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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:

 

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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

 

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

 

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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

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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 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.

New Bible App icon
bible.com/app

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iOS Actionable Notifications

Actionable Notifications

Now on Apple devices, when the Bible App sends you a notification, you can swipe on it to take action, even right from the lock screen. When one of your Friends adds a Bookmark inside the Bible App, you can swipe the notification and tap Like or Comment. You can even accept Friend requests without having to open the Bible App.  Next time you receive a notification from the Bible App give it a try!

Actionable Notifications

 

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Just in Time for Palm Sunday: Jesus Rides into Jerusalem in “The Donkey and the King”

“The Donkey and the King” is the newest story in the Bible App for Kids. Your kids will love learning about the first Palm Sunday, when Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecy by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Based on Matthew 21:1–11, John 12:16–19, and Luke 19:36–40, Jesus rides into the city as crowds cheer, laying palm tree branches and their cloaks on the road in front of him to welcome Him. They’re hoping that He is the Messiah, the “Promised One” from God that they’ve been waiting for.

Palm Sunday: The Crowd Welcomes Jesus to Jerusalem

But not everyone is happy. The Pharisees are jealous at how much the people like Jesus. They tell Jesus that He should tell the people to stop cheering for Him. But Jesus tells them that if the people don’t cheer and shout, then the rocks will cry out!

The Pharisees are Jealous of Jesus

If you already have the Bible App for Kids, all you need to do to get “The Donkey and the King” is open the Bible App for Kids and tap the new story icon. But even if you don’t have the app yet, getting it is easy — and it’s free! Just click one of the buttons below.


The Bible App for Kids icon

About the Bible App for Kids

Already installed on more than 6 million devices, the Bible App for Kids comes from YouVersion, makers of the Bible App™. In partnership with OneHope, the Bible App for Kids was designed specifically to provide your children with a delight-filled Bible experience all their own. Here are all the places where you can get the Bible App for Kids:

 

Get it now

 

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