YouVersion has kept up its tradition of announcing its most popular verse of the year among users of its Bible App.
The scripture that people shared, bookmarked, and highlighted most in 2022 is Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Bobby Gruenewald, founder and CEO of YouVersion said, “The popularity of this verse speaks to our desire to be reminded that even when we feel like we’re alone in our struggles, we’re not. As this verse says, God is our strength and He’s always with us.”
The Bible App has also seen an increase in engagement in almost every country since launching in 2008. Cuba has shown the most improvement, with an increase of 76 per cent more engagement than last year.
Other statistics for 2022 include the app being opened 5.5 billion times, and 2.3 billion highlights, bookmarks, and notes were created. Meanwhile, 550 million Bible verses were shared and 303 million in-app searches were done.
YouVersion also pointed out how the war in Ukraine impacted engagement in the Bible App.
It said as Ukrainians began to flee to neighbouring countries, the app’s Ukrainian-language Bible engagement spiked in many of the countries by triple digits. Poland saw a 241 per cent increase, while Germany saw 733 per cent.
“These families are going through something most of us can’t imagine. In the middle of what’s likely the most difficult time of their lives, they’re turning to the Bible for comfort, peace, and hope,” Gruenewald said.
“It’s an honour that we get to be a part of making God’s Word available to His people in their greatest moments of need.”
Overall engagement rose by 55 per cent in Ukraine, with trending search terms in the language at the beginning of the war including “war”, “fear” and “anxiety”.
Now nine months on from the war, the top search term in the Ukrainian language is “love”.
The Bible App has more than 545 million installs worldwide.
(Premier News)
