Minister Uses QR Codes to Share Bible Teachings

If there’s one person we never thought would adapt to the latest technology, it’s a local minister or parish priest. But not Gene A. Getz, who is the founding minister of the “Fellowship” church movement and a faculty member at Dallas Theological Seminary.

The 79-year-old Getz is a known advocate for utilizing technology in teaching. And with the rising popularity of quick response codes as the latest technological tool for connecting the physical and digital world, it comes as no surprise that Getz is taking advantage of QR codes to reach out to people.

Getz is using QR codes that link to videos of him sharing and discussing more than 1,500 “principles to live by.” The codes are embedded in his new Life Essentials Study Bible.

He started the “principles to live by” project some seven years ago, and Getz said he never imagined that he would be able to supplement the things he wrote with videos (and links to these videos). However, he knew that he needed to teach and share life applications for the study of the bible and be able to get good feedback.

Getz had spent more than five years of heading Bible study sessions that covered the Old and New Testaments and he did it with two cameras running. As a result, he has produced some 250 hours’ worth of Bible Study video. But then came QR technology and Getz found a broader use for his video teachings.

According to Getz, the new Life Essentials Study Bible is “the first multimedia study Bible.” With a quick response code right next to a particular life principle written on the bible, anybody equipped with a smartphone can connect to him teaching on video. Each principle has up to 15 minutes of video. All in high definition, he added.

Getz also noted that while there are many great study Bibles, most of them only have footnotes at the bottom of the page.

Getz is excited about the many possible applications of Life Essentials Bible especially with the help of cutting edge technology. People can apply it in small-group studies, family devotions, and one-on-one accountability sessions.