The COVID-19 pandemic caused more people to buy Bibles making a remarkable increase in Bible sales.
Recent reports from Bible makers and publishers revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic caused more people to buy Bibles. The increased sales of the Bible showed that more people around the world are seeking hope and healing at such a time as this.
Various Bible publishing and selling companies recently revealed similar behavior on the sales of the Bible from different parts of the globe. During these trying times, Bible makers saw a significant increase in the number of people seeking to have their own copies of the Word of God.
Almost two years after announcing the closure of several Bible retail locations due to the continuous drop in sales back in January 2019, Lifeway Christian Resources comes back on track seeing even stronger sales than before marking a 62 percent increase in one-week sales compared to its weekly sales during the previous years.
The leading provider of Bibles, faith-based books, and educational materials saw a significant increase in Bible sales from April to June alone. The company reported that the peak of the pandemic lockdown period was the time their sales marked the highest.
Ben Mandrell, Lifeway Chief Executive Officer, believes that the remarkable increase in sales proves that people see a God who is with us during trials through reading the scriptures, the Christian Headlines reported.
"The Bible, as God's words to us, is a reminder that He doesn't leave us to walk through difficult times alone," Mandrell said.
YouVersion, a popular Bible application, saw an 80 percent increase in searches this year as compared to last year. The Bible app completed 600 million searches this year.
The recorded keyword searches in the Bible app also showed that the pandemic led people to draw closer to God and to His word for answers. Earlier in 2020, the top keyword searches included Bible in a year," "new year," "fasting," and "faith."
However, when COVID-19 hit the Earth, the YouVersion top keyword searches were "fear," "peace," "faith," and "hope." The keywords "healing," "love," and "peace" landed on the top spots for the whole year proving that more people are seeking the word of God to strengthen their faith as the world combats the unseen enemy.
YouVersion also recorded the most read passage for 2020. The scripture in Isaiah 41:10 says "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand," was read the most number of times for the past year."
"They reveal how people are seeking God as they wrestle with the difficult circumstances they've faced in 2020, and that's something we can celebrate," said Bobby Gruenewald, YouVersion founder.
Aside from the YouVersion and Lifeway Christian Resources, Tyndale House Publishers and Alabaster Co. also noticed a spike in their Bible sales during the time of the pandemic. From 2019 up to the present, the Alabaster Co. recorded a 149 percent increase in Bibles sold.
