On November 17, 2025, I walked into the newly opened headquarters in Edmond, Oklahoma, of YouVersion, the makers of the Bible App. I introduced myself to the receptionist and asked, “Where is my new office?” She looked surprised and unsure what to say. “Sorry,” she stuttered, “I don’t know where your office is. What department are you with? What is your title?” Now I was the one to stutter and laugh, “Okay, so I don’t actually work here. But where do you think I would be most needed?” Standing there felt like a full-circle moment—something perhaps God saw afar off for people like me, with a bachelor’s degree in IT and an MBA in marketing, before I received a call to ministry.
The impact of the YouVersion Bible App has been far-reaching—almost 15 million people engage online daily in 3,600 Bible translations and 2,300 languages.
In 1993, I was working for AT&T PersonaLink Services. My team partnered with a visionary startup to build a mobile data network to support a prototype mobile device that would allow users to make calls and send email and texts—basically the first mobile tablets/phones. Our engineers understood that, at some point, the cost of the device would come down and that every person would eventually have a personal phone number that traveled with them, untethered from a specific location such as their office or home. We could all envision how this device would be used for business, but when the conversation turned to personal uses that would drive consumer demand, things got wild. Someone recommended a service that women would use to shop for wedding dresses. I remember thinking, That will never happen. That wasn’t the only thing I missed. Eventually, I left AT&T seeking a career that felt more like ministry, never envisioning that devices like the ones we were dreaming of would one day become a tool for ministry to the farthest reaches of the world.
Bobby Gruenewald, Founder and CEO, YouVersion
Approximately thirteen years later, in 2006, Bobby Gruenwald, who was serving on staff at Life.Church, a Covenant church in Edmond, asked his travel companions in an airport what they thought about an idea to put the Bible on cellphones. When he got home, he decided to do something with his idea. His first attempt to build out a Bible service as a website failed. His second attempt, in 2008, was to build an app. The impact of the YouVersion Bible App has been far-reaching—almost 15 million people engage online daily in 3,600 Bible translations and 2,300 languages.
On November 17, 2025, thousands of us arrived in Oklahoma to celebrate the one billionth download of the YouVersion Bible App. The celebration included a sold-out concert at the Paycom Center with some of gospel music’s top stars, including CeCe Winans and Lauren Daigle.
From left: Ieisha Hawley, Jennifer McIntyre, Rochelle Rasheed, and Josef Rasheed
For me, the real rock stars were on stage at the partner summit. We first met the team almost a year ago when the Covenant became the first denominational publisher on YouVersion. On stage were engineers, content managers, and regional account representatives responsible for curating content for specific geographies in various languages—and those responsible for stewarding generosity that supports the free app, just to name a few. They took time to celebrate special partners, such as the first Bible publisher to say yes to the app when others held back in fear of cannibalizing sales of their print Bibles. They celebrated Bible plan authors who had reached milestones, such as the One Year Bible plan, a 365-day plan with a high completion rate. There was so much to learn and celebrate.
We heard stories of people reaching for their device when they felt anxious about life or scared by a diagnosis—and finding hope on the app. The mom who heard her nonverbal son speaking God’s Word after “playing” with the Bible App for Kids showed us that something intrinsically unique and powerful happens through the presentation of God’s Word in this digital format. It is the power to be everywhere, all the time, wherever we go; the power to read (or hear) God’s Word in any language you choose, using a translation that speaks best to you; the tools to study God’s Word alone or as part of a group; and the ability to easily share encouragement in the form of God’s Word whenever someone asks for prayer.
Beyond a Billion celebration at Paycom Center
By the time I walked into the headquarters of YouVersion, I felt a tremendous sense of pride in being a partner in this work. I was proud to be one of many who gets to bring their professional skills to work every day to advance God’s kingdom; proud to be one in a billion to have downloaded this app; proud that YouVersion and Life.Church invited the Covenant to be a partner in creating content for the app; and proud that our nine Covenant Bible plans on the app, released in 2025, have impacted more than 27,000 lives in approximately 180 countries. I was proud to be a part of all of it—even if I didn’t have an office there. This was a place where digital credentials were core to the mission of spreading the gospel, a place for people who truly believed that one billion downloads is just the beginning.
