The ultimate guide to the YouVersion Bible app
The ultimate guide to the YouVersion Bible app
Modern technology allows you to read the entire Bible wherever you happen to be. With only a few clicks, you can study Bible verses while you walk, do the chores, or finish other tasks.
The YouVersion Bible app is a tool that provides all that and more. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about this app.
The beginning and initial success of YouVersion
After he got a free Bible during a challenging time at college, the founder of Life.Church Craig Groeschel, wanted to create a way people could easily share their thoughts about the Holy Bible. One of the Pastors at his Church, Bobby Gruenwald, helped him bring that idea to life by making a website called youversion.com.
The first months weren’t fruitful, so they developed the website further by adding translations, Bible studies, reading plans, and suchlike. Because of the free Bible Craig previously received, they decided to let people use the website for free. Fortunately, the publishers agreed to give them the right not to charge for their versions, and the website went live.
The first weekend brought as many as 81,000 downloads, and the number kept rising. Today, the YouVersion app has over 500 million downloads and over 2,400 Bible versions in more than 1,750 languages. Ultimately, it’s supported by the church and donations.
How the YouVersion Bible app works
If you want to access any of the 2,400+ versions of the Bible online, you can go to Bible.com and create an account. However, if you wish to read the Word of God offline, you can download it on Android by going to Google Play and the App Store (both iPhone and iPad) for iOS devices.
The YouVersion app is a great way for beginners just starting Bible study. It’s easy to navigate and you have multiple ways of accessing every corner of the display.
Tutorial on how to set up your YouVersion account
You can launch the app and set up your account or connect it to your existing social media account. Once you’ve done so, you can change the app settings.
Here’s a short tutorial on how to access your profile and other features:
- Click on “More” at the bottom right corner.
- Tap on your profile icon to access your bookmarks, notes, highlights, and images you created, see your friends, the badges you’ve earned, and reading history. There’s also an option to pray and see your progress over the week.
- Click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner to sign out, edit your profile (name, email, password, location, and bio), or change notification settings.
These features are also available back in the “More” section, along with other features like events, videos, verse of the day, and “Giving,” a section where you can donate to keep the app running.
Tutorial on how to change the Bible language
After you set your details, it’s time to set the language of the Bible and the plans.
- Go to “More” and scroll down.
- Click on “Languages.”
- Now, you can choose between 64 app languages, nearly 2,000 Bible text languages, and 83 languages for the plans.
Tutorial on how to customize your daily Bible reading
After changing the language, you might want to customize your reading experience. Here’s how it’s done:
- Click on “More” and then tap “Settings.”
- Choose “Low Light” to change your display to a light or dark theme.
- Next, click on “Font.” The app will take you to the reading section, where you’d usually access the font settings. Here, you can change font size and style, background color, and line spacing.
Tutorial on how to navigate the Homepage
The Homepage features the “Today” section and “Community” section. In the former, you’ll find verses of the day and the verse of the day images, which you can share on your social media accounts, featured plans, the kids’ section, and upcoming badges.
In the “Community” section, you can see what your friends are up to, their favorite verses, and comments, and add more friends.
Tutorial on how to choose a reading plan
The YouVersion app lets you choose between a wide range of reading plans on various topics. Here’s a short tutorial on how to start a reading plan:
- Scroll down the Homepage and tap “Discover daily plans and devotionals” or click on the checkmark icon at the bottom center.
- Here you can choose a plan based on topics such as love, doubt, marriage, etc., search for plans, or see popular plans and YouVision originals.
- Click on a plan of your choice to see more details about it, how long it lasts, related plans, and the publisher. There’s also an option to save plans for later and see your current and completed plans.
After starting a plan, you’ll see your progress, daily devotionals, psalms, and verses.
Tutorial on how to use Bible study tools
To use study tools, you’ll first need to download the Bible versions. You can do this in just a few steps:
- Go to the “Bible” section and click on the default version’s name in the top left corner.
- Choose between different versions of the Bible, including ESV, KJV, NIV, and NLT.
- Next to the Bible version icon, you can click on the book name and find different books, chapters, and verses.
Now you can click on the section, highlight it multiple times in different colors, bookmark it, compare it to different translations, or add a note or an image to it. You can also share it on social media and see your or other people’s related notes.
In addition, you can click on the little speaker to listen to the audio Bible. The app lets you adjust the speed and set a timer, so you can freely listen to God’s Word before you sleep.
Looking for high-quality Bible audiobooks? Check out Speechify
If you’re looking for high-quality Bible audiobooks, Speechify is a perfect choice. Speechify is an audiobook service that features many famous titles, including several versions of the Bible, such as the Book of James, The Holy Bible, The New American Standard Audio Bible, Psalms and Proverbs, and The King James Version of the New Testament.
Furthermore, the service allows you to customize your reading experience and listen to Speechify audiobooks on multiple devices. Try it today by downloading it on your Android or iPhone device.
FAQ
Who is behind the YouVersion Bible app?
The founder of the YouVersion App is Bobby Gruenewald, a pastor and innovation leader at Life.Church.
What is the best Bible app to read the Bible in one year?
The best Bible apps for reading the Bible in a year would be Bible Gateway and The Olive Tree. You can also listen to the whole Bible in a year with Speechify Audiobooks.
What are the benefits of the YouVersion Bible app?
There are many benefits of the YouVersion Bible app. One of the most popular is the ability to create a community with your Christian friends and see what they’re currently reading, their comments, favorite verses, etc. You can also read more comfortably by customizing the light settings and font or get creative and make Bible Verse images. The app also offers Bible reading plans, devotions for your faith, and rewards to keep you motivated.
What languages does the YouVersion Bible app have?
The YouVersion Bible App offers over 1,800 Bible versions in over 1,300 languages, including Spanish, Filipino, and Hebrew.
