by Bobby Gruenewald, Premier Christianity
Bible engagement is at an all time high, reports Bobby Gruenewald, CEO of the YouVersion Bible App. The Church is again defying predictions of its decline, he says
Bible Society’s report on Britain’s ‘quiet revival’ has had such an impact that it’s causing waves across Christian circles. Even in the midst of this historic moment of transition from one Pope to another, the report continues to be a topic of conversation across the UK.
Interestingly, this research isn’t the only evidence of revival sparking excitement across denominations and generations. Reports of record-breaking UK church attendance at Easter, mass baptisms, and churches so full they’re scrambling to make room are adding to the momentum around the report’s findings.
But what’s not yet being talked about is the fact that Britain isn’t the only country experiencing this global move of God. Quiet revivals in other Western countries are happening right now. In France, over 17,000 people were baptised at the first mass of Easter, four times the annual average, which is also rising year-on-year. And in the US, print Bible sales are up 22% year-on-year.
At YouVersion, we saw record-breaking daily use on Easter across our family of Apps, which includes the Bible App, Bible App for Kids, and Bible App Lite, with 18.8 million people worldwide engaging with the Bible that Sunday, a 12 per cent increase compared to last year. During Holy Week, there was a 9 per cent rise in Bible engagement in Europe with the impact extending to other parts of the world as seen in a 27 per cent rise in the North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia regions.