YouVersion Bible App Creator Makes 100 Most Creative People List
One of the creators of the YouVersion Bible app has been named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business.
LifeChurch pastor and innovation leader Bobby Gruenewald made this year's list for building the YouVersion app, which "reimagines the Bible for the digital age, letting users record reflections, choose reading plans, and share passages online," according to Fast Company.
Also on the magazine's 2011 list are Conan O’Brien, Arianna Huffington, Oprah Winfrey, Tina Fey and Ryan Seacrest.
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Gruenewald is No. 97 on the list.
Since its launch in 2008, the YouVersion app has amassed over 22 million downloads and become the No. 1 downloaded Bible app today.
"We are passionate about the Bible. The reason we created YouVersion was we thought could we use today's technology and even tomorrow's technology to help people engage with the Bible," Gruenewald said in a webcast celebrating the milestone last week.
"What we've seen happen is nothing short of amazing."
Currently, YouVersion is available in 113 translations and 41 languages. The app can be downloaded for free.
Gruenewald said he hopes to increase the number of users by broadening the number of languages offered. More than 25 percent of YouVersion users have their smartphones set to a language other than English, and Korean is the fastest growing language.
"We actually believe it’s now possible to not just see 10 million or 20 million install this on their phones. But we believe it's now possible to see half a billion people engage in God's word," the Oklahoma pastor said.
He continued, "I believe we live in a generation that is really seeking truth and wanting to know what truth is. The Bible, we believe, represents truth for our lives."
In a recent interview with The Christian Post, Gruenewald shared that even he and his team at Lifechurch, founded by Craig Groeschel, has started reading the Bible more through YouVersion.
He believes that YouVersion will help spark a "Bible-engagement revolution," leading to the most scripturally-engaged generation ever.
