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YouVersion.com: Now in Simplified and Traditional Chinese

We’re so excited to announce that, with help from our friends and partners at http://jidutu-wiki.org/, we now offer our interface in both Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, available immediately on YouVersion.com. Both languages are also coming soon to the Bible App™!

In 2010, China’s population grew to well over 1.3 billion people (that’s with a B!). By the late 2010’s, it’s projected that China will pass 1.4 billion. It’s estimated that 3%–4% of China’s population follows Christ, with the Lord adding to their number every day. YouVersion’s vision has always been to make the Bible an easy-to-use resource. As people’s lives move more onto the web and onto mobile devices, we want to be sure the Bible is freely available to them—wherever they are. And of course we’re always thrilled when God gives us the opportunity to get His Word to different people in their own language!

We consider this feature still in “Beta.” We have some details we’re working out and a few areas we know need more thorough translation. But it’s live and online right now! To access either language, simply click the language link at the bottom left of YouVersion.com, and switch to the one you want.

If you have friends who might be interested in this feature, please let them know about it. We’d love to hear what they think on Facebook and on Twitter.

Would you like to see YouVersion.com and the Bible App in your own language? We want to hear from you! Please complete this simple form and let us know what you can do to help.

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Join us! 1 Billion in 1 Month!

We mentioned this during our webcast earlier this year, but now the moment is upon us. And of course, we’ll need everyone’s help to pull it off. Here’s what we’d like to do: During just a single month, the month of January, we’d love to see users of the Bible App™ spend at least 1 billion minutes reading the Bible. (We can do this! You guys just recently passed 4 billion minutes total!) We’ve even added a page to our website to keep track and to help you out with resources.

Besides some of the things we’ve already shared that you can do—rating the Bible App in iTunes, talking to your friends about the Bible, sharing on Twitter and Facebook, even raising Bible awareness during the Christmas season—the key now is to read. Read like crazy during January. We’ve done a lot to prepare and help you, making the Bible App easy and accessible, so you can always have it with you, whether you’re on your iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, webOS, or even in Facebook! All of that has been building toward this one moment. It’s here.

Use Reading Plans. Probably the greatest tools we’ve seen so far that can help you (and your friends) engage with the Bible are Reading Plans. Whether you’re brand-new to reading the Bible, or you’ve set 2011 as the year you’re going to read through the entire thing, or even if you want to read it all in just 90 days, there’s a Reading Plans for you. Find one you like and sign up with your free YouVersion account today.

At YouVersion, we love the Bible. It’s why we do what we do. We saw some crazy, thrilling numbers during 2010. But we’re convinced God is up to something even bigger. And we believe that helping other people fall in love with His Word is the most important thing we can all do to be a part.

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An Incredible Response: Thanks for Sharing

Thanks to you, Global Share the Bible Day was a huge success! We asked you to share…and wow—did you ever! All day yesterday, you shared your faith, you shared things Christ has done in your lives, you shared your favorite verses and passages, and most importantly, you shared the Bible.

On average yesterday, using YouVersion.com and the Bible App™, you guys shared verses and passages on Twitter and Facebook every 7 seconds. Because you told people about the Bible App—and even helped your friends and families download it to their devices—YouVersion saw 154,000 new device installs in just one day. That’s almost two new installs every second! You planted and watered all day; now we can’t wait to see what God will do to give the increase.

Especially if you participated in Share the Bible Day, you probably realize how powerful it can be to spend time in God’s Word every day. 2011 is just around the corner, and we hope you’ll continue to partner with us in the New Year, as together we help more people engage daily in reading Scripture. A lot of people have been asking what they can do to participate in the goal of seeing one billion minutes of Bible reading in January: Read? Share? Help your friends download the Bible App? In no particular order, the answers are: Yes! Yes! And Yes!

At YouVersion, we love the Bible. We hope you do too. It’s our passion to make it easy for people to read and connect with all that God has for us. And you know what? Global Share the Bible Day was just the beginning.

Thank you!

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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.