More people logged onto the YouVersion Bible App to read and share Scripture this Easter than any other time in the app’s decade-plus history.
Easter is typically the busiest day for the app, and with the majority of Christians celebrating the holiday online, Sunday’s stats far exceeded the record set in 2019. This year, 40.6 million people completed daily reading plans on Easter, up 54 percent. During Holy Week, another 14.1 million people shared verses, up 30 percent from the year before.
Overall, around a third of Americans say they are spending more time on their smartphones due to coronavirus quarantines, according to a Morning Consult poll released Monday.
For the month leading up to the pandemic, users on the Bible App as well as the Church Online platform—both created by ministries of the tech-savvy Life.Church—surged as congregations transitioned their devotions and worship away from in-person gatherings.
The Bible App is featuring special reading plans catered to the pandemic, with titles like “How to Stop Worrying,” “When Tragedy Strikes,” and “Gospel-Driven Work in the COVID-19 Crisis.”
The top verses shared on Easter included:
- Mark 16:6 – ‘“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”’
- Psalm 30:5 – “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
- Luke 22:20 – “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’”
- Philippians 2:7 – “Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
- Psalm 24:10 – “Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.”
On the web, BibleGateway.com has also offered COVID-19 reading plans and online resources.
According to a weekly survey of church leaders by Barna Reseach, by April, 99 percent of Bible studies are no longer meeting in person, with a third pausing meetings altogether during the pandemic. The popular Bible study network Bible Study Fellowship transitioned its meetings online in early March.
The onslaught of anxious coronavirus searching online has also been a boon for digital evangelism, CT reported.
