GROWTH in access to the Bible through apps is being reported by YouVersion, the company whose free apps have been downloaded on more than one billion devices worldwide.

It reported last week that an average of 18.7 million people had accessed one of its apps on each day of Holy Week. The number rose to 21.6 million on Easter Day — the highest number in the company’s history.

The most popular verse accessed was Matthew 28.6, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

Worldwide, Bible engagement through the apps during Holy Week grew by 15 per cent compared with last year, rising to 37 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 22 per cent in Latin America.

YouVersion was launched in 2006 by Life.Church, an Evangelical megachurch in Oklahoma, with an aspiration to “be a kind of I.T. department for churches everywhere”, The New York Times reports.

YouVersion’s founder is Bobby Gruenewald, a pastor at the church and a technology entrepreneur. Its Bible App is the most downloaded and used Bible app in the world, and is available in 2400 languages and more than 3750 translations. It was one of the first 200 free apps available when Apple launched its App Store in 2008.

All of the YouVersion apps are free, and there are no advertisements.

Mr Gruenewald said last week: “Over the last several months, worldwide interest in the Bible has continued to increase. It’s encouraging to see people searching for and consistently coming back to scripture for guidance, encouragement, and answers.

“We especially see this at Easter, where more people are either reflecting on their faith, or trying to understand who Jesus was for themselves. Seeing people around the world encounter scripture, many for the first time, is exactly why we do this.”

In 2021, a poll of “practising Christians” recruited to a panel — commissioned by the Bible Society and carried out by Christian Research — found that 30 per cent used an app to read the Bible.