5 Cool Christian Apps for Your Teenager
By Caroline Piper
What’s that sound coming from your teen’s tablet? Could it be….Satan? They say the devil is in the details, but what you probably didn’t know is that he can also be in your child’s mobile devices.
There’s a world of temptation out there for today’s teens, and it’s important to keep them on the right path by monitoring the apps they install on their smartphones and tablets.
You’ve worked hard to create a solid foundation of Christian values for your child. Don’t let all that work go to waste with temptations that come from unsavory apps.
Christian Radio FM by Velestar Private Enterprise ($1.99)
You don’t want your teen listening to songs with bad language, disrespectful or violent messages, or similar things. Pastor Ed Young warns against letting such things influence our teens, and he’s right. Instead of getting the wrong messages from popular culture, let them enjoy awesome Christian music with this handy radio app that puts all of the most popular Christian radio stations in one place. Your teen can choose from Christian rock stations, gospel stations, country stations and more. This app is available on iTunes and is compatible with the iPhone or iPad. It’s recommended for ages 12 and up due to the occasional reference in some songs to mild alcohol, tobacco and drug use references (always put in a negative light, though).
Clean Jokes by Roger Bieberich ($0.99)
Your teen probably hears a lot of jokes at school, but not all of them may be appropriate for a Christian teen. Give your teen some good, clean fun with the Clean Jokes app. With a seemingly inexhaustible supply of perfectly wholesome, funny, clean jokes, your teen will never lack for a good laugh or a joke to tell to friends. It works with the iPhone and iPad.
Church Signs by iWill Software (free)
Another great humor app for the iPhone and iPad, Church Signs shows all the latest pictures of humorously worded signs from the nation’s churches. It’s all in good fun, and those funny signs often have really positive messages behind them. It’s a wonderful entertainment app for your teen that can be used alone or with company. This is one way technology can help enhance relationships through enabling teens to laugh together.
Bible HIStory Game by Rob Rienow (free)
Compatible with iPhone and iPad, this app teaches both ancient history and biblical history. It is the mission of the game player to arrange historical events in chronological order. It’s challenging and fun, especially when played competitively in multi-player mode. This is a much better use of your teen’s game time than those violent single-person shooter games, and they’ll be learning world and Bible history in the process.
iPrizeWheel HD for iPad by NRT Media, Inc. ($4.99)
This iPad-only game is perfect for teens, families and even church youth groups to engage in wholesome, competitive fun. It’s a virtual spinning wheel reminiscent of the one on Wheel of Fortune. The difference is that the wheel can be customized to award different real or virtual prizes. It’s excellent to use to reward teens for memorizing Scripture, doing their daily devotional Bible readings or even their chores. They can also use it to play for pretend prizes with their friends while they test each other’s knowledge of Scripture and biblical history.
