The Best Ministry Tech Apps of 2021 Your Church Needs

One study found that the average person has 60 to 90 apps on their phone and uses about 30 each month. In the United States, the average app user spends over two hours on their apps every day. That adds up to about a month out of every year. This raises the question: are you using the best ministry tech apps to benefit your church?

Depending on how you see technology as a ministry, applications may feel like a waste of time or the perfect solution to your problems. Chances are, you already use several apps in your personal like to handle banking, socializing, and even organization. So, should your ministry be doing the same?

The answer ultimately comes down to the tools that you have and the tools that you need. If you’re interested in using apps for your ministry, take a look at these apps, ranked the best of 2021.

Managing Time with Ministry Tech Apps

#1 Google Calendar

Trying to manage your schedule? Google Calendar is a cloud app that allows you to add people and instantly sync schedules with each other. You can even sync it with Gmail, allowing you to effortlessly add meetings, events and more. The interface is clean and bright, too!

#2 RescueTime

Ministries never seem to have enough time. RescueTime can help you figure out where it’s all going. This app will improve your time management skills and help you cut back and delegate tasks that you find out are taking up far too much of your day. This app reviews your app and computer usage to help reveal what your biggest time wasters are.

#3 SelfControl

Do you find that online distractions eat away at productivity? SelfControl will help you by disabling access to websites you select or even denying you access to the internet altogether for whatever period you choose. It’s a great way to enter “focus mode” and cut off distractions.

#4 Unroll.Me

The average worker spends about 11 hours per week, or 28 percent of their workday, checking email. We waste plenty of time in our personal lives scrolling through our inboxes, too. If you’re in your inbox often, you know that a lot of important stuff in there deserves your attention, like messages from volunteers, members and friends.

However, your email simply shouldn’t take up as much time as it does. Unroll.Me will help clean your inbox so that you can open it, get right to what’s important, and then get back to your life.

#5 Project Management

How do you like to manage your tasks and to-do lists? Project management apps are cloud-based and can help bring all of your disjointed sticky notes, reminders, and top-of-mind tasks to one place so you can stay on track. You can choose one depending on what works for you, but the most popular include Asana, Basecamp, Trello, and Todoist.

Ministry Tech Apps to Get Your Sermon Right

#6 Evernote

It’s exhausting to preach each week. It’s your life’s passion, but it’s okay to admit that it’s demanding physically, mentally, and emotionally. When it comes to maximizing your sermon and the time you spend planning it, it’s okay to use tools.

Evernote is one of the most popular planning apps and it can help you share and remember points and ideas. Consider it your personal filing system. It’s a notebook, but it’s also a living planner that you can access from any device. Use it to organize your files, manage tasks and more.

#7 Logos Bible Software

Are you looking to dig deeper into the word of God? Plenty of Bible study tools exist, but Logos is often considered the best. It can help you study at the personal level and also make planning sermons and creating Bible Study curriculum for others much simpler. Anything you turn to the Bible to do, Logos can help.

Both free and paid plans are available to fit your church’s needs. You can also compare translations of the text, consult expert commentaries and more.

#8 Sermonary

If you’re tired of working on your sermons in Google Docs or Word, Sermonary may be your next best friend. This sermon editor allows you to take things one block at a time, allowing you to develop your message any way you see fit. You can then view it in Podium mode, so you can preach directly from the app.

With added features, like a handy built-in clock overlay, Sermonary is a functional app that will prove very valuable in your preaching toolbox.

Ministry Tech Apps for Budgeting

#9 You Need a Budget

Is your church trying to get a handle on its finances? The You Need a Budget (YNAB) app takes a new approach to money management that will help you get ahead. While other budgeting apps encourage you to “forecast” and plan with money that you don’t have, YNAB only allows you to plan a dollar’s job once it’s in your hands.

Many people and churches have gotten out of debt and gotten ahead of their bills with the help of YNAB, and your church can, too. Explore the platform’s app and desktop versions to see if it will work for your needs.

#10 Expensify

How is your church tracking its expenses? Expensify is a handy app that can make tracking your spending a bit easier. With the app, you can scan your receipts while on-the-go and see your business’ expenses at-a-glance.

#11 DonorWerx

If your church doesn’t yet have a digital strategy to guide the things you do online, Donorwerx is essential to taking the next step. Giving software combined with coaching and consulting enables Donorwerx users to grow their churches in a sustainable way. Whether you’re looking to launch digital giving for the first time or in need of a new solution, Donorwerx can help.

Ministry Tech Apps for Simplifying Life

#12 Sleep Cycle

We’ve already acknowledged that being a pastor can take a major mental and emotional toll on your well-being. Managing your sleep health will play a big part in your productivity and health. Sleep Cycle is a nice app that can help you see how well you’re sleeping and whether you’re getting enough sleep.

#13 LastPass

Tired of remembering your passwords? Strong passwords are essential to the security of your church’s accounts, and your personal ones, too. However, it’s easy for people to start reusing or simplifying their passwords if they’re always resetting or forgetting them. LastPass is a powerful, secure password manager that will enable you to keep track of all of your passwords.

One study they conducted shows that the average employee manages 191 passwords. It’s impossible to remember all of those passwords, and writing them down or using other methods of “remembering” is very dangerous, especially when it comes to financial apps. LastPass can help you keep things in order.

Grow Your Church

Interested in learning more about ministry tech apps and other powerful tools that can support your church’s sustainable growth? Reach out to Donorwerx today and schedule a Discovery Call.