✦ React Native · Node.js · PostgreSQL · OpenAI

Scripture Mate — AI Bible Companion

Ongoing

Mobile devotional app that helps users discover relevant Bible passages by topic and emotional need using semantic search and personalised reminders.

Stack: React NativeExpoTypeScriptNode.jsExpressPostgreSQLpgvectorOpenAI APIExpo NotificationsBible API
Status: Ongoing
Year: —

OVERVIEW

Scripture Mate is a mobile devotional app designed to help users discover relevant Bible passages by topic and emotional need — building a consistent scripture habit through personalised discovery, saved verses, and daily reminders. It combines a React Native client with a Node.js/Express API, PostgreSQL backend, and OpenAI-powered semantic search to surface the most relevant passages for what a user is actually going through.

THE PROBLEM

Access to scripture is not the barrier — apps like YouVersion have solved that at scale. The real problems are consistency and relevance. Most Bible apps require users to already know what they're looking for. Scripture Mate starts from the other direction: what are you feeling or going through, and what does scripture say about that?

WHAT WAS BUILT

✦Topic-first scripture discovery — browse and search topics such as anxiety, hope, and patience, then view curated scripture sets per topic
✦Semantic search — users search in natural language; the backend runs vector-based topic retrieval using pgvector and returns the most relevant topics with scripture previews
✦AI encouragement layer — when enabled, search returns a short OpenAI-generated encouragement grounded in the retrieved passages, contextualised to the user query
✦Scripture contribution workflow — users can submit verse references from within the app; the backend validates references via Bible API and stores submissions for admin moderation (approve or reject)
✦Saved scriptures and reminders — users can bookmark verses locally and set per-topic daily notifications on a rolling schedule

THE INSIGHT

The product decision that matters most here is not the AI — it is the search model. Most scripture apps are built around the assumption that users know what they want to find. Scripture Mate is built around the opposite assumption: users know how they feel, and the app's job is to bridge that to relevant scripture. Semantic search via pgvector makes that possible without requiring users to know biblical terminology, book names, or chapter references. The entry point is human. The retrieval is technical. That combination is what makes the experience feel different.

STACK & TOOLS