MANNA Bible Maps
Cover Story by Steve Hewitt, Editor
Christian Computing Magazine, August 2007
I have been a fan of MANNA Bible Maps for over a decade. It is exciting to see how they have expanded their services.
Over 10 years ago I discovered MANNA Bible Maps. They produce a great Bible maps software program they made available on CD. We reviewed their product over six years ago and I have personally used their maps many times since. Several months ago I called Matt Hennecke, founder of MANNA Bible Maps to find out what was new. I was pleased to discover that MANNA has expanded from offering a great Bible study software program, to offering a new online fantastic service!
So, What's New?
MANNA is offering new products and new services, but the biggest news is that they are really taking advantage of the internet to enhance everything they offer! For example, their Bible Maps software program is still available on CD, which is especially convenient when making this incredible Bible study product a gift (when is your pastor's birthday?) But now, those with high-speed internet access can download the software program as well as an entire collection of PowerPoint ready maps, timelines, and charts directly to their computers!About the only limitation Bible MANNA Maps software has is that the window size of the software program could not be maximized to fit the entire screen if you wanted to have it display on an video projector. However, one of the exciting new features that MANNA is now offering are high-resolution map files that can be easily imported into PowerPoint and sized to fit your needs!
In fact, the most exciting new feature is that MANNA has developed the ability to provide a map to meet any and everyone's needs. What if you don't need or want 150 different maps, but you DO need a specific map for a Bible study you are leading THIS evening! MANNA to the rescue! They now offer a quick and easy service that allows us to purchase and download individual maps for as little as $1.49!! (I know, you are not supposed to use two "!!", but in this case I think what MANNA is offering with this new service is worth of it!)
Better yet, you can purchase maps in category sets, saving you up to 25% off the price of purchasing maps individually. There are ten different categories of maps to choose from with the newest being a complete set of animated PowerPoint maps.
When you purchase a map, an email is immediately sent to you with a download link. The map file downloads quickly and easily and then you can open the map and resize to fit your need. You can also insert the map into a document, print it full page, or use it in PowerPoint. The maps are of high resolution, so the output is breathtaking. In most cases two versions of a map are provided, one with map labels (cities, regions, rivers, etc.), and one without. This is great if you want to add your own text labels, or if you want to use a blank map as part of a test to see if students can properly place cities and events on a blank map after your lesson.
Now MANNA has used the internet to allow teachers anywhere in the world to purchase maps for Bible studies in a fast and convenient way, and without having to pay any shipping! There are more than 150 maps available for download now, with more being added periodically.
All of MANNA's maps have been recently redrawn to improve their appearance. They have done such a fantastic job on the quality that several publishers have been working with MANNA to use their maps in their upcoming publications.
Want more? MANNA has more! They are now offering 26 beautiful wall maps. The maps are a large 22" x 35" and are printed on 100# glossy paper and come laminated or unlamented. Visit their website (www.biblemaps.com) for more information on pricing and shipping of their new wall map collection.
MANNA Now Offers Bible Class Materials
For years MANNA Bible Maps has provided great maps and reference materials to enhance any Bible study. Now they are actually providing detailed Bible class materials suitable for teen or adult classes. They have a variety of materials available for purchase on their site you will want to browse. Click on a class material icon and you will see samples of the class materials including lesson's with blanks for the students to fill out, maps, and great reference materials.Since it has been so long since we have featured MANNA in Christian Computing, let me also remind you what MANNA's Bible maps software provides, because they offer a lot more than just basic maps.
Bible Maps Bible Study Software
If you teach the Bible (or even if you just study for yourself) Bible Maps has an excellent software tool to help make your study come alive! Quoting from their website, "the Bible Maps software program includes maps of the Egyptian empire, Babylonian empire, Assyrian empire, Greek empire, Roman empire, the exodus, conquest of Canaan, travels of Christ, tribes of Israel, kingdom of Saul, kingdom of David, divided kingdom, archaeology, fertile crescent, journeys of Paul, topographical maps, Salt Sea, Sea of Galilee, and the journey of Abraham. City maps include 12 maps of Jerusalem, Antioch, Athens, Babylon, Corinth, Damascus, Ephesus, Jericho, Masada, Nineveh, Pergamum, Rome, Samaria, Ur, and more! When you click on a city or feature, Bible-based information is displayed. There are over 500 cities, 400 pages of text, and 3,000 searchable items!" I have used the program over the years and can tell you that their list of content is accurate. It is amazing!Sometimes I fear that the name of what MANNA Bible Maps offers is lost because people just think it is a collection of maps. But the software program is much more than just maps. For example, you can view the chronology of kings and learn more about the kingdoms of Saul, David, and Solomon. Then discover little-known facts about the northern and southern kings of the divided kingdom. Want to know more about a particular king? Simply click on him and "pop-up" information appears! Or go to our genealogy maps and trace the lineage of Christ beginning with Adam. Click on a person on any of the genealogy maps and "pop-up" information appears telling you more about that person. Also included are time lines of the prophets and judges, a time line of biblical events and time lines of the Old and New Testament books.
The program provides many other valuable features such as a search engine that can help you find any map or referenced material. You can add your own notes to the map notes already provided. They provide animated maps which is fantastic when showing, for example, the journeys of Paul.
Conclusion
What can I say other than I have been a fan of MANNA Bible Maps for over a decade. It is exciting to see how they have expanded their services, products and even their method of sale and delivery. I love a company that moves with technology, and MANNA has shown that not only do their products and services continue to improve, but they are on the cutting edge in providing their services quick, easy and available to the world, to those seeking to make the Bible come alive for their students. Good job!Close this window when finished.
