Beyond a Billion - Lucinda Rojas-Ross | Faithly Stories

So as a ministry, we are looking at the similar idea of how do we better serve people in every part of the world? That's part of what with the origin of Bible Applied, like that's where that was born out of. But also we are launching or calling global hubs. So places around the world where we can have teams of people who understand the local needs, not just of you know the versions of the Bible, yes, languages, yes, but also content. Welcome to Faithly Stories, the podcast that brings you inspiring tales from conversations with church leaders as they navigate the peaks and valleys of their faith journeys through their ministry work and everyday life brought to you by Faithly an online community committed to empowering church leaders learn more at Faithly.co get ready to be uplifted and inspired on the Faithly Stories podcast. Hello, and welcome to the Faithly Stories podcast. Lucinda Verhas-Ross, it is a privilege to have you on. Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor. So Lucinda, you have been at U version for over 10 years and it is such a joy to have you on particularly for this episode. It's a very special episode because it's coming right as U version is about to hit an incredible milestone, one billion installs, one billion installs at the free Bible app. I mean, that's huge. So I guess I have a couple I'll start with a couple of questions. How long did it take you to get here? And what is this milestone mean to you and to your team? Yeah, so this is 17 years in the making and it is really incredible. Honestly, it's it's equal parts exciting and humbling like just to recognize that God has continued to be faithful on this journey. So it's just really exciting. I think even though it's been this many years in the making the momentum that we're seeing is really exciting too. So it doesn't it feels like it's not not just a milestone, but it's a catalyst for something else. And so there's just a really like palpable sense of like we're just so excited or so ready or so eager to see what God's doing with this writer on the world. So Lucinda, you've been at U version for over 10 years now, right? Yeah, no, I was just going to say so like the fun part is actually and maybe we'll talk about this a little bit, but then part of the LifeTorch team for over 10 years. And so I get to lead communications at LifeTorch, which means I get to help tell the story of what's happening in our ministries like U version. So not just the version, but just a bigger piece of that it's been it's been really, really fun. Wow, amazing. Well, so since you mentioned LifeTorch, I think just about every Christian out there knows that U version is the free Bible app, but not not everyone knows that it came out of a church. Can you talk about that the origin story and the history a little bit? Oh, I'd love to. It's one of my favorite stories, honestly, because every time I hear of our leader founder and CEO, Bobby Greenwald. So he's an innovation leader and pastor here at LifeTorch, and he brought a background as an entrepreneur on to the team. And so one day he is in Chicago at O'Hare Airport, and he's in a long TSA security line. And he's just thinking about, you know, things that he thinks about like me and I wonder how I could use technology to help me read the Bible more consistently. It was like something that he was frustrated about with himself, but he also knew if he could solve this problem for himself, he would probably help a lot of other people too. And so that's what sparked the idea for you version all those years ago. That was in 2006. And so he's an activator. So he like, as he's thinking he's processing all these names, he he goes ahead and decides he's going to claim you version.com right away. So fast forward a few months, it launches as a website in 2007. And at first it gets some traction. People are, you know, eager to read the Bible on a website, but what then happens is that people are coming back. And what he and the team realized at that point time is that it actually, we just, they just move the Bible from someone's nightstand to a desktop. And so it really wasn't solving the problem of that consistency of having the Bible in your hands with you wherever you go. So the kind of iterated off of that a little bit. And that was right around the same time that Steve Jobs announced that the idea of the App Store. And so iPhones were relatively new at this point in time. And so the team thought, you know, let's try this. And so with the help of a 19 year old team member who just loved Apple, because that's all it took back then is as a side project nights weekends, they worked on this app, submitted it to the App Store, didn't know if it was even going to get approved. And so the very first weekend, the launch weekend of the App Store, and it was one of the first 200 apps available, which was just God's timing. Honestly, it's just pretty incredible that that was the case. Wait, I just, I want to, I want to just double click on that for a second. So the U version Bible app was one of the first 200 apps available in the App Store. That's incredible. It was. Yeah, it is, it's incredible. It's also, it's that combination of of God's timing and all of that and how he was already building some of the infrastructure behind the scenes in place to be able to even make that happen. And so just I love, I love that part of the story. I think that's something that happens over and over as you think about you person as a minister over the years. So, so yeah, so it launches that first weekend. Nobody knows what to expect. Like I said, we didn't even know if it was going to get approved. And so not only does it, is it available, but that very first weekend, 83,000 people downloaded this app. Wow. Well, and back then, that was a really big deal, right? 