YouVersion currently offers Bible content in over 2,300 languages, including several African languages such as Swahili, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu.
Dar es Salaam. The world’s most popular Bible app, YouVersion, has reached a historic milestone of one billion device installs, underscoring growing global engagement with Scripture and the expanding role of technology in faith practice.
The achievement will be marked this November through Global Bible Month, a worldwide campaign featuring a 30-day Bible Challenge and an international celebration event bringing together Christian leaders, artists and Bible-centred organisations.
Founded in 2008, YouVersion has grown from a simple digital experiment into one of the most widely used apps globally. The milestone comes in what the organisation describes as a record-breaking year, with global installs rising by more than 12 per cent compared to last year, while daily usage has increased by 18 per cent.
According to YouVersion, its family of Bible apps is now used in every country, recording one billion app opens every 39 days a sign of deepening engagement among users worldwide.
“We’re seeing incredible global momentum around Bible engagement, and it’s humbling to be part of what’s happening,” said YouVersion founder and chief executive officer Bobby Gruenewald. “This milestone is really a celebration of the Bible itself and what happens when people around the world work together to get it into the hands and hearts of more people.”
Growing reach in Africa
Africa has emerged as one of the fastest-growing regions for digital Bible engagement. This year alone, YouVersion apps have been installed more than 37.1 million times across Sub-Saharan Africa, with 27.7 million of those downloads coming through Bible App Lite.
The Lite version was developed to address challenges such as limited data access and lower-end devices, making Scripture more accessible in regions with infrastructure constraints.
YouVersion currently offers Bible content in over 2,300 languages, including several African languages such as Swahili, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu.
“There is a powerful movement happening across Africa with people deeply engaging with Scripture in their heart language,” said Joseph Gachira, YouVersion Hub Leader in Kenya. “With offline downloads and data-light features, people can connect with God’s Word no matter where they are.”
The platform works with a global network of more than 31,000 partners, including over 25,000 churches and 7,224 content partners. In Africa alone, it collaborates with more than 1,150 organisations and ministries to produce content tailored to local communities.
Global Bible Month
As part of the celebrations, YouVersion is partnering with other faith-based platforms such as Glorify, Hallow and The Bible Project to launch Global Bible Month in November.
Central to the initiative is a 30-Day Bible Challenge, encouraging people to engage with Scripture daily in any format digital or print with the aim of fostering consistent interaction with the Bible.
“In a world where everyone is searching for what’s real and true, daily engagement with Scripture continues to transform lives,” said Gruenewald. “We’re inviting people to read the Bible for 30 days and see what happens.”
The celebrations will culminate in a global event on November 17 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, featuring worship music from internationally renowned artists including Lauren Daigle, Phil Wickham and Brooke Ligertwood, alongside speakers such as Christine Caine and Craig Groeschel.
From idea to global platform
YouVersion’s story began with a simple question posed by Gruenewald while standing in an airport security queue: how technology could help people read the Bible more consistently.
Seventeen years later, the platform offers more than 3,600 Bible translations and adds over 1,200 new pieces of content every month, including devotionals, videos and prayer resources.
Beyond being a digital Bible reader, YouVersion positions itself as a tool for daily spiritual growth, community engagement and personal reflection aiming to keep Scripture accessible and relevant in an increasingly digital world.
