11 secrets You Need to Know if You’re Preaching With an iPad
When it comes to preaching, I constantly see preachers missing out on these 11 easy hacks that work wonders if you preach with an iPad to deliver God’s word. But, unfortunately, even some of the biggest names in preaching are missing out on these lowkey fire iPad preaching hacks!
For Instance, even one of my all-time favorite preachers, Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr, is missing out on some of these easy must know hacks. The guy is a beast of a preacher, phenomenal leader, legendary pastor of Vous Church, and someone I look up to a lot, but I noticed the other day on an Instagram post, Pastor Rich was looking over his sermon outline before he preached, and he was viewing his outline in his internet browser, which is a big no-no. More about why I wouldn’t recommend that in hack #2.
The point is, while I love Pastor Rich’s preaching and look up to him a lot, I thought to myself, if some of the greatest names in preaching are missing out on some of these hacks, how many thousands of other preachers are too? Well, Powerhouse Preacher Blog to the rescue! (Don’t worry Pastor Rich, I got you!) Check out these 11 helpful hacks for preaching with an iPad.
Write Your Sermon in a Google Doc.
Writing your sermons in Google Docs is a non-negotiable for me. Number one, it’s free. Number two, it’s easy to share documents with others. Number three, any sermon written in Google Docs is easily accessible across multiple devices like your laptop, iPad, or cell phone.
A bonus is that Google Drive/Docs are also safe to store and save all your sermons and organize them with different folders. That way, if your devices ever crash or break, you won’t lose access to all the sermons you have spent hundreds of hours writing. Any preacher who has lost their life’s work of sermon outlines knows the pain of losing them all forever cuts deep. So don’t let it be you. Write your sermon in a Google doc
2. Download the Google Docs App
Now don't just keep logging into the web browser on your iPad to access your Google Docs. Web browsers can be unstable and glitch out unexpectedly. However, Google has made things easy for you so take advantage of downloading the Google Drive and Google Docs app. This way, you can easily view your sermons across multiple devices without the lag or glitches of an unstable web browser.
One thing I love about the Google Docs app is if I ever get a wave of sermon ideas when I’m out and about or away from my MacBook, the Google apps are right at my fingertips on my Ipad or iPhone. I can simply open the app and start adding to my sermon before I forget the ideas that have just come to mind. The Google Drive Doc app has been a lifesaver on numerous occasions. Any seasoned preacher knows some of the best sermon ideas, illustrations, and revelations happen when you aren’t in full-blown study mode.
3. Save Your Sermon as Available Offline
Take advantage of the “Available offline” feature in the Google Docs App. Once engaged, this feature will allow you to edit your sermons anytime, anywhere, without WiFi, and it will resync with your other devices once you are back on WiFi.
This feature has been critical for me when I’m guest preaching at other churches and don’t have Wi-Fi access. I no longer have to worry about if my sermon will load properly or glitch out while I’m there. Your sermon is literally “saved and sound” with the Available offline feature. Get it? Lol
4. Don't Use Dark Mode
It may seem like it would make sense to preach with your iPad in dark mode on Google Docs. However, I wouldn’t recommend it. The dark mode is said to be easier on your eyes. However, dark mode actually causes your pupils to dilate more and more each time you look away from the screen, which can cause eye strain.
I learned this one the hard way when I would get a raging migraine after preaching from using dark mode. So instead, keep it Biblical and stay in the “light mode,” especially if your eyes are relatively sensitive to lights.
5. Put Portrait Orientation Lock, on
Having your IPad screen change orientations on you while you’re preaching is really annoying. Especially when it doesn’t want to go back to the way you had it. After all, you are trying to preach God’s word accurately and effectively, not worry about whether your iPad will stay vertical or horizontal. Failure to engage the portrait orientation lock will leave you looking like a madman turning an imaginary steering wheel while preaching… don’t let this be you.
