2015 - Page 16 of 20

2015-04-07

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

2015-04-062015-04-06

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.

Top most-shared Bible verses

Romans 5:8, John 11:25–26, Romans 8:11, Isaiah 53:5, and Matthew 20:28

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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2015-04-032015-04-03

New Bible App for Kids Story: Peter Has a Vision: “Everybody’s Welcome”

In the latest story from the Bible App for Kids, “Everybody’s Welcome,” God shows Peter that Jesus is for everyone. Based on Acts 10, God sends an angel to a Roman officer named Cornelius. The angel tells Cornelius to send some servants to find Peter and invite him to his house. The next day while Peter is praying, God gives him a vision, showing him many animals that Jewish people were not supposed to eat. A voice from Heaven tells Peter to choose one of the animals to eat. Peter tells the voice that he is not supposed to eat those things. But the voice — which is God’s voice — tells Peter that, because God says it’s okay, it’s okay.

Just then, Cornelius’ servants arrive, inviting Peter to come with them to meet Cornelius. Peter takes some of his friends with him to Cornelius’ house, where a bunch of people have gathered, excited to hear what Peter might say. Peter realizes that the vision God gave him was about more than just what kinds of food were okay to eat. So Peter tells them, “God sent His Son not just for some… Jesus is for everyone!” The people are very happy, and they receive God’s Holy Spirit, just like the disciples did at Pentecost. Then Peter baptizes them.

To get “Everybody’s Welcome” right now, just open the Bible App for Kids and tap the new story icon. If you don’t have the Bible App for Kids yet, it’s easy to get, and it’s always free! Just click one of the buttons below.

About the Bible App for Kids

The Bible App for Kids is the newest app from YouVersion, makers of the Bible App™, designed to give children a delight-filled Bible experience all their own. Developed in partnership with OneHope, the Bible App for Kids has already been installed on over 6 million Apple, Android, and Kindle devices, and it’s always completely free. Kids from all over the world are now enjoying the Bible App for Kids — in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese!

Get it now

2015-04-022015-04-02

Featured Plans: A.D., Jesus Film, Francis Chan, Kyle Idleman, Abide, R.C. Sproul, & More

A.D. The Bible Continues – Episode 1 Lightworkers Media and YouVersion, 6 days The first days of the New Testament church come to life through Bible passages, accompanied by video clips from the premiere episode of new series, A.D. The Bible Continues.		The JESUS Film 24-Day Bible Challenge The JESUS Film Project and Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer, 24 days Enjoy this firsthand account of the life of Jesus from one of His disciples, experiencing one chapter of Luke each day for 24 days.

30 Day Prayer Challenge Abide and Dr. Jack Graham, 30 days 30 days of encouragement help you make bold prayers a consistent, essential part of your everyday life.		Discerning God’s Will Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul, 9 days This collection of classic R.C. Sproul devotionals challenges you to pursue life in God’s presence, under His authority, and for His glory.

Inspiration + Application

These recommended Plans follow up biblical wisdom with tangible practices that help you refocus different aspects of your daily life around God’s Word:

Forgotten God with Francis Chan
from David C Cook and Francis Chan, 7 days Bible on Business
from Hope International and Chris Chancey, 31 days 40 Days to Lasting Change with Kyle Idleman
from David C Cook and Kyle Idleman, 7 days Believe
from Zondervan and Randy Frazee, 31 days

Find Your Next Plan

2015-04-012015-04-02

1 Million+ Verse Images shared, now with more backgrounds

Verse Images are the easiest way yet for you to share Bible verses as inspiring pictures — directly from the Bible App! Almost as soon as Verse Image launched, it proved to be one of the most popular features in YouVersion history. In less than two weeks, you and hundreds of thousands of Bible App Friends from all around the world had already shared more than one million Verse Images!

Important Note: To use Verse Images, you’ll need to make sure your device’s operating system is up-to-date, and that you have the most current Bible App release.

Verse Images already featured 60 backgrounds and seven predesigned verses. And thanks to the generosity of YouVersion partner Lightstock, you now have more than 20 additional gorgeous backgrounds to choose from. Also, still to come from The Verses Project, look for over 100 more amazing predesigned verses.

Tip: When you tap a verse that features a predesigned Verse Image, here’s how you choose it:

About the Bible App

The Bible App™ has been installed on more than 170 million unique devices, all over the world. Developed by YouVersion, the Bible App offers more than 1,000 Bible versions, in more than 770 languages. And it’s always completely free.

bible.com/app