Bible Society Launches International Mobile Phone Service

The Bible Societies around the world, including the UK, America, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Russia and South Africa, recently launched an international direct-to-consumer mobile internet site for delivering the Bible to mobile phone subscribers worldwide.

ChristianMobile, creators of VirtualBible™, the first ever Bible delivered to a mobile phone by way of a premium sms-text message, has facilitated the implementation of the Bible Societies' direct-to-consumer mobile internet site, wapbibles.com.

The service enables mobile phone users in more than 150 countries across all networks to purchase and download the Bible on their mobile phones by visiting the site from their mobile phone. New Bible translations and versions are being added on a weekly basis.

"While mobiles are great for up-to-the-minute information urgent messages and football scores - we are offering people an opportunity to use the same technology for reflection," said Michael Pfundner, Bible Society UK's Development Officer. "Just two minutes' Bible reading, on a crowded train, can be really helpful on a busy day."

According to Pfundner, bringing out a leather-bound book can appear scholarly and aloof for church ministers in a counselling situation, but "reading a Psalm from a Sony Ericsson is much less threatening". The age of the 'pew Bible' may be over too, as churches will no longer need to provide Bibles for visitors. Mobile phone users in more than 150 countries will be able to make use of the service in a choice of translations.

"With the launch of this product the Bible is no longer a dusty book on a shelf - it becomes part of a person's daily life and culture, as natural as their personalised ringtone or mp3s," said Pfundner. "We expect demand for VirtualBible™ to come mainly, but not exclusively, from young people for whom accessing information of all kinds on their mobiles is as normal as making a phone call," said Pfundner. "It fits in with our mission to make the Bible - and its message accessible to a generation that reads screens more than books. The words and truth remain the same.

"The WAP site will engage directly with its users in order to promote and sell a number of Bible translations in all languages across all mobile carriers," Mr Preller explained. "The 'browse and buy technology' enables users to pay in a chosen currency and to download the Bible in easy steps.

Bible Society UK hopes to engage also with mobile carriers, mobile aggregators and Christian media companies to broaden the Bible distribution.

"The mobile phone is an excellent channel to spread the Gospel and to fulfil the great command Jesus instructed His disciples. We are honoured to be able to be an instrument in God's hands to bring hope to all the people of this world in such a dynamic way."