I’ve known Bobby Gruenewald, Founder and CEO of YouVersion, for many years, and one of the things I have always appreciated about him is that he has never been interested in innovation for innovation’s sake.
The question underneath the work has always been bigger: How can we use what God has entrusted to us to help more people engage with His Word?
That shared conviction has shaped an extraordinary partnership between OneHope and YouVersion.
Bobby served on OneHope’s Board of Directors for more than a decade, but his influence on our ministry goes far beyond a board seat. He has been a friend, a trusted voice, and a Kingdom collaborator who has helped us think differently about what becomes possible when technology is stewarded in service of the Gospel.
One of the clearest examples is Bible App for Kids.
When OneHope and YouVersion came together to create it, we brought different strengths to the table around a shared mission. Today, the Bible App for Kids is available in 69 different languages and has been downloaded more than 152.5 million times globally. Our collaboration also led to the Kids Bible Experience within the YouVersion Bible App, which has helped more than 16 million preteens meaningfully engage with God’s Word.
This is what I mean when I talk about collaborative missiology. No one organization has everything required to fulfill the Great Commission. God has entrusted different gifts, relationships, ideas, technologies, and opportunities to different parts of His body. The question is whether we will protect what has been entrusted to us or bring it to the table and ask what God might do with it together.
I have watched Bobby live that posture for years.
Earlier this summer, OneHope had the privilege of honoring his service by naming him Trustee Emeritus. Bobby will remain a trusted advisor and friend to this ministry, and I’m incredibly grateful for the wisdom, faith, and Kingdom imagination he has invested in OneHope.
At the same time, I’m thrilled to welcome Kyle Kutter, Chief Relationships Officer at YouVersion, to our Board of Directors.
Kyle has spent years serving alongside Bobby through YouVersion and Life.Church, helping build digital tools and equip more than a million pastors and church leaders. He understands the technology, but more importantly, he understands the mission behind it. He loves the Church, he loves God’s Word, and he cares deeply about helping the next generation encounter Jesus.
There is something about this transition that I think is important for all of us as leaders: Kingdom leadership should multiply.
Part of stewarding what God has entrusted to us is knowing when to make room for the next generation of leaders to bring their gifts, perspective, and calling to the mission. That doesn’t diminish what came before. It honors it by carrying the mission forward.
We need that kind of leadership because the mission field in front of us is changing rapidly. The platforms will change. Technology will change. The ways children and youth communicate, learn, and search for truth will change. We should be willing to innovate as quickly as necessary to meet them where they are.
But we should never confuse the method with the mission. The methods can change, but the Gospel remains the same.
As we look toward the next era of digital Scripture engagement, I’m grateful for leaders like Bobby and Kyle who understand that distinction. And I remain convinced that some of the greatest Kingdom breakthroughs will come when we stop asking what any one ministry can accomplish on its own and begin asking a better question: What might God make possible when we bring what He has entrusted to each of us together?
That is the kind of Kingdom collaboration I want to keep pursuing. And with a generation still waiting to encounter Jesus through His Word, I believe some of our greatest opportunities are still ahead.
