Celebrate National Day of the Bible with Us!

Today, November 19, is National Day of the Bible, kicking off the annual celebration of National Bible Week. This week, Christians all across the U.S. will commemorate God’s Word with concerts, public readings, and special contests. (And if you’re lucky enough to be in Chicago this week, 2012’s official “Bible city,” be sure to check out their list of events.)

A group of businessmen started National Bible Week in 1940 to offer hope to a nation on the brink of war. In fact, when the first scheduled Bible reading radio broadcast was interrupted by news of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the broadcasters decided to continue reading Scripture in between news updates. And National Bible Week has continued as an annual tradition ever since, encouraging everyone to read the Bible, whether it’s Christians bolstering their faith or simply others who want to understand a different worldview.

Of course, the Bible App from YouVersion makes it easy. Our mission is to make the Bible freely available to as many people as possible, in whatever language they prefer. YouVersion offers more than 400 versions of the Bible in 209 languages (so far), along with hundreds of Bible reading and audio plans, also in many languages. With the Bible App already installed on almost 70 million unique devices, readers have spent more than 35 billion minutes reading God’s Word. You can get your very own Bible App on almost any mobile device quickly and easily—and always 100% free!

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2012-11-112013-10-07

5 Million Bible Plans Completed!

YouVersion first launched Reading Plans in 2009, and since then people have used the Bible App to complete 5 million Plans! Whether you like to read, listen, or watch your daily selection, Bible Plans make it easier than ever to spend meaningful time in God’s Word. Thank you for being a part of what God is doing all over the world through the Bible App!

Making Plans Work for You

People who complete their Bible Plans sometimes get a little help along the way from these handy features. Just go to your plan’s Settings (the gear icon) and look for these useful tools:

Catch Me Up. Falling behind? In your plan’s Settings, tap Catch Me Up to shift your start and end dates. Your last fully completed day becomes yesterday. If you have partially completed days, those unfinished selections will remain unchecked.
Reminders. Have the Bible App remind you when it’s time to read. In your plan’s Settings, set Reminder to On and specify the time of day you’d like to be reminded. At the time you set, the Bible App pops up a handy reminder.
Email Delivery. Get your daily selections delivered to your inbox. In your plan’s Settings, set Email Delivery to On and select the time of day you’d like to receive your daily selection, along with which Bible version you’d like. The Bible App sends it to the email address you specified for your free YouVersion account.

For even more tips and tricks, be sure to check out YouVersion’s Support website!

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2012-11-082013-10-07

The Bible App Now in Finnish and Vietnamese

With today’s announcement of the addition of Finnish and Vietnamese, YouVersion is now offering the Bible App in twenty-five languages. This includes not only Bible versions, but all of the menus, settings, and even reading plans. Simply select your desired language from the Bible App’s Settings, or set the language on your device. If you enjoy using the Bible App at YouVersion.com, you can choose from the list of languages at the bottom right. Whether you speak Finnish or Vietnamese, or you have friends who do, please help us spread the word on Facebook and Twitter!

Finnish

You can choose Finnish (Suomi) right now for your Bible App for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), Android, or at YouVersion.com. (Finnish is also coming soon to the Bible App for Windows Phone!) We offer four Finnish Bible versions: the contemporary Kirkkoraamattu 1992 (KR92) and the traditional Kirkkoraamattu 1933/38 (KINB38), both provided by the Finnish Bible Society, and the Finnish 1776 (FI1776) and Finnish 1938 (FINPR). Also, be sure you check out one of our 25 reading plans in Finnish!

Vietnamese

We’re also pleased to now offer Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) on the Bible App for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), Android, BlackBerry, and at YouVersion.com. Look for any of our 25 reading plans in Vietnamese, as well as four different Bible versions. The Revised Vietnamese Version Bible (RVV11) is provided from the United Bible Societies, the modern Thánh Kinh: Bản Phổ thông™ (BPT) comes from the World Bible Translation Center, and the Ban Dich 2011 (BD2011) from the Rev. Bau Dang. You’ll even find the classic 1934 Vietnamese Bible (VI1934).

Because of You

The only way that YouVersion can make God’s Word available to as many people as we do, and in their own heart languages, is through the passionate work of a worldwide community of translation volunteers. These are people just like you who use their gifts to translate menus, settings, screens, and other key text so they can take part in seeing the Bible shared with the world. We never stop improving the Bible App, so there’s always more translation to do. If you can volunteer to translate into Finnish or Vietnamese (or other languages), we’d love to hear from you. Please join us. You’ll be helping people all over the planet fall in love with God’s Word.

