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Help Us Celebrate Christmas by Sharing the Bible

Merry Christmas, everybody! Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior, a day when God gave us the gift of His only Son. We really can’t say thank you enough to the users of the Bible App™ and YouVersion.com. Because you’ve been spreading the word, we’ve been able to bring the Bible for free to more people than we could have imagined.

Share the Bible. Today is Global Share the Bible Day! As we celebrate the birth of Jesus—Immanuel, God with us—please take time today, every time you think of it, to share the Bible with others. Tweet. (Remember to use #Bible!) Update your Facebook status. Change your blog or website home page. Visit with someone you meet. Just share! Here are a few ideas for things you could share, with examples:
  • Share the Bible Day. Let others know what we’re doing today:
    • It’s finally here: Today is “Global Share the Bible Day”! #Bible Share and win: http://ow.ly/3qmE8
    • Get a free @YouVersion account. Link it. Share. And you could win. http://ow.ly/3qmE8 #Bible
    • What’s Christmas REALLY about? Today is “Global Share the Bible Day.” Help http://ow.ly/3qmE8
    • It’s Christmas. And it’s all about PRESENCE! (God’s presence.) #Bible http://ow.ly/3qmE8
Of course, these are just our ideas. Today, share what’s special to you about the Bible. And when you share online, please remember to include the hash tag #Bible. You can even use the Bible App to make it easy. Let’s draw as much attention as we can today to the Bible—the story of God’s love for us.
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Good News Translation and Douay-Rheims Now Available!

Through our partnership with the American Bible Society, we’re pleased to announce that the Good News Translation with Deuterocanonical books and Apocryphya is now available in the Bible App™ by YouVersion on all our platforms—iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, webOS, Windows Phone 7, Facebook, and web. Also immediately available—with Deuterocanonical books—is the public domain Douay-Rheims version. As with all translations we offer, both of these versions are completely free.

Navigating. Once you have the free Bible App downloaded to your device, simply go to Versions and find “Good News Trans with…” or “Douay Rheims,” both under “English.” You can navigate to the Deuterocanonical and Apocrypha books the same way you reach any others, just by selecting the title at the top of the Read view.

Download them. Another great feature we’re thrilled to be able to offer with both of these translations: If you have the Bible App on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Android, you can download them to your device! From the Versions list, just tap the download icon and follow the instructions. Once you’ve downloaded either the Good News Translation or the Douay-Rheims, you can read them anytime, anywhere—whether you’re connected to the Internet or your service provider or not!

Share. If you have friends who you think might enjoy having constant access to either of these translations on their phone or other portable device, please let them know. The Bible App is free to download, and with a free YouVersion account, you can immediately start using all of the Bible App’s great features, like Bookmarks, Notes, connection with your social networks, and of course Reading Plans.

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New BlackBerry v. 2.8: Updated Reading Plans

The Bible App™ for YouVersion has been updated for BlackBerry, with version 2.8 now available in BlackBerry App World. Besides the usual interface improvements and performance enhancements you’d expect, the really big story here is the updated Reading Plans.

A Reading Plan may cover a specific topic, offer up daily devotionals, or take you through large sections and themes of the Bible—even the entire thing. With more than 50 reading plans to choose from right now (and with even more coming soon), it’s easy to find one that can show you the things you want to know. Subscribe to one you like, and the Bible App schedules a little for you to read each day, breaking your reading into manageable pieces. And if you happen to miss a day’s reading, just pick “Catch Me Up” to have the Bible App adjust your schedule for you. At YouVersion.com, you can even sign up to receive emails on your progress for yourself or an accountability partner.

Make 2011 the year you finally form that solid Bible-reading habit you know you’ve been promising yourself. If you’re up for a challenge, try reading the entire Bible in just 90 days. If you’d rather get started with an easier pace, choose from one of our many Bible-in-a-year plans. No matter which plan you pick, please share with your friends on Facebook and Twitter how your Bible journey is going. Also, we’d love for you to join our entire YouVersion community as together we read one billion minutes in January.

Your BlackBerry and your free Bible App from YouVersion are ready for you to start reading today. What do you say?
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The 5-Day Christmas Story Plan

A Reading Plan is a great tool to help you easily connect with the truths in God’s Word in a focused, straightforward way. Reading just a little each day on a simple schedule that’s already been laid out for you, you can dig deeper into the stories and ideas shared in the Bible. As we enter this Christmas week, we wanted to let you know about one Reading Plan in particular, a very special one we recently added for you to the Bible App and to our website:

The Christmas Story Reading Plan, available now, takes you through the biblical accounts of the events surrounding the birth of Christ. You can read directly from the source about the humble beginnings of a Savior the world had been anticipating for centuries: Emmanuel, “God with us.” Look for The Christmas Story Reading Plan in the Bible App (or on the website) on your mobile device under Reading Plans.

As close as your phone or computer, start today or tomorrow, and you’ll easily finish this beautiful story of God’s love for us, unique in all the universe, just in time to celebrate Christmas on Saturday. And be sure to let your friends know about this reading plan too, so they can share in the joy of the season with you.

Don’t already have the Bible App on your phone or mobile device? Get it here now. It’s 100% free. No gimmicks, no advertising, our gift to you. All you’ll need to start your Reading Plan is a free account.

And once you’ve completed the Christmas Story Reading Plan, you don’t have to stop there. Select another Reading Plan from more than 50 (and growing), and join us as together we plan to read 1 billion minutes in the Bible App during the month of January! More details are coming in just a few days…
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YouVersion in the UK Media

As the Bible App from YouVersion continues to break records with downloads (more than 12 million unique device installs, listed in iTunes’ 2010 Top Ten Reference Apps) and usage (more than 4 billion minutes read so far), we’ve been receiving positive press in all sorts of venues. We shared some others with you just a few weeks ago. Most recently, YouVersion was listed in some media outlets in the UK:

  • MSN Tech. How your mobile can save Christmas. 16 Christmas survival apps that will help you get through the big day. Featured App #10: YouVersion Bible App. “The world’s best selling book… over 20 languages… downloaded every 2.8 seconds… bookmark your favourite pages.”
  • theSheepDip.co.uk. Get the Bible on your mobile – for FREE! SheepDip offers resources for church communications, and they recently featured a free article for churches to use that focuses on the Bible App. “…attracted the attention of celebs, including Destiny’s Child and Strictly Come Dancing’s Michelle Williams, who’s a big fan who tweets about the app.”
We’re thrilled that people all around the world are experiencing and sharing what the Bible App has to offer. We love the Bible, and for us, that’s what it’s all about. God is reaching out to people everywhere, and we feel honored and humbled at YouVersion that we get to play a role in His plan to share the story of His love with them.