(MENAFNEditorial) OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --As 2017 comes to a close, the YouVersion Bible App is closing in on a milestone: 300 million downloads. The Bible App was one of the first 200 free apps in the debut of Apple's App Store nine years ago. Since then, it has been downloaded in every country of the world.

The Bible verse shared, bookmarked, and highlighted most often by the global YouVersion community this year was Joshua 1:9: "This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

"We believe the Bible is an enduring source of courage and strength," said Bobby Gruenewald, Life.Church Innovation Pastor and YouVersion Bible App founder. "We are encouraged to see from this year's data that people all over the world are finding hope in God's Word."

The YouVersion community read and listened to 19.7 billion chapters of the Bible this year and created 1.4 billion highlights, bookmarks, and notes. On average, people created 42.3 highlights, listened to 96.1 audio chapters, and read 532 chapters every second of every day in 2017.

This year, YouVersion saw even more people turn to the Bible App to explore God's Word, many in some unexpected places. Downloads in India increased by 228 percent this year, while downloads in Iraq grew by 155 percent. Mozambique saw downloads increase by 243 percent, and downloads in Argentina jumped by 131 percent.

YouVersion works with partners to continuously add languages to the Bible App, currently offering Bible text in 1,627 versions representing 1,169 languages. While we're closer than ever to having the Bible translated for everyone in the world, more than a billion people still don't have the Bible in their language. Alongside visionary partners, YouVersion is part of a movement to get the New Testament translated for 99.9% of the world's population by the year 2033.

"We are at a pivotal point in history. In recent years, technology has made it possible to accelerate Bible translation like never before. There's incredible momentum around this effort that we know won't stop until every person has Scripture available in their heart language," said Gruenewald.

Also this year, new features were added to the app to help the YouVersion community fully engage with the Bible:

Explore—easily search for Scripture by topic, emotion, or Bible story.

Streaks—shows users how many days in a row they have used the Bible App, encouraging them to connect with God's Word every day.

Plans with Friends—allows people to start a Bible Plan with friends, help keep each other accountable, and discuss Scripture together.

"When people install the Bible App, it's usually because they want to read the Bible more, so we spend a lot of time thinking about how to help make it easier for them to do what they want to do. We're thrilled that our Bible engagement numbers are continually increasing because it tells us that we're helping people reach their goals," said Gruenewald.

For a detailed look at the Bible App's 2017 stats, visit .

About YouVersion and The Bible App
YouVersion was launched as a website in 2007 to help increase access and engagement with the Bible, part of Life.Church's missional approach to technology. Since launching as one of the first 200 apps available in Apple's App Store in 2008, the Bible App has been installed on nearly 300 million devices and in every country of the world. Featuring more than 1,600 versions and supporting more than 1,100 languages, the Bible App helps people with busy, on-the-go lifestyles read the Bible at any time and in any place. To learn more or to download the app, visit .

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SOURCE YouVersion

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