The Moravian Daily Texts has been around, in one form or another, for almost 300 years. This year, at long last, the world’s oldest daily devotional makes the jump to the smartphone era with the introduction of the Moravian Daily Texts app.
Developed by Stephen Kish, a member of Edgeboro Moravian Church, in cooperation with our team at the Interprovincial Board of Communication (IBOC), this mobile app offers a new way to interact with the Moravian Daily Texts on your smartphone or tablet.
We had considered an app for the Daily Texts for several years; however, for funding and expertise reasons, and given the fact that the Daily Texts are available in a wide variety of digital forms (eBooks, e-mail, website, etc.), we had set the idea aside.
But one afternoon in 2017, Steve, whose day job is as a programmer for a local engineering firm, came to me with a proposal to develop an app as a programming exercise. I jumped at the chance to see what he could create and provided him a year’s worth of Daily Texts to work with.
Several weeks later, he returned with the first prototype. Over the next several months, we worked on the interface, adding features, working out bugs and trying new ideas. Along the way, we learned a lot, especially the process of getting apps approved through the two main distribution channels for such a product: Google Play and Apple iTunes.
This spring, after several attempts at bringing the app to fruition, Steve’s efforts helped us finally get it approved. It launched in late April and has been building a following ever since.
Each day, the Moravian Daily Texts app offers the verses and prayers found in the North American version of the 2019 Moravian Daily Texts (note: hymn texts available in the printed versions are not included in this app). The Moravian Daily Texts 2019 app also features: links to the full Bible verses in context (note: web access is required for this feature); text-to-speech capability, allowing users to hear the Daily Texts; journaling capability to capture thoughts and insights on each day’s Daily Texts; ability to search Daily Texts by word or Bible verse; access to the Daily Texts Podcast from Moravian Church Without Walls; and more.
Thanks to Steve’s perseverance and programming skills, the Moravian Daily Texts App is now available on the App Store for Apple iOS devices and Google Play for Android devices for $1.99. (Search “Moravian Daily Texts 2019” to find it on each store.)
So whether you prefer a printed Daily Texts, an eBook version, a daily e-mail or now an app on your smartphone, you can receive the “daily message from God that is new every morning!”
Peace,
Mike Riess, Editor