We asked a couple of our key volunteers in Finnish and Vietnamese to share with you about why they love working with YouVersion to reach the world. Here’s what they had to say:

YouVersion Finnish language volunteer Juho A. (l) with YouVersion Global Partnership and Community Pastor Brian Russell (r)

“YouVersion translation felt like a natural way for me to contribute to the ministry. Serving others by using my native language (that I’m quite passionate about!) gives me great pleasure. I’m so grateful for the awesome fellowship that we have due to working together in the name of Christ.”
—Juho A., Espoo, Finland

YouVersion Vietnamese language volunteer Tien L.

“I decided to volunteer for YouVersion because I had always been called to the ministry of language translation. What an amazing way to help bring God’s Word to people in my country! Thanks to my experiences volunteering, I’ve come to realize that I did not truly appreciate the abilities and assets God has given me until I used them to serve Him. All glory be to the Lord!”
—Tien L., San Antonio, Texas, U.S.

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2012-11-06

Why Isn’t the Bible App Optimized for iPhone 5?

We hope you’ve already downloaded the latest update of the Bible App™ for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), available now in the iTunes App Store. With each release, we try to bring you with the best experience possible on the device of your choice.

If you have an iPhone 5, while the newest release of the Bible App will work just fine on your device, you’ll probably notice that it doesn’t fill your new, larger screen. But all of the features you know and love in the Bible App are still there, along with a few improvements.

Unfortunately, if we update the Bible App to add support for the iPhone 5’s taller screen, Apple requires us to drop support for many iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches with older operating systems. That would mean that the 700–900 people who are installing the Bible App on these older devices every day wouldn’t be able to get it at all. It also means that many thousands of others wouldn’t be able to upgrade the Bible App they already have installed.

More than 69 million people have installed the Bible App so far. While that number includes Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and many other types of devices, almost 30 million people are using the Bible App on Apple devices. We simply can’t justify compromising simple, free access to God’s Word for so many people just because they have older devices.

Now, we’re constantly reviewing downloads, how often and how long people interact with the Bible App, and what devices they’re using to connect. We take very seriously our responsibility to position our development resources where they’ll have the greatest impact. And our simple mission remains the same: To help as many people as possible engage with the Bible, no matter where they live or what language they prefer—or even which Apple device they happen to have.

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2012-10-282012-10-29

Bible App Adds More Choices with Several New Reading Plans

Even though YouVersion already has more than 300 Reading plans for you to choose from, we’re constantly adding terrific new ones. Check out all of these brand-new options, available right now:

John Piper – Six new devotional plans from renowned Bible teacher John Piper delve deep into the meaning and context of key Biblical principles. Explore Finding Real Happiness (3 days), God’s Pleasure in Creating (3 days), The Fascinating Love of God (3 days), God’s Joy in Jesus (5 days), The Powerful Promise of God (5 days), and Quest for Joy (6 days).

Francis Chan & David Platt – Designed to train disciples (like you!) to make more disciples, this plan is a companion to the Multiply Movement. Co-creators Francis Chan and David Platt share their practical insights for how you can fulfill this most important responsibility for followers of Christ. 168 days

James MacDonald – From Pastor James MacDonald and the acclaimed Walk in the Word series, God at Work will help you see the things God is doing in our world today—and in your life. Authentic Prayer helps you get started in the genuine dialog with God that you’ve always wanted. 7 days each

Matt Redman – This new devotional plan from worship leader and multiple Dove Award winner Matt Redman takes you behind the scenes into the Scriptures and insight that inspired the songs on his popular 10,000 Reasons album. 11 days

She Reads Truth – Designed by women for women, She Reads Truth is an online community that helps women connect with the Bible and with each other. The Galatians (15 days), Ephesians (17 days), and Philippians (11 days) plans from She Reads Truth each offer a daily reading, context and recap, followed by devotional questions.

The Overflow – New website The Overflow offers Christian music for digital download. This month, YouVersion adds three new devotional reading plans developed by artists from The Overflow’s catalog. Check out new plans from Propaganda, Vertical Church Band, and Deon Kipping. 7 days each

What’s a Reading Plan?

If you haven’t already been using Reading plans from YouVersion to get into God’s Word, you don’t know what you’ve been missing! Reading plans have proven to be one of the easiest, most efficient ways you can engage with the Bible every day. Simply search for a plan, study, or devotional that interests you and sign up with your free YouVersion account. Then each day when you open the Bible App, you’ll find a manageable portion of reading waiting for you. It’s easy—and practical! Reading plans serve you with His Word in a way that gives you plenty of time to reflect on all that you’ve just read.

And once you complete the plan you’re on, just come back and search for the next thing you want to learn about. It really is that easy!

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