CEO of YouVersion Says ‘God Is on the Move’ as App Breaks Record Bible Engagement
A major uptick in online Bible engagement has led one evangelical leader to suggest the world may be in the midst of a spiritual awakening. Bobby Gruenewald, founder and CEO of the YouVersion Bible app, made the comments this week after YouVersion recorded a record 18.6 million people engaging with God’s Word on Easter -- an 11 percent increase from last year’s holiday and a continuation of recent patterns. YouVersion, according to a news release, has seen “significant engagement spikes” on other days this year, suggesting a “broader trend.”
During Holy Week, YouVersion also recorded a 27 percent increase in Bible engagement in the region of North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia. Sub-Saharan Africa saw Bible engagement up 24 percent.
“We’re in awe of what God is doing, but we’re not entirely surprised,” Gruenewald said. “Even before Holy Week, we’ve been seeing a growing hunger for God’s Word -- not just through Bible App use, but in print Bible sales and momentum across the global Church. We’re thrilled that this Easter Sunday was the biggest day for Bible engagement in YouVersion’s history.
“But what’s even more incredible is that many of our record days for engagement have happened on seemingly ordinary days this year, with no specific reason for the spikes -- except that God is on the move. We’re celebrating because this isn’t just a data trend. It’s about more people encountering the hope and love of Jesus and being transformed by the power of God’s Word.”
Recent data indicates that the world is, indeed, experiencing a spiritual awakening -- even if the full extent is not yet known.
Church attendance in the United Kingdom has increased 50 percent in the past six years, led -- perhaps surprisingly -- by young adults. Church attendance among adults ages 18–24 in the U.K. has quadrupled since 2018, rising from 4 to 16 percent, with young men increasing from 4 to 21 percent and young women from 3 to 12 percent, according to a new report, The Quiet Revival, commissioned by the Bible Society and conducted by YouGov.
“There are now over 2 million more people attending church than there were six years ago,” the report said.
In France, the Catholic Church reported over 10,000 adult baptisms during Easter this year, a 45 percent increase from 2024 and the highest since records began.
Last fall, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bible sales in the U.S. were up 22 percent year-over-year, according to Circana BookScan data. Likewise, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention said its Bible sales had surged 30 percent over the past year, according to a December report. Additionally, Bible sales have nearly doubled in the United Kingdom in the past five years, according to data compiled by the Christian publisher SPCK Group.
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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published April 23, 2025.
