'Bible in a Year with Jack Graham' tops Apple's podcast charts amid rising biblical illiteracy
In a significant achievement for faith-based digital content, the podcast series "Bible in a Year with Jack Graham" has hit the No. 1 spot on Apple's charts for religious podcasts despite growing biblical illiteracy across the United States.
The pray.com series, produced in collaboration with iHeartPodcasts, features the biblical teaching of Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. Currently on its second season, the podcast is designed to bring the scriptures to life through cinematic storytelling, enhanced by an original soundtrack performed by a 61-piece orchestra.
“It’s been an honor and a joy to partner with the team at Pray.com in bringing this great project to life,” Graham said. “There’s never been a more important time to spread the influence of God’s Word to our communities, our country and the world. We pray the ‘Bible in a Year’ podcast format invites people to engage with Scripture in a new way, diving deeper into God’s character while journeying through the grand biblical narrative.”
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Matthew Potter, co-founder and head of strategic relationships at Pray.com, emphasized the transformative potential of the "Bible in a Year" podcast.
"We're incredibly blessed and thrilled to advance our journey with Pastor Jack Graham at the helm of our unparalleled 'Bible in a Year' podcast. The Bible's profound and vast legacy demands the expertise and passion of a luminary like Dr. Graham. It's a privilege of the highest order to collaborate with him. Together, we're on a mission to transform lives through the podcast ‘Bible In A Year,’ empowering listeners to weave biblical wisdom into the fabric of their daily lives, fostering growth in faith and enlightenment."
Graham, also an author and host of PowerPoint Ministries, told The Christian Post he's “blown away” by the success of the podcast.
“It’s clear people are hungry for hope,” he said.
The pastor noted that the "Bible in a Year with Jack Graham” is also among Apple’s top-ranked podcasts in all categories. The goal, he said, is to reach 1 billion people with the truth of the Gospel through the podcast.
Other chart-topping religious podcasts, on both Spotify and Apple podcasts include, “The Bible Recap” with Tara-Leigh Cobble and “The Bible in a Year” with Fr. Mike Schmitz.
According to the American Bible Society’s “State of the Bible 2023,” over the last three years, there has been a steady decline among young people engaging with Scripture.
In a 2019 interview with The Christian Post, D.A. Carson, co-founder of The Gospel Coalition, weighed in on the importance of family devotions and prayer time to instill in children the fundamentals of the faith at an early age amid growing biblical illiteracy.
“I think that it's important to give them good things to read, to submit them while they're young to good literature, to learn the Bible and family devotions when they're young,” he said. “I find it shocking how many Christian families have no family devotions.”
“Consistency is really helpful,” he added. “Parents must live lives consistent with what they teach. There's nothing that turns kids off faster than a fraud, a phony, a counterfeit.”
“Somewhere along the line, show kids your interest in the poor and the broken. Take kids on short-term missions, not just send them; take them with you so that they can see your interest in commitment in more than white, upper-middle-class suburbia.”
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
