YouVersion Bible App Hits 250 Million Downloads

By Rea Gabriel
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The makers of YouVersion, the Bible app that enables mobile phone and tablet users to study Scripture in many ways, celebrated a milestone this week -- 30 million installations, October 2011. YouVersion

The free YouVersion Bible App that lets the user read, watch, listen, and share the word of God through Bible verses now reached its 250 millionth downloads.

"We are humbled by how many people use the Bible App on a regular basis," stated Rev. Bobby Gruenewald, Life.Church Innovation Pastor and YouVersion Bible App Founder, in a press release.

"When we decided to make the Bible available as an app, we never could have imagined how much it would revolutionize the way people engage with Scripture."

Gruenewald stated that the people who have the YouVersion in their handheld devices makes heavy figures in using the app. The statistics estimated that a total of 13 billion Bible chapters have been read and listened to and has amassed more than one billion highlights, bookmarks, and notes, according to Eternity.

The most popular verse of the year is Romans 8:28 which stated, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

The YouVersion app sees continuous growth of user engagement and future progress in terms of quantity of downloads. The various and wide selection of languages available for the app help to gain popularity as people contribute to make the app better.

Its distribution from all around the globe with this wide range of selection promises a better connection with the people. It currently has 1, 500 versions and offered in 1, 000 languages.

Gruenewald thanked the numerous translators, publishers, Bible societies, churches, authors, and hundreds of volunteers who helped make this feat possible because of one end in mind, which is to bring the Bible to the modern world to reach the people.

"We're thrilled to partner with the many Bible societies and translation groups that make it possible for us to offer the Bible in more and more languages every month. Our goal is that every person with a mobile device will have access to the Bible in their native language through the Bible App," he said.

Gruenawald stated several upgrades that the app will offer in the future. It will have an iMessage extension and Bible keyboard to search and share for Bible verses and images, according to Christian Post.

"We've also added the ability to compare different Bible versions of the same verse at a glance. Another new feature is a Netflix-like display format for Bible Plans, which makes them easier to search and discover," he said.

Other developments included a regional language lists to allow the app suggest verses and list of Bible languages based on the user's location.

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