6. Make Sure Your iPad is fully Charged
This one seems silly, but you would be surprised at how many preachers fail to charge their iPad before hitting the stage. I would advise having your iPad 100% charged before your final run-through. The lowest I allow my battery to go before hitting the stage is 80% charged. This will also save you if you are preaching multiple services back to back.
7. Set Your Auto-lock to “Never”
Getting locked out of your IPad and having to enter your passcode to get back in is not a position you want to find yourself in while on stage. I’ve seen it happen to a few preachers on stage who didn’t set their Auto-lock to (Never), and honestly, it was just embarrassing to watch as the audience waited on them to get their iPad unlocked and back into their outline to glance at the next scripture.
Your Auto-lock on your iPad is set to engage once every 30 seconds to 5 mins. My guess is you preach for much longer than that. So do yourself a favor and set your Auto-lock to “Never” before you go up on stage.
*you can adjust the Auto-lock Setting inside of your General/ Settings App and under Display/Brightness.*
8. Refresh Your Message on Your iPad Before You Leave Your Wifi Source
Discovering this one made me feel like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. I had finished my sermon outline on my computer but never refreshed my iPad while I was still on WiFi. So when I got to the church I was preaching at, I was halfway through my sermon on stage when I realized the second half of it wasn’t there. I was trying to figure out if I had gone crazy and never written the second half of my sermon or if something technical had happened. Needless to say, going through the rest of that sermon with a half-finished outline was a nightmare. I’ve never been asked to preach there again lol.
Refresh your Google Doc before leaving your Wi-Fi Source to ensure you have the most up-to-date version of your sermon on your iPad before you preach.
*To do this, simply pull downward on the main screen of the Google Docs app, and it will refresh all your docs to their latest version.*
9. Put Your Scriptures Inside of Your Google Doc Outline
One time, I saw a pastor preaching with an iPad who was switching between his outline and the Bible app every time he read the verses. The Bible app kept glitching and stalling, and it was another one of those times you just felt bad and embarrassed for the guy. It took away from the flow of his sermon and the effect it had with all of the awkward pauses switching between two different apps.
I would either copy-paste all your scriptures into your Google Doc from the Bible app if you are writing your sermon on your iPad or cell phone. Or, if you are on a computer, I would copy-paste them in from either Bible Gateway, Bible Study Tools, or Bible Hub. You can easily copy-paste your scriptures from those sites. Just make sure you highlight them and change their formatting to “normal text” in Google Docs to avoid messing up your outline’s formatting.
10. Get an iPad Case or Stand
This one sounds like a no-brainer. But I feel like I have to mention it. I have seen preachers drop and break their iPad more than once right before going on stage. The result was them attempting to preach without an outline, and it was disastrous!
Most iPad cases and stands are relatively affordable and can be purchased on Amazon for less than $20.
11. Turn on Do Not Disturb Mode
Having notifications like text messages, phone calls, facetime, Instagram, or offers from Dominos rolling in on your iPad while trying to preach can be distracting. Imagine this:
Your wife texts you because she is mad you didn’t take the trash out.
Your girlfriend breaks up with you.
Someone starts slandering you on Instagram because of your retro off-white Jordan sneakers.
Grandma is sick and headed to the hospital in an ambulance.
Your bank account has just been over-drafted with fraudulent charges.
None of those scenarios are interruptions you want distracting you or taking away from your ability to be God’s vessel and deliver His Word.
So turn on Do Not Disturb Mode before you go up on stage to make sure you can preach distraction-free.
The time you spend up on stage giving your sermon is so important. It can have an eternal and life-changing impact on the people you preach to and should never be taken lightly. The hacks in this blog are here to help you preach your best and save you from many of the blunders that have thrown me and others for a loop on stage.
Learn from my mistakes and take some time to implement all 11 of these iPad preaching hacks.
Scroll down and leave a comment below about which of these hacks you are stoked to start using. I’d love to hear about it.
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