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A Look at the Passages Interactive Bible Exhibit

At YouVersion, we love the Bible. If you love the Bible too, or even if you’re just trying to understand it more, you really should make it a point to check out the Passages Interactive Bible Exhibit. This extraordinary collection includes such rare pieces as cuneiform tablets, unpublished biblical and classical papyri, Dead Sea Scrolls, beautiful illuminated manuscripts, and even a large portion of a Gutenberg Bible! The self-guided tour leads you through the history of the Bible, from its earliest beginnings in the hands of Jewish scribes, to early Judeo-Christian culture, through the struggle to get the Bible into the common language of the people, all the way up to modern printings and the influence of technology. Along those lines, our very own Bible App wraps up the exhibit! In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, until October, the Passages exhibit will be traveling to Vatican City in Rome, then later to New York City.

Passages Exhibit Website

The driving passion of the YouVersion community is to help as many people as possible experience and engage with God’s Word. The Passages Interactive Bible Exhibit offers a unique opportunity to fully explore the sacrifices and dedication of the countless people who made possible the Bible we enjoy today, spanning thousands of years, many of them literally giving their lives to ensure that the story of God’s love would reach us. Don’t miss your chance to see firsthand these one-of-a-kind antiquities!

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God’s Words, Your Heart Language: YouVersion and the Bible App

As our special live webcast mentioned last week, of all the people currently installing the Bible App™ onto their devices, 25% of them have their default language set to something other than English. (Just two months ago, that number was 12%.) When a person is able to read or listen to the Bible in their heart language, God uses that opportunity to connect with them in a truly special, unique way. We have a short video for you today about one such story, an opportunity where a Bible App user got to share God’s Word with a woman who was able to experience it for the very first time in her own language:

When people in the YouVersion community (like you!) use the Bible App™ to engage with God’s Word and share it with others, He softens hearts and changes lives, literally all over the world. The stories you bring back to the rest of us—about what God is doing in your life—are an integral part of the revolution taking place in how people connect with the Bible. In the coming months, we’ll be telling more of your stories right here.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Here’s how:

  • Video. Upload a video of 4 minutes or less to YouVersion’s Vimeo page. (Please include your first name and last initial and tell us where you’re from.)
  • Facebook. Even if you tell us your story on video or through the form below, please consider sharing at least some of it with the whole YouVersion community, right on YouVersion’s Facebook page.
  • Right Here! Tell us your story in 400 words or less:
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The Top 5 Reading Plans from the Bible App and YouVersion.com

With more than 150 reading plans representing 10 languages (so far!), YouVersion has phenomenal tools to help you engage with God’s Word. Reading plans are a simple way you can read just a little of the Bible each day, growing your knowledge and helping you connect with your faith in deeper, more meaningful ways. So just what plans are people reading? Here are the five plans with the most subscriptions in the YouVersion community today, whether in the Bible App™ on mobile devices, or at YouVersion.com:

  1. Life Application Study Bible ® Devotion. The most often-read plan on the Bible App will help you learn to apply God’s Word more fully to your life each day. Each day’s reading includes a Scripture verse and a brief devotional taken from the Life Application Study Bible. Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for providing this plan.
  2. The One Year ® Bible. The second plan is the world’s most popular annual reading Bible. Daily readings of less than 15 minutes provide you with excerpts from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs – guiding you through God’s Word in one year. Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for providing this plan.
  3. Bible in 90 Days. This next plan leads you through the entire Bible…in just 90 days! While it’s certainly an intense commitment, reading this much in such a compressed time will help you understand the big picture of God’s story in ways you may have never experienced before. Thanks to Bible Gateway for providing this plan.
  4. Chronological. Taking into account the order of historical events and the latest research, this plan takes you through the Bible in chronological order in one year. This is a great plan if you want to add historical context to your study. Thanks to Blue Letter Bible for this plan.
  5. First Steps Reading Plan. Plan number five is ideal for those new to reading the Bible. Based on the Life Journal Plan, this plan includes just a few, brief readings each day to build your consistency and confidence, both in reading the Bible, and in your faith. Thanks to Wayne Cordeiro for this plan.

