YouVersion’s Bible App celebrated its 10th anniversary on July 10, 2018. When the iTunes app store was launched, the Bible App was one of the first 200 apps in the virtual store, reports Australian-based Christian newspaper Eternity News.
YouVersion was founded by Bobby Grunewald, a pastor at U.S. megachurch Life.Church based in Edmond, Oklahoma. During its launch, the Bible App was installed 83,000 times in the first three days—it is downloaded 330 million to date.
We’re excited about the new ways God is using technology to help people make even more connections between the Bible and their daily lives. —Bobby Grunewald, Founder, YouVersion
“We never could have predicted the results we’ve seen as millions of people around the world have read, listened to, shared, and interacted with the Bible and each other in new ways,” said Gruenewald.
He explained that the smartphone is an ubiquitous item most people own. Having a Bible app makes it easier for people to engage with the Bible. “As soon as I had access to the Bible on the phone that’s always in my pocket, my connection to it naturally became more frequent,” he said.
In a statement, YouVersion announced that over the past decade, the Bible app users have:
– Read 70 billion chapters of the Bible
– Listened to 12 billion audio chapters of the Bible
– Made 4 billion Highlights, Bookmarks, and Notes
– Completed 2.4 billion Bible Plan Days
The Bible App has different features such as Verse of the Day notifications, reading reminders and daily Streaks. These help users to integrate Bible time in their busy schedules.
“These last 10 years have been more than we could ask, think, or imagine, and we believe this is only the beginning,” said Gruenewald. “As we look ahead, we’re excited about the new ways God is using technology to help people make even more connections between the Bible and their daily lives.”
According to Premier, the Bible App is now offered in over 1,700 versions, and in 1,200 languages. YouVersion will launch another Bible-themed app called Bible Lens. The new app analyzes objects in a photo and can suggest a Bible quote relevant to the photo. The Bible verse can be included in the photo and shared with friends.
Sources:
Eternity News
Premier
