The Global Impact of 200 Million Installs

That’s how many times the Bible App has now been installed. 200 million times, somewhere in the world, a person has decided they want to be more intentional about spending time in God’s Word. 200 million times, a person has thought, “What if I could read the Bible…anywhere?” Then, once they begin engaging with the Bible, they discover that it is actually alive—that it has the power to change the world…one heart at a time.

In the Bible App, every second
of every day, here’s what happens: Continue reading “The Global Impact of 200 Million Installs”

American Bible Society Survey: 98% say everyone should be able to get the Bible

While most in the U.S. express strong support that everyone who wants a Bible should be able to have one, few have a clear grasp of the big picture of Bible access, according to the 2015 State of the Bible report just released by American Bible Society. The findings bring key insight about Bible availability and more:

 

ABS-1

Most people (98% of those surveyed) believe everyone should be free to own and read the Bible.

“Eighty-eight percent of American households own at least one Bible,
with the average household owning about four copies” 

Geof Morin, American Bible Society

 

ABS-3

 

Most (72%) also believe that’s already happening. Unfortunately, it’s simply not the case:

 

ABS-4

 

More than half of the world’s 6,901 languages still do not have a complete Bible translation. For speakers of more than 1,859 languages, God simply doesn’t speak their language. Translation of the Bible hasn’t even started in the language they use in their everyday conversations. They’ve never heard truths in their heart language, something most of us take for granted:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38–39 NIV

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22 ESV

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”
Ephesians 3:18 NLT

And for an additional 2,195 languages, speakers only have part of the Bible available in their language.

 


 

Sharing the vision, continuing the work

We live in a unique time in history, equipped with tools that can help us reach more people than ever before with the Gospel. In fact, we have the potential to see the realization of a goal that past generations could only dream about. In our lifetime, we could see the Bible translated into every language on earth. This is only possible thanks to a broad coalition of partners like American Bible Society, publishers, authors, translators, and YouVersion volunteers around the globe. We are working together in unprecedented ways so that every person in the world can connect with the Bible, no matter where they live or what language they speak.

 

See the Full Report

Easter Bible engagement around the world

All day on Sunday, followers and seekers of Christ all over the world were turning to the Bible to read, listen to, and watch the Easter story of Christ’s trial, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. During Holy Week, the number of people opening passages about Jesus’ final week on earth increased by almost 250% over the four weeks preceding Easter.

 

Easter Bible Chapters Read: 5.4 Million

 

Bible Engagement Around the World

Glowing dots on this time-lapse map show where the Bible App was opened (the brighter the area, the more opens). The gradations sliding across the world indicate the time of day, with the flags on the left showing which country was engaging most through the Bible App at that time.

 


 

Holy Week Engagement

Here’s a snapshot of just some of what was happening across the global YouVersion community during Holy Week, which includes Easter and the six days leading up to it:

Top 5 Most Bible-Engaged Countries
United States, South Africa, Brazil, Great Britain, and South Korea

Top 10 Countries with the
most growth in Easter engagement
102% Dominica  91% South Sudan  86% Lithuania  84% Palestine  83% Niger
78% Bulgaria  77% Armenia  72% Myanmar  72% Kazakhstan  71% Albania

Most Popular Verse Easter Weekend

Romans 5:8

Not only was Romans 5:8 the most-shared Bible verse overall, it was also the most-shared in several countries (in various languages and translations): Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, Philippines, Singapore, Colombia, Russia, Argentina, and France.

Many of top verses for Holy Week were also shared as Verse Images from the Bible App:

Top 5 most Bible-engaged languages

English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and French

Bible Plan Engagement

Engagement was also up significantly in another key area for the YouVersion community: Bible Plan subscriptions and completions. Lent 2015 saw an 85% increase in Bible Plan subscriptions and 141% increase in Bible plan completions when compared to Lent 2014.

YouVersion Bible Plan Completions and Subscriptions way up for Easter 2015



Help us Spread the Word

A revolution in Bible engagement is taking place in this generation, all over the world. And you can be a part of it, first by consistently spending time in the Bible, and second, by helping others discover the Bible App. Click below to share this good news with your friends and family:

 

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1,000 Bible Versions: See the Bigger Picture

If you use the Bible App, then you’re an important part of a global milestone:

YouVersion now offers more than 1,000 Bible versions,
in more than 700 languages.

Imagine millions of people all over the world, gathering together in unity around God’s Word. But even that offers just a glimpse of all that this milestone could mean. So we’ve put together this special infographic for you, to help give context for this genuinely historic event:

See what 1000 Bible versions could mean (infographic)


The 1,000th version is Deftera Lfida Dzratawi (XEDNT), the first digital translation of the New Testament into Hdi (pronounced huh-DEE). Read on our blog about how its translators discovered a lost Hdi word that perfectly describes God’s love!