The Baptist Record introduces smartphone app for fast access

By Tony Martin
Associate Editor

After months in development, the app for full digital access to Mississippi Baptists’ news journal is now available free of charge for Apple and Android devices and easily accessible to anyone with a cellular smartphone running on either of those platforms.

The Baptist Record has been available free of charge in digital form since April 2020, and is no longer produced in print.

“I’m proud The Baptist Record team is utilizing a variety of technology avenues to connect with Mississippi Baptists,” said Shawn Parker, executive director-treasurer of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB).

“The development of an app is a great way to make The Record more accessible to those interested in knowing what is going on in Mississippi Baptist life and Southern Baptist life. I hope everyone with a smart phone will download the app today and begin making regular use of it!” Parker said in a written statement.

Feedback has indicated there are some subscribers to the now-discontinued print edition who have not been able to benefit from the digital Record because they do not have access to a computer, said editor William Perkins.

“However, with the prevalence and availability of cellular smartphones, The Record is now available both in Mississippi and worldwide to anyone at no cost — an ability not previously possible with the print version,” he pointed out.

The app can be downloaded through either the Apple Store on Apple devices or the Google Play Store for Android devices. Visit the store specific to the phone format and search for, “The Baptist Record.” The app can be downloaded from there.

Since the Record is no longer a weekly publication with hard deadlines, the paper is updated frequently during the course of each week and is now effectively a daily publication. However, there hasn’t been a simple way to remind readers to check for late-breaking news in the Record.

That has changed for the better. With the new app, a feature known as push notifications is available. Upon downloading the app for the first time, readers can opt in for push notifications that will be sent periodically to users via text messages on cellular smartphones, enabling immediate access to important news without having to wait a week for the next issue of a print version of the Record.

Readers who already have the app but do not receive push notifications can click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the home screen, go to the Login link, and follow the prompts.

New users are encouraged to click on the READ ME icon on the home screen for simple instructions on how to access the features of the app.

Inside the app, icons will take readers to Sections, which contains links to Mississippi Baptist news; Southern Baptist Convention news; Parker’s Simple Truth column; and an Opinion section for editorials and commentary on timely subjects.

The always-popular Sunday School lessons page, with commentary by Mississippi Baptist writers on the upcoming Sunday’s Bible study passage, has also made the transition to digital. The same is true for the Bibliocipher word puzzle, another favorite feature.

“The app isn’t designed or intended to take the place of The Baptist Record website, available at thebaptistrecord.org/,” Perkins said. “Rather, it’s an up-to-date way to easily and quickly access the website’s major features from any location in the world where a cellular smartphone signal or Wi-Fi hotspot can be found.”

For more information, Perkins can be contacted at wperkins@mbcb.org. Associate Editor Tony Martin can be contacted at tmartin@mbcb.org.

The Baptist Record, a ministry of information owned and operated by the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, is supported by gifts to the Lord through the Mississippi Cooperative Program.