83,000 people was like a staggering number. As Bobbi always says, he says, you know, that was our goal for the rest of the year, like maybe, like maybe that was like a big goal for the rest of the year. And to see that in one weekend, made it really clear that God was doing something special. And so that's the point where you just know, like God is moving. What do we need to do to make it happen? What team do we need to build? How do we pour fuel on on this momentum? And so, yeah, that was, that was in 2008, interior today with a family of apps. So it's not just the version Bible app, but also Bible app light for parts of the of the world with less connectivity and less capable devices, the Bible app for kids. So just a family of apps and always dreaming of thinking about new ways of reaching everyone, everywhere, every day with God's word. Well, I have met so many people who have this, this desire to create and build and to start. And I think the story is such an encouragement because it kind of just goes to show like when you see a need and you go for it and you take a risk, like look what, look what God can do with that. Absolutely. Yeah, I think, I think the part of that too is sometimes it can get so overwhelming to think about like the big, the big things, the big goals. But just solving that problem for one person and recognizing that that's that's what God can use because there's there's common needs that we all have. So solving that problem for one, it's pretty likely you're going to solve it for a lot more people. And we didn't know that this would be, you know, that we would be a billion installs later in this. But, but yeah, that that's starting with the one is a pretty incredible. Wow. Wow. Okay, so a billion installs that is a milestone that is worth celebrating. But instead of celebrating yourself, you version has decided it wants to celebrate the Bible. So tell me more about that. So we are typically, at least we're typically not great at celebrating things. Just as a minister, we're just so looking forward looking ahead what has got to have next. But we felt like it would really be a mess to not leverage this moment to create a point in time, a moment in history where we can just shine a light and God's word where we can come together as the global church joining as ministries where the world might see, you know, competitors. We don't see that. We see partners, pastors, church leaders, Bible publishers, you know, content creators who are all rallied around. Let's just shine a light on God's word. And so we really felt like this was this this moment absolutely is in our own. And so really feeling like creating something like global Bible month in November and just using this as just one point time, one reason to celebrate the fact that there are billion reasons that God's word is active in alive. All right, so global Bible month. That is what we are celebrating in November. Tell us a little bit more about what that means. So global Bible month will be just a time. So we anticipate reaching that milestone in November. So just really calling that like, how can we all focus our energy, our efforts in November where everyone, not just believers, but the people over the world can't help but see some custom something special, like something special is happening with the Bible. Like maybe I should give that a try. Maybe I'm like just curious enough to I've tried everything else. I've tried everything else to bring me joy, peace, hope. Like let's give the Bible a try. And that's really what we're what what the hope is here, what what the dream around global Bible month is is just how can we rally people around God's word and just point them to him. And so I think part of that is the 30 day Bible challenge, which is when we're challenging people all over the world to just be consistent in God's word. It's been 30 days in a row in God's word in November. And just see what he does. We know the life transforming power of his word. And so just challenging people just to step in. Both people who maybe are believers and just haven't been as consistent as they'd like to to really just kickstart that in November. Not waiting till January when we're kind of setting those goals, but let's do in November. Like let's build that habit then. But also like I said, for people who maybe haven't ever been in God's word, maybe ever, maybe not consistently, but really just looking at how how can the Bible point need to God? How can I grow in a relationship with him? How can I have the kind of hope that people who do who are consistently in this word? How can I have that? And so that 30 day Bible challenge where partners just like you all are doing are helping point people to his word with content, really special content that helps people understand the Bible, engage in it and really feel fill his presence in it. So that's part of global Bible month. The other piece of that is we're celebrating with with an event that is again, more about his word than our milestone, but we're calling it beyond a