The international Christian New Media Awards were announced Saturday in London, England—and the Bible Gateway App was named Christian Mobile/Tablet App of the Year!

Wow! We’re thrilled to receive this global recognition and distinct honor. When we created our multi-language/multi-version Bible app, our objective was to make it as easy as possible to engage the Bible meaningfully—by searching it, reading it, listening to it, taking notes about it, or sharing it with friends. We’ve remained focused on this goal as we’ve improved the app since its release. This award is a huge honor and encouragement for us.

Fourteen other categories were awarded in London, including Blogger of the Year, Most Engaging Large Church Website, and Most Creative Use of Social Media.

The awards were given during the annual Christian New Media Conference, which focused its theme on what it means to be a Christian in a digital world. Among the 36 speakers at the international gathering was our general manager, Rachel Barach. Drawing on her observations of how people use Bible Gateway’s website and app, she shared insights and statistics about digital Bible engagement with the more than 500 attendees.

In her talk, Rachel noted that 400 million hours were spent reading the Bible digitally in 2012 and that 41% of Americans have read the Bible online this year. But she warned, “Don’t substitute a status update for engaging in a relationship. Don’t just broadcast when you can disciple.” She said the church must remember that just because the Bible is widely accessible online, that doesn’t make it necessarily understandable to everyone—and that local churches must help people correctly interpret Scripture. Christians should revere the Word and pursue authentic relationships. And as for statistics that say many people don’t regularly read Scripture, she reminded them, “Read the Bible; it’s an excellent way to honor it.”

We’re humbled by the Christian New Media conference’s recognition of the Bible Gateway app, and by the opportunity to participate in the conference. If you haven’t yet tried out the free Bible Gateway app, you can get it for iPad, iPhone, Android phones, and Kindle Fire here.