The popular ministry YouVersion says it experienced major growth worldwide on its Bible apps in 2024 as users displayed “an increased hunger for God’s Word” and used its prayer features in record numbers. YouVersion also revealed its most-engaged verse of the yr. Created by Life.Church, YouVersion offers several free apps, including the Bible App, Bible App Lite, and Bible App for Kids. All total, they’ve been installed on greater than 875 million devices worldwide.
In 2024, YouVersion experienced a median of 11.2 million recent device installs per 30 days, with about 14 million users engaging within the Bible every day. It was a record yr for app installs and every day use, YouVersion said.
Its fastest growth was in Central Africa, Eastern Africa, and Latin America.
“This notable growth points to an increased hunger for God’s Word,” YouVersion said in a news release.
In Africa, every day Bible engagement on YouVersion apps experienced major growth in South Sudan (82 percent), Angola (68 percent), Mozambique (55 percent), Guinea (50 percent), Nigeria (35 percent), and Algeria (35 percent). In Latin America, the highest countries for growth were Nicaragua (107 percent), Venezuela (74 percent), Bolivia (52 percent), Honduras (50 percent), Cuba (45 percent) and Argentina (30 percent). Some 1 million Brazilians use the Bible App every day.
“It’s encouraging to see people throughout the YouVersion Community, in every region of the world, engage with the Bible at such high levels,” said YouVersion Founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald. “These Bible engagement trends highlight the commonalities that could be found throughout the worldwide Church — within the struggles we face and in our need for God.”
Meanwhile, engagement with YouVersion’s prayer features grew by 46 percent in 2024. A news release noted that the prayer features allow users to “share prayers with their friends, indicate that they prayed for others, and complete guided prayer sessions that connect individuals with God through Scripture and prayer prompts.”
“Throughout 2024, we have now seen an increase within the number of individuals dedicating themselves to nighttime and day prayer in several nations all over the world,” said Carla Harding, international director of products for 24-7 Prayer International, a YouVersion global partner. “Our hope is that through continual prayer, the worldwide church could be ignited within the presence of God and carry His love with greater compassion and power to the communities around them.”
The Bible verse that experienced the best level of engagement — and is the YouVersion Verse of the Year — was Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
“In many cases, our anxiety comes from holding onto worries that we aren’t meant to hold,” Gruenewald said. “To me, this verse being sought out essentially the most this yr is an illustration that our community is looking for God in prayer and selecting to trust Him to hold their burdens — and we’re seeing that supported in the information.”
Last yr’s Verse of the Year was Isaiah 41:10: “So don’t fear, for I’m with you; don’t be dismayed, for I’m your God. I’ll strengthen you and show you how to; I’ll uphold you with my righteous right hand.” It was also the Verse of the Year in 2020 and 2022.
Photo Credit: ©YouVersion Press
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of religion and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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