Bible Gateway (BibleGateway.com; @BibleGateway), a popular online Bible search engine and reading website, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with more than 14 billion views on more than one billion devices.
“Our mission statement is ‘To honor Christ by equipping people to read and understand the Bible, wherever they are.’ What an honor and privilege to be able to serve so many people around the world during the last quarter-century, doing just that,” said Rachel Barach, general manager, Bible Gateway.
Bible Gateway was created in 1993—when the World Wide Web was just beginning—as an internal Bible research computer tool for students at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It now ranks number one on global search engines, is part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
The website is home to more than 200 Bible versions in more than 70 languages—a resource for people in more than 200 countries who rely on it for all their digital Bible reading, listening, studying, and searching needs.
What people around the world search for in the Bible on Bible Gateway varies monthly during the year, but generally remains constant every year. An interactive visualizing graph lets users explore how cyclical some queries are, often repeating every year around the same time each year (for example, the word “love” being searched in the Bible around Valentine’s Day in February).
The Bible Gateway App for both Android and iOS allows people to read more than 90 Bible translations and listen to more than 20 audio Bibles, in addition to taking personal notes, highlighting text, starring favorite verses and follow various Bible reading plans.
The newly released free Bible Gateway Bible Audio App lets users listen to a variety of Bible translations, choosing from multiple audio narration styles; navigate quickly anywhere in the Bible; speed up or slow down playback to listen to the Bible at their own pace; and listen to the Bible while reading the very text that’s being narrated.
The top-5 Bible verses searched and shared by users of Bible Gateway are:
- John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
- Philippians 4:13 – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
- Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
- Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
The top-10 countries searching Bible Gateway are the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Philippines, Columbia, Australia, South Africa, Brazil and India.
Out of more than 200 countries and territories, the geographic location that spends the most time (on average) on Bible Gateway is Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten, part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, comprising two separate countries, divided between its northern French side (Saint-Martin), and its southern Dutch side (Sint Maarten). Sudan in northeast Africa is the country that statistically spends the least time on Bible Gateway.
— CNJ staff report