"So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ" -- Romans 10:17
YouVersion, creators of the famous Bible app and Bible.com, announced Wednesday their app has been downloaded over 500 million times worldwide.
"Today we're celebrating 500 million installs … but we're not just reflecting on what God has done, we're looking forward to what He'll do next," YouVersion said.
"Imagine a day in the near future when 1 billion people have installed YouVersion."
The app offers 1,750 languages in which the Bible can be read.
This isn't just good news. This is good news about the ACTUAL good news (Gospel) going out to all the world!
"It's extremely humbling to have reached 500 million downloads. Just the fact that God could do something so big through us," app founder Bobby Gruenewald said.
"It's important that people understand that this is something God did, not us. We can't take credit for this. God did this through me, and it's so crazy that God would use me. And there's a lot more that God will do and can do in future."
"We have been in a process of expanding the features of the app to focus more on intimacy with God," Gruenewald said.
The app launched in 2008 as "one of only 200 free apps in the iOS app store" in only English and Spanish, the Christian Post reports.
"The entire ministry was about me getting to read the Bible more because I always wanted to read the Bible more, and I thought there were probably more people in my situation," Gruenewald stated. "And, of course, we had no idea of what it would become. It started simple and as a small effort."
Pastor Craig Groeschel from Life.Church, the church from which the app was developed, called the milestone "a testimony to the goodness of God and the power of His word."
"As of [Wednesday], the YouVersion Bible app is now on one-half of a billion devices around the world," Groeschel said. "To celebrate this moment, our verse of the day is Hebrews 4:12, which says, ‘For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.'"
YouVersion said the best way to help them celebrate "this historic moment is by sharing YouVersion with someone in your life who hasn't been transformed by God's Word yet."
"There are millions of people still waiting to be transformed by the Bible, and you are perfectly positioned to reach some of them," the company said. "Allow God to actively work through you by inviting others to discover that The Bible is Alive."
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