The popular mobile Bible app YouVersion launched a new app that does not require users to have access to the internet to connect with the Word of God.
YouVersion, in partnership with Biblica, a global Bible ministry, created the Bible App Lite, which includes audio Bibles, daily verses, prayers and more, CBN News reports.
The app was specifically created for users in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia and can be accessed entirely offline.
Christianity Today reported that over four million people have downloaded the lite version of the app so far. It has also reached the top 10 in the Google Play store in 17 African countries and the No. 1 spot in Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"For most of us in the developed world, always-on data is a fact of life. We barely think about how much data a particular app consumes or if we will have a reliable cellphone connection," said Mark Finzel, Biblica's vice president of digital innovation. "This is not the reality for much of the developing world. Internet speeds and costs vary significantly from one country to another."
According to Alliance for Affordable Internet, Africa is one region of the globe that has minimal internet access.
The lite version of the Bible app is also available in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
"Our desire is to reach every person, in every part of the world, with God's Word in their heart language," Bobby Gruenewald, YouVersion's founder, said in a statement. "This new app enables us to reach tens of millions of new people that were difficult to reach with the media-rich Bible App."
As Christian Headlines previously reported, YouVersion celebrated a milestone earlier this year when its Bible App for Kids was downloaded 100 million times since its creation in 2013.
Related:
Bible App for Kids Is Downloaded 100 Million Times
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