Here’s the breakdown of YouVersion’s available reading plans, by the numbers:

Of course, each item on this list represents only what we have today. We expect each one of these to climb dramatically in the days and months ahead, as we continue partnering with passionate content providers to bring you more and more entry points into God’s Word.

Ask your friends what reading plans they’re using, and which ones they like. Share the reading plans you’re following. Be sure to let us know on Facebook and Twitter which ones are your favorites, which ones we can improve, and what reading plans you’d like to see that our YouVersion community doesn’t have yet.

Best Rated Bible Plans from 2020

Ready for a Fresh Start?

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YouVersion Support is All-New!

As the next step in our plans to continue improving your support experience with the Bible App™ and YouVersion.com, we’re pleased to announce the launch of the all-new YouVersion Support website. How different is it? Well, if you haven’t been to YouVersion Support lately, then you haven’t seen all the helpful new stuff. You’ll find: Comprehensive answers to Frequently Asked Questions, organized by platform and topic. Video tutorials for common tasks. Live feeds from @YouVersion and @YouVersionHelp. Links to the many ways you can contact Support for help. And comprehensive search.

 

 

As excited as we are about this relaunch, it represents just one piece of a much broader strategy. Our goal is to provide world-class support every bit as good—and even better—than you can receive for products and services that you pay for. But with the YouVersion community growing by literally millions of people every month, welcoming all those new members to our family means we rely heavily on your active participation. We can accomplish so much more when we all work together.

The Bible App is truly a worldwide resource, but most of what we’re presently able to offer is written in English—a fact that doesn’t accurately reflect the demographics of who’s actually using YouVersion tools. If you can help us translate into your language, we’d be honored to have your help. Also, we receive many requests every month that require individual responses. Even when these are short, they really add up. If you’re tech savvy, answering platform-related questions for the Bible App is a great way that you can get involved. (If you don’t know what “platform-related” or “tech savvy” means, probably this volunteer option is not for you.) But don’t let that stop you: Let us know what you can do at http://support.youversion.com/how-can-i-help/.

Although we’re always happy to respond to your requests on Facebook and Twitter, our new YouVersion Support site lets us serve you better, providing answers tailored to your specific needs. Perhaps best of all: It doesn’t limit you to just 140 characters!

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New from YouVersion: The Bible App for HP webOS Has Audio Bibles!

Free audio Bibles are now immediately available in the Bible App™ for HP WebOS. You can even listen to audio Bibles right inside your Reading Plan! Visit the App Catalog to have the latest release, version 2.3.1, sent directly to your device. (Remember: You won’t be able to use the new audio features until you have this latest release.)

Once you’ve gotten the update, you’ll be able to listen to the Bible on your webOS device while you’re working, exercising, driving…or even reading along! Here are just a few examples of some of the audio Bibles you’ll find in this release:

  • New International Version (NIV)
  • English Standard Version (ESV)
  • New Living Translation (NLT)
  • King James Version (KJV) Listener’s Bible
  • Douay-Rheims (DRA) New Testament Audio Bible
  • Chinese Standard Bible (CSB)
  • American Standard Version (ASV) New Testament
  • La Biblia de las Américas (LBLA), and
  • World English Bible (WEB)

This release also fixes a minor bug that kept the version list from updating properly. You might even notice better performance, as the Bible App now runs many of its tasks in the background, to get you to your reading more quickly.

Our partners are constantly working with the YouVersion community to bring you as many options as possible—including more languages—so keep checking your list of available audio translations. Select the current version name to display the complete list; audio Bibles are indicated with a small gray speaker icon next to them. Then, when you choose a version that includes audio, use the basic play controls to listen, fast forward, and rewind. We’d love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter and hear what you think!