How to start digital Bible journaling: beginner's guide

If you own an iPad or tablet, you have to try digital Bible journaling.

It is a way to combine the creativity of traditional Bible journaling with the convenience and flexibility offered by your device and note-taking app. It’s more beginner-friendly and portable than traditional Bible journaling. You can read more about the advantages of digital Bible journaling here.

In this post, I will show you how to get started with digital Bible journaling in three easy steps.

To get the most out of your digital Bible journaling, you must first own two things: a tablet (or an iPad) and a stylus.

Although it’s possible to use a computer or smartphone, digital Bible journaling is best done on a tablet with a stylus to mimic the pen-to-paper experience of traditional Bible journaling.

On budget? Good news, you do not need to own the latest high-end tablet. Consider buying refurbished or older models on Amazon. I personally use an M1 iPad Air, and it is as good as new.
Stylus alternatives: if you cannot afford to pay $100 on an Apple Pencil, brands like ESR offer fantastic, budget-friendly third-party styluses that work wonderfully on your iPad.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s dive right into the subject matter.

Step 1: Download a note-taking app

The first thing you’ll need is a note-taking app.

I personally use GoodNotes, but there are many other great apps out there. Find my recommendations below.

For iOS: GoodNotes (free version, one-time purchase, subscription), Notability (subscription), Collanotes (free version, one-time purchase)
For Android: Penly (one-time purchase), Samsung Notes (free)

Whatever app you choose, make sure it supports interactive PDF files.

Step 2: Get a digital journaling Bible

Next, you need a digital journaling Bible file specifically formatted for note-taking. These are interactive PDFs designed with large margins for note-taking. They are usually hyperlinked so you can jump between books and chapters with a single click.

You can purchase a digital journaling Bible on Etsy or my website HERE.

🎁Want to start for free?

You can grab our FreeGospels4All journaling Bible by joining my free membership! Sign up HERE and download your copy instantly.

Step 3: Import the Bible into your note-taking app

Once you’ve downloaded your digital journaling Bible, import it into your app. This is usually done by using the Share button or the import option in your app.

Pro tips: Navigation and Editing

Most note-taking apps have a Read-only mode and Editing mode that you need to know to navigate and write in your Bible.

Read-only mode: Turn this on when you want to use the Bible hyperlinks and navigate through to a specific book or a section tab.
Edit mode: Switch to this mode to write, highlight, and add images or digital stickers to your Bible.

And that’s it! Now you’re ready to start digital Bible journaling.