Suppliers meet increasing appetite for bite-sized Bibles and spiritual sips

Publishers are stepping up efforts to reach modern consumers with the “still, small voice” of God in the midst of increasingly busy lives.

Bite-size Scripture verses, devotionals and books for mobile devices like MP3 players and cell phones are helping to provide spiritual refreshment for time-pressed Americans—a trend recently spotlighted in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.

“Pastors have reported that the number one reason people don’t read the Bible is they don’t have time,” said Jon Wilke, spokesman for Faith Comes By Hearing, a ministry that provides free audio MP3 messages to cell phones.

On the retail front, the GoBible, a portable, self-contained MP3 audio Bible, saw sales growth of 70% in 2008, totaling 50,000 units, in its second full year of release. Andrew Block, president of GoBible, said the convenience of the device was the key to its success.

“I think there’s a lot of people out there who haven’t yet taken the plunge to hand-held technology, and what we offer is a very convenient, easy-to-use product that has the entire Bible laid out,” he said. “We’re exposing a whole group of people to the latest technology without them being intimidated by the technological know-how.”

The recent successes of dramatic audio Bibles in MP3 format from Thomas Nelson (The Word of Promise New Testament, The Word of Promise: Next Generation New Testament) and Zondervan (Inspired By… The Bible Experience) have also tapped into the market of busy readers. Zondervan also launched its Symtio downloadable audiobook program in retail stores last year.

“Today, the format that wraps the Word of God is irrelevant,” said Jeremy Johnson, vice president and associate publisher for Thomas Nelson’s Bible Group. “What’s important ... is connecting the Word of God to His people.”

New technology has increased the options for publishers who have already been trying to cater to the needs of busy people. In recent years, the need for speed has seen publishers roll out smaller-sized and portioned-printed books and Bibles, such as Tyndale House Publishers’ One Year devotionals, the “One Minute Bible” series from B&H Publishing Group and smaller compact-sized Bibles from publishers like Zondervan and Thomas Nelson.

“Publishing the Bible in various formats—both print and electronic—to meet people where they are allows us to continue our mission as Bible publishers in getting the Word of God into the hands of more people around the world,” Johnson said.

Thomas Nelson is one among several now offering free use of its translations—New King James Version (NKJV) and New Century Version (NCV)—on mobile devices in a partnership with LifeChurch.tv.

Tyndale House has contracted with MPS Mobile, a mobile content provider, to deliver devotions from its popular One Year series with New Living Translation (NLT) Scriptures. The publisher already offers its NLT as an eBook in the MS Reader and Mobipocket formats compatible with devices like the Amazon Kindle and Palm PDA. A version for the Sony Reader is in process.

Crossway Books & Bibles has been using the Twitter Internet site and social networking tool to provide a verse a day from its popular English Standard Version to more than 2,000 “followers.”

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