billion, where we're gathering pastors, church leaders, all the people who helped make it possible. But I was just people who were just excited to worship together to hear stories about what God's doing through his word and just really like have a moment in time, a moment history to really celebrate. So that's that's what's happening. But I know there's lots more that partners like you are doing. So that's it's a really exciting time. Thank you. Thank you for talking about all of that. As you know, faithly is a euversion partner and we are super excited to be part of this 30 day Bible challenge. We will be releasing the ministry table by faithly. We have 30 different pastors and other ministry leaders who have contributed from their hearts for others who are serving the church. And so we're really excited to be partnering with you all in this way. So as your users go onto the app and they look for these plans and these challenges, how many will they how many new ones will they have to choose from in the month of November? That is a great question that I don't know the answer to because actually there have been so many and so many cradle parts like you who have been so thoughtful about creating content like you said that just really encourages people and just brings so many different voices in that space. I think it's a really special plan to have 30 different pastors in that space. You know, there everything from for what you're all creating and a Bible project is creating something that's more like an honor and for newer people who are newer to the Bible. So there's just going to be a lot of really rich content. That's there's so much already there, but just so much new because people to see the power of this moment. People like you guys. Thank you so much for doing that, putting the energy into that. I'm really, really excited to see it. Yeah. So so much new content that you can't count it. You don't have a number that is a wonderful place to be in. All right. So I am sure that I am sure that in your role you get to hear some great stories from people whose lives have been changed by encountering the word. Could you share a story with us something that's deeply moved you? Yeah. So there man, like you said, there are so many stories that we get to hear. And it is every time it's just humbling like just to see the power of each story. And I think that that's it's it is really special. Some of the ones that just that hit home for me are the ones where people's relationships have been restored where they like, there's one where a mother and daughter who actually weren't talking started a Bible plan together in the Bible app. And that's how God what God used to repair their relationship. But even around the world, the ones that that hit differently and just really bring perspective that we might not think about in our context is a story like best stone. So he is in Zambia. He's in a really remote village and he is super passionate about sharing the gospel with people around him, especially in remote villages. And so he travels, he was traveling really like long distances in the wilderness. I mean, literally navigating like crocodiles and hit boats, things that we can't even I can't even imagine in my context. And so he's delivering physical Bibles to people in these on his journeys. But when he discovered that he had access to the Bible app, he realized not only can I safely get to these places, but these people like the people that he's serving that he's sharing the gospel with, they can both read God's Word in their heart language, but also listen to it. He can bring a speaker and they can listen to God's Word in their language. Just the power of that of one person's passion to reach people to put their lives and danger to go through all like everything that he does, it just brings so much perspective to the multiplication effect of that that represents one install, like one story of Mass Jones. And we know that there are a billion more moments where people are engaging with the Bible, but also sharing it with others. Wow, that's so beautiful. And I love the way that you all at your version talk about heart languages and the importance of that when it comes to the gospel. How many languages is our is the U version Bible app available in today? Quiz. I think it's I think it's 23 hundred languages. 23 hundred I didn't even know 23 hundred languages existed. And there are more. I think that's the other incredible like part of there's still so much translation that needs to happen. And so that's little known like the things that we like I said in our context. Just don't think about like not even having access to any part of God's word in our language. But yes, so right now we're at 23 hundred and that number's growing every every week every month. Wow. So I heard Pastor Rick Warren recently say on a podcast that the future of the church is in the global south. When you look at the numbers, the rates, that's just where it is. It's in Africa. It's in Latin America and it's in Southeast Asia. And he said on this podcast that he spends almost all of his time traveling in those places. I'm just curious in your communications role like is that where your sites are set as well as that where you spend a lot of your time and effort. So as a ministry, we are looking at that say like the similar idea of how do we better serve people in every part of world? That's part of what with the origin of like that's where that