In a Tech-Savvy World, the Word of God Goes Mobile

The Mobile Word is owned by Unity in Values, the Christian mobile content creator whose chairman is Rowland Hanson, a former vice president at Microsoft who established the branding strategy in the 1980s for Microsoft Windows.

And just last month, Sony BMG Music Entertainment partnered with Christian media provider Integrity Media to launch MWorship, which sends text prayers to users who request them, among other things.

A group of high school students at Broadfording Christian Academy in Hagerstown, Md., are already familiar with products like MWorship's "send-a-blessing." Ethan Reynolds, 16, said his older brother uses his high-end phone to read his Bible in church. Brittany Suder, 17, uses her phone to get an online version of Brio, a Christian magazine for girls from Focus on the Family, and to hear updates from missionaries working with the group Gospel for Asia. She also uses it at the movie theater to check Christian film reviews.

"A lot of people have a hard time sitting down and reading the Bible because their attention span is short, so this might be better for them," Reynolds said. Although noting that cellphones would never replace going to church, he characterized the draw: "Anything technological is more interesting than a book."

Suder -- whose ring tone is the Christian rock song "Loser," about seeking comfort in God's love even in a society many Christians see as intolerant of them -- said she did worry about religion getting watered down. The industry places religious content in the "infotainment" category.

"This could be a way to reach people, and I agree with that. But I kind of wish it wasn't about entertainment, that it would just be about God," she said.

The wireless industry is waiting to see how quickly people will adopt the cutting-edge phones that have the memory and ability to display an easily searchable Bible or high-quality videos of overseas missionaries.

At Harvest Christian Fellowship, pastor of media ministries Paul Eaton creates content for radio and television stations, as well as for podcasts and CDs. Cellphones, he said, might be a bit different because they are so personal.

"We can contact people immediately and say, 'We're giving out 100,000 Bibles. Would you like to sponsor that?' This is a great tool to mobilize the Christian community," he said.

In the end, said Cotton, of Good News Holdings, the faith-based cellphone might just be another piece of self-identifying paraphernalia.

"I don't know if anyone will have a conversion experience after listening to a 90-second audio clip," she said. "But they will be reminded of what they believe or who they are."