bible verses, and then paste them into the JavaScript code, to create your own instant tooltip Bible verses!

Monday 19 February 2007

eBible

eBible.com!

eBible is a Web 2.0 Bible site for studying the Bible. It includes a selection of reference tools, such as commentaries and Bible dictionaries. Bible verses can be bookmarked, and these bookmarks shared with the community. A toolbar is available, as well as widgets for your website or blog - see my eBible bookmarks opposite, for example.

I can recommend that you start using this site, as no other Bible study site matches eBible for Web 2.0 features, such as social bookmarking, combined with choice of study tools.

eBible image

Christian Web Resources

The purpose of this blog is to bring to your attention resources on the Christian Web. As I find them, I will share them with you.

May I suggest that you subscribe to the web feed, so that I can keep you up to date on the latest things that I find?