was born out of. But also we are launching or we're calling global hubs. So places around the world where we can have teams of people who understand the local needs, not just of the versions of the Bible, yes, languages, yes, but also content. We want everyone that personalization is really important to us. And so we want everyone around the world. So that vision of everyone everywhere every day is that they would open the Bible and the Bible app and feel like it was just for them. That they would know that someone understands what they're going through what it's like, what you know, just what what is going on in the world around them. And so those are places where we are also seeing so much momentum around the world. Like you said, global south, we are seeing tons of growth, Bible app light actually just hit 100 million installs. So it is growing really quickly and it just that's up almost 19% year over year. So we're seeing really incredible growth in those parts of the world. Wow, that's incredible. Okay, so you said you're not so great at celebrating. You guys are always looking ahead. I think that's why you've been so successful in achieving these seemingly impossible goals of putting the gospel in people's hands. So as you look out to the future, what's next? What comes after a billion installs? We are really looking ahead to like this is in our heads consistently. Like this is just the first billion. Like there are still billions of people to reach. And what's the really exciting part of that is it's taken 17 years for us to get to the first billion. We actually right now the pace that were on the momentum that we're seeing around God's word, we think it's actually going to be five or so years potentially for the next billion and maybe even fewer years after that for the one after that. So growth is a big part of the story, but I think beyond beyond that and it's really the heart of that is we know that every single install is an opportunity to experience gone. The other pieces of that are both, I think like I said, personalization. That's a great place for us to pause actually because it's the second time you've mentioned the importance of personalization. What exactly does that mean? That goes back to honestly the idea that people would open up the Bible and it feel like it was just for them. And so the growth of content partners, not just you know here, content partners like use incredible, but content partners that understand local context, local language, local, you know, traditions like what people are walking through their lives. And so that's the piece that that personalization piece is really it really is truly an important part of of of where we feel like we can better serve the global church. How does that what does that mean practically for what people encounter on the app? Does that mean the images that they see the graphics? Does that mean the way that they're prompted? Does that mean like the scripture that gets presented to them to them each day? The dream is that all of those things would be different. There would be some level of of the you know, the scriptures were chosen that that meet the needs and and really feel like it makes sense for that for that group of people. But the content that's presented that there's lots of content available over lots of different topics. So it's not there's no there aren't limitations around that. And so I think that the growth of those things are what we're really seeing of as as a of every piece every aspect of the app would feel like it fits it fits them. That's so good. Okay, so I think it was in the beginning that you said, you know, some Christians just get a little disconnected from the word, like their believers, but they've become disconnected and they need a refresher restart. For someone who might be listening, who might be in those shoes, they need a restart with the Bible. Do you have any advice for how they might reengage? That's a great question. I think you know, I think we've all been in these seasons like I've been in these seasons. Where it's like it's just not I'm not I'm out of sorts out of habits, you know, be a mom, you know, be like just everyday life. But my encouragement would really be just just start just start just open the app and we intentionally make it really easy to just choose like what are you feeling that day? Like what do you feel like you need and choose one of those those felt needs and click on it and just start a plan and just really like just start don't get intimidated by it. Don't feel like you have to like, oh, if I have to start a Bible in a year plan today, like that level of expectation for somebody can feel really intimidating. And I absolutely believe like you know, people get there and people be so excited once they get in that habit, you just you you realize once you've built it, it's you you want it. And so it's just easier to be in it once you actually get started, but it's not getting started that mental barrier of like I feel like I have to do you don't have to reach this this expectation and it really doesn't have to be as hard as we can make it. And so I think that's that's this that can be the starting point of just just open the app. You know, what are you feeling? What do you need? Find a plan. Just start it and just keep it up each day. And that's one of the things that we we love to be able to do is to encourage people each day with reminders of just a new push