As it does every year, the YouVersion Bible app has announced the “most shared, bookmarked, and highlighted” verse among its users. As in 2018 and 2020, it is Isaiah 41:10.

“The popularity of this verse speaks to our desire to be reminded that even when we feel like we are alone in our struggles, we are not. As this verse says, God is our strength and He is always with us”, said Bobby Gruenewald, Founder and CEO of the Bible app.

Great growth in Cuba, Europe and Africa

The Bile app also reported that “Cuba stands out as the country with the greatest increase in Bible engagement, with an increase of 76% compared to 2021”, and the fastest regional growth for Bible engagement took place in Europe and Africa.

“People across both continents are sharing verses at a higher rate than last year, with significant increases in Bulgaria (31%), Poland (38%), Uganda (53%), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (53%)”, stated YouVersion.

Furthermore, the app was opened 5.5 billion times; 2.3 billion highlights, bookmarks, and notes were created; 550 million Bible verses were shared and 303 million in-app searches were done.

Ukrainian-language Bible engagement skyrockets

The annual review of the Bible app specially stressed how the war in Ukraine has impacted the Bible engagement in the country as well as in its neighbours and the rest of Europe.

“As Ukrainian people fled the war and relocated to different European countries, YouVersion saw Ukrainian-language Bible engagement skyrocket in several of those countries, many by triple digits”, pointed out the report.

In Poland, Ukrainian Bible engagement has increased by 241% and Slovakia by 682%, while and in the Netherlands by1060%, in Germany by 733%, when comparing third-quarter data from 2021 and 2022.

“While Bible engagement in Ukraine rose by 55% this year. Ukrainian-language Bible engagement across Europe was even more significant with a 76% increase when comparing year-over-year third-quarter data”, YouVersion underlined.

It also explained that “at the beginning of the war, searches in the Ukrainian language nearly doubled compared to the previous month”, with terms such as “war,” “fear” and “anxiety”. However, “as time passed and the war progressed, the top search term in Ukrainian became love”.

“These families are going through something most of us can’t imagine. In the middle of the most difficult time of their lives, they are turning to the Bible for comfort, peace, and hope. It is an honor that we get to be a part of making God’s Word available to His people in their greatest moments of need”, concluded Gruenewald.