Category: News

It’s time for the YouVersion community to get together! Let’s meet for a live webcast on May 26, 11:00am CDT. You’ll be able to hear the latest news about the Bible App™, get an inside look at what’s coming up, ask your questions, and see if you win an iPad2.

In the meantime, there’s one number we just can’t wait to celebrate with you:

Together we’ve installed the Bible App on more than 20 million unique devices.

But what does it mean? Without context, even huge numbers like this one are just…well, numbers. What’s genuinely thrilling about this milestone is that it shows more and more people – literally all over the world – are making God’s Word an important part of their everyday lives.

As just one example, a woman named Carmen wrote us recently to share her story. Carmen has been a believer for 36 years, but she’d never been able to read her Bible consistently. She wrote, “Then I got an Android phone… My life has changed forever. I read (the Bible) every day, sometimes several times a day because it’s with me everywhere I go.” For the first time in her life, Carmen has even been reading all the way through the Bible – using a reading plan. And Carmen’s husband is reading every day on his phone, too. She writes, “It has really impacted our lives in such an amazing way!”

Reading the Bible anytime, anyplace is just one way the YouVersion community is using the Bible App to engage with God’s Word. Carmen’s is one of thousands of stories that shows how, together, we’re thinking about what we’ve read, working out how to apply Scripture in our lives, and sharing with others our journey toward a deeper relationship with God.

And those are things worth celebrating!

In a last-resort compromise, a couple on the verge of divorce agrees to read through the Love and Marriage reading plan together—opening the door to restoration. During his breaks, a construction worker reads the Bible on his iPhone, mainly to grow closer to God, although also to share his light with his coworkers. A family in the hospital with a loved one who’s fading—takes just a moment to express gratitude on Twitter for free, easy access to God’s encouraging words.

What do these stories have in common? Each one is an example of the power of God’s Word to affect lives. All of them actually happened. And all of them came from you, the YouVersion community. This group of millions of people, sharing their lives from literally everywhere around the world, needs to hear stories just like these—stories of encouragement, of comfort, of healing, of inspiration… We need your story. Would you share it with us?

• How has the Bible App made a difference in your life?
• How has having God’s Word with you wherever you go affected your life?
• How has having anytime, anywhere access to the Bible changed how you interact with it?

Here’s how you can share:

• On Video. Make a video (4 minutes or less) and upload it to YouVersion’s Vimeo page. (Please include your first name and last initial, and say where you’re from.)
• In Writing. Not comfortable on camera? No worries. Tell us your story in 400 words or less, right below.
• On Facebook. Even if you tell us your story on video or through the above form, we’d also love for you to share at least a portion of it with the entire YouVersion community today, right on YouVersion’s Facebook page. It’s a great place where we can encourage one another to daily engage with the Bible and to seek God.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our worldwide celebration of the King James Bible today, the 400th anniversary of its printing. More than 10,000 of us took part in this global YouVersion flash mob, together reading God’s Word aloud 8 times in just 400 seconds!

For example, the community member who joined us from the farthest point south was from Christchurch, New Zealand, while the participant farthest north was in Rovaniemi, Finland. (View map.)

And we had a lot of fun too, as YouVersion’s Facebook page blew up with people sharing where they were and what they were reading:
Matt K. Crazy to think that most of us read an old timeless translation on electronic devices! So awesome!
Pat D. Read Hebrews 2 from a 1950s KJV Bible from Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
Ruth H. Happy Birthday, KJV! So grateful for those who went before us in making God’s Word accessible in the language best understood by the people in that time and place.
Jan R. I love this! We should do this once a month!
Michelle N. That was neat. Let’s do it again!
Betsy B. Spent the majority of my 400 seconds trying to pronounce weird names. 2 Samuel 23 – David’s mighty men! Usually I just skip over the hard ones or replace their names with Bob or Fred, but I made myself say them today. I wondered if they were listening from Heaven and laughing with us trying to say their names.

Many people also joined in on Twitter, sharing their experiences and links:
@Sylvia_Raoi Glad to be in this wonderful campaign! May all glory go to my Lord!
@brandonaldson Our #KJV400 reading party after we finished our reading. All together, out loud, different chapters, cool! http://twitpic.com/4sf14e
@jared_clark Stopped on the side of HWY 66 to read Mark chapter 8 aloud in 400 seconds!
@AmandaSims I just said the word “Behold” more in 4 minutes than I have in the last 4 years. #kjv400

Thanks once again for joining in the celebration. Please continue to share your stories with us all. We’d love to hear all about the ways that God used your time today engaging with His Word and with His people!

Don’t forget: If you signed up to participate in our 400 years / 400 seconds event, tomorrow’s the day! We’re going to make history as we read the entire King James Version of the Bible together as a community—in just 400 seconds:

MONDAY, MAY 2
12:00 PM Noon U.S. EDT (GMT-4) /
11:00 AM U.S. CDT (GMT-5)

Be sure to check your email for the passage you signed up to read to make sure you’re all ready when it’s go time. You can also see your passage by signing in at YouVersion and then visiting our KJV event page.

It’s been fantastic to see people from all over the world joining in this celebration—it’s truly a global event! Make sure you share photos, video, and posts on Twitter using the #kjv400 tag, or add your photos and posts to the Facebook event. Visit http://www.youversion.com/kjv400 tomorrow to see everyone participating with you.

Don’t know what we’re talking about? It’s not too late to join us! You can even enter for a chance to win an iPad 2 when you register and use the Twitter #kjv400 hash tag. Check out our event page for all the details and to sign up.

Let’s do-eth this!