notification. Like, don't forget, don't let another day go by. And that's part of how what we were thinking about is how do we actually meet people in those moments where they're where they might have just gotten dizzy that day. We just stated a little prompt just a little encouragement that they can get back in God's word and it doesn't have to be you know big and weighty. They can just you know start with this small step. That's great advice and and it's very approachable. See, even Lucinda who works for you version can sometimes get into these seasons where it's hard. All you have to do though is just to get started and you version makes it so easy. It's right there. It's on your phone and they prompt you, right? Like, I've seen this. Like, what are you feeling? What kind of encouragement do you need? Like, what are you going through in your life? There is a word for that. So, Lucinda, maybe we can talk a little bit about your career. Did you always work in ministry or have you had a career elsewhere as well? At a career elsewhere, I actually never thought I would be a ministry. I had no plans that was in on my heart. Actually, life church is a really big part of my story. So I had really walked away from church in college. People, a lot of people's story where I just didn't quite know what I believed. My faith willing, they've never became my own. And my senior college, someone invited me to life church and that's really where my story started to change. So it's got engaged, started serving, got in a small group, and doing all the things. And I thought that that was like, that's where God was going to use me. And He did and I loved it and I was super passionate about it. But at the same time, I was working at a PR firm at the time. Thought that was my path. Thought that that was, you know, those were my plans. Little did I know about seven eight years later, God had really brought me to really just help me feel a sense of calling where he was like, don't get used to this. This isn't what I have for you. And I didn't know what to do with it at first. But those are the moments where God wants you to lean on him and to really trust him in every step. And so about six months after that, that's where I found a role started in the communications role here at life church. And our team was pretty small back then. That was in 2012. And like I said, just never thought that I would be in ministry, never really thought that a role or, you know, getting to do something like this really even existed. But every step of the way, no matter what part of the ministry had played, whether I was serving or in vocational ministry, God will use that. God uses it. He's faithful to continue working through us in whatever way he wants to. And just also the fact that our mission field looks different for different people. And there's a reason for that. He needs all of us. And so being here now almost 13 years, it's really humbling to just see God's goodness and God's faithfulness like over and over again. Being in ministry is not easy. That is not necessarily you step in here and that it's like everything's awesome. It gets a hard place to be sometimes. But it's worth it. And it's also all of those hard moments are the times when God God really works in us. God shows His witness, shows His faithfulness and really special ways. Wow. That's so beautiful. It really resonates with me as I shared with you before we started recording. I have a background on Wall Street and I never, never in my wildest dreams, did I think that I'd be in ministry that it would be my career. Yet here you are, here I am. And of course, looking back, you can see how the Lord laid the groundwork and you can see, I mean, you were in PR and now you were in this major communications role at a church like nothing is wasted. All of your skills, all your experiences, especially the hard stuff. I'm sure there were some really hard times, but that gets used. Wow. What a story. I love it. Well, listen to it. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today and for talking about you version and talking about this incredible milestone that you're about to achieve here at Faithly. We're so excited to be a small part of the celebration and I'm really just honored to have this conversation with you today. So we're so thank you so much for this time. Thank you so much for joining as a partner. We're just so excited partners like you or why we do this. We could not do this without you. One of the things we always say around here is we're powered by partners and it's so true. This is, this ministry is, it doesn't just belong to us. It belongs to to all the partners and those who've been engaged, the people who are who are in the app reading each day and just it's really humbling just to see what that looks like and so I'm just that what's that's what makes me so excited about global Bible month. It's what makes me hopeful about people committing to the 30 day Bible challenge to celebrating with us in the app at the beyond a billion celebration. There's just so many exciting things happening so much momentum around God and His Word and we're just we're really excited just to play small part in it. I love it. Thank you again, Missinda. Thank you Alicia. I appreciate you. Thank you for tuning in to the Faithly Stories podcast. We pray this episode gave you the encouragement you needed to continue on your journey. 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