What People Searched for Most in the YouVersion Bible App in 2026 and How Your Church Can Answer It This November

For 9 straight years, from 2017 through 2025, the YouVersion Bible App’s Verse of the Year came from a passage telling readers not to fear or not to worry.

On October 6, YouVersion released this year’s search data. “Anxiety,” “hope” and “healing” ranked among the most-searched terms in the Bible App in 2026. The single most-searched term was “Psalm 91.”

Treat that list as a pastoral care report. It shows what people look for when they open Scripture on their own. Global Bible Month starts Sunday, November 1, which gives your church less than 4 weeks to plan a response.

What did people search for most in the YouVersion Bible App in 2026?

YouVersion released the numbers as it gets ready for its second Global Bible Month. The ministry added more than 160 million new installs across its Family of Apps in 2026, after passing one billion installs last November. Daily use grew by over 13% compared to 2025, reaching 18.5 million people a day.

YouVersion pointed out that daily engagement grew faster than installs, a sign that people keep coming back to the app. The ministry ties that daily habit to the comfort people are searching for.

In a statement to ChurchTechToday, YouVersion Founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald said, “Many people open the Bible App when they need something in the moment, and Psalm 91 being the top search this year suggests a lot of people are looking for something steady to hold onto. I think that’s a real opportunity for the local church. A search for peace may be where it starts, but we have the chance to walk alongside people from there and point them to the Source of peace.”

Why does “do not fear” keep winning YouVersion’s Verse of the Year?

Each year, YouVersion names a Verse of the Year based on the verse its global community engaged with most. Joshua 1:9 topped the list in 2017, Isaiah 41:10 in 2018 and Philippians 4:6 in 2019. Isaiah 41:10 came back in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2025, and Philippians 4:6 returned in 2024. The 2021 winner, Matthew 6:33, comes from Jesus’ teaching on worry in Matthew 6:25-34.

Every one of those passages tells readers not to fear, not to be anxious or not to worry. YouVersion hasn’t named its 2026 Verse of the Year yet. It usually announces the pick the week after Thanksgiving.

YouVersion’s search lists match that pattern. Love, anxiety and peace were among the top searches in 2025. Anxiety made the list again in 2026, next to hope and healing. When YouVersion named Isaiah 41:10 the 2025 Verse of the Year, Gruenewald said the verse speaks to “the assurance that we’re not alone.”

If your church looks anything like YouVersion’s global community, many of your people are reaching for these same promises on their own during the week. Put anxiety on your teaching and care calendar every year, and train small group leaders to open these passages with people who are struggling.

What should pastors know about Psalm 91 topping Bible App searches?

YouVersion describes Psalm 91 as a psalm that encourages readers to turn to God for refuge and comfort in difficult times. Bible Gateway reported that Psalm 91 kept climbing in its own 2025 rankings.

Psalm 91 is also the passage the devil quotes to Jesus in the wilderness. In Matthew 4:6, Satan uses verses 11 and 12 to tempt Jesus to throw himself down from the highest point of the temple. Jesus answers with Deuteronomy 6:16, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Luke 4 tells the same story.

Verse 10 promises that no harm will overtake the person who makes the Lord their refuge. Someone reading that promise in a season of loss may have hard questions about it. When someone reads it alone in an app, nobody is there to explain it.

Teach it during Global Bible Month. Walk through Psalm 91 in a message or a small group session, and read it next to Matthew 4. Reading them together shows how Jesus himself handled this psalm.

How can a local church join Global Bible Month 2026?

Global Bible Month runs November 1 to 30. YouVersion launched it last year to mark one billion installs. Churches, ministries, Bible societies and publishers take part through the 30-Day Bible Challenge, which invites people to engage with God’s Word every day for the month in a print Bible or an app.

In 2025, nearly 3 million people worldwide signed up for the challenge, according to YouVersion. Every Sunday that November ranked among the highest Bible engagement days in YouVersion’s history, and the first Sunday set a record of more than 19 million people opening the app in one day.

This year the challenge adds a feature that lets people track their progress and see how their friends are engaging alongside them. Your small groups could use it to follow each other through the month.

Start by signing up your church at globalbiblemonth.com. The church sign-up asks churches to run a message or series about the impact of God’s Word during November and to encourage people to open the Bible 30 days in a row.

Next, grab the free kit. Life.Church’s Open Network offers Global Bible Month resources with ProPresenter slides, social graphics, email headers and talking points for churches. It also has Alive and Active: 30 Days in the Bible, a 4-part series guide built to coordinate with Global Bible Month. Each week includes key scriptures, next steps and discussion questions for midweek small groups.

Then set up a shared plan. A free Church Page in the Bible App lets you feature a Plan for the whole church to read together and post updates through the week. Church Pages also include Church Insights, which show how your own church interacts with the Bible. That gives you a local view of the same kind of engagement YouVersion reports worldwide.

Finally, map the calendar. November has 5 Sundays this year, starting with launch day on November 1. The last one, November 29, is also the first Sunday of Advent. That makes it a good day to invite people into an Advent reading plan as the challenge wraps up. Use the middle weeks to keep people reading from one Sunday to the next.

What should a church website offer people searching for help with anxiety?

Someone who searches for “anxiety” is looking for help. If that person finds your church website, give them something useful to take with them.

Offer a free Connection Resource built around the passages people already reach for, like Isaiah 41:10, Philippians 4:6 and Psalm 91. It could be a 7-day Scripture guide for anxious seasons or a printable prayer guide. Ask for an email address and permission to follow up in exchange.

That trade is the core of a church lead magnet. Without that exchange, website visitors are one-time drive-bys who may never come back.

FrontDoor lets churches pick a ready-made resource or upload their own, offer it through a landing page or a signup widget on their website, and send new contacts an automated welcome email sequence. Once someone opts in, your church can stay in touch through November with encouragement, an invitation to the 30-Day Bible Challenge and an invitation to visit on a Sunday.

What is your church planning for Global Bible Month this November? Tell us in the comments.