There are many Bible reading apps used by many individuals. The YouVersion app has become the go-to app for Bible reading and sharing.

The YouVersion app launched in 2008, and recently the app surpassed 200 million installs. They have tracked Bible usage and what passages of Scripture are most bookmarked, highlighted and shared: The World's Most Popular Bible Verses, According to 200 Million YouVersion Users

I include a few of the highlights below. It is an interesting exercise to seek to discern why certain texts of Scripture are the most shared. One will not ultimately know unless one were able to speak with each individual who highlighted, bookmarked or shared that specific verse. But it is, nonetheless, an interesting thought to ponder.

This would then allow you to discern how well the text was understood in the context of the larger passage of Scripture. This gets to the heart of interpretation or hermeneutics, so this would reveal something about the person’s sense and awareness of hermeneutical. In the larger interpretive process, I appreciate the words of Graham Cole, who explains the interpretive process in this way: “In practice this means placing a biblical text or passage in its context in its literary unit or argument in its book in the canon with the flow of revealed redemptive history.”

If one had tracked the verse you most pondered, prayed over and shared this past year, what would it be and why?

Here, now, is the summary of the statistics of the YouVersion Bible app.

Introduction

Every second, the world conducts more than 40,000 Google searches, creates 5 new Facebook profiles, and opens YouVersion’s Bible App 112 times.

In the app, three bookmarks are created, four verses are shared, and 18 verses are highlighted. More than 50 Bible chapters are listened to, and 342 chapters are read.

YouVersion, launched by Life.Church in 2008, announced today that the Bible app has topped 200 million installs. The app now offers the Bible in more than 1,200 versions and 900 languages.

The top verse bookmarked, shared and highlighted in the history of the YouVersion app? Romans 12:2.

The verse that was bookmarked, shared, and highlighted more than any other in the app’s history was also the top verse for the US and Brazil in 2015.

That verse was Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will." [All verses in this blog are NIV translation.]

The top verse shared, highlighted and bookmarked on the YouVersion app in 2015? Joshua 1:9.

The overall most shared, highlighted, and bookmarked verse of 2015 was Joshua 1:9: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

The top five verses shared through email, text-message and social media through the YouVersion app. Proverbs 3:5-6; Philippians 4:6-7; Joshua 1:9; Romans 12:2; Romans 15:13.

• Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
• Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
• Joshua 1:9: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
• Romans 12:2: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
• Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."