Contact: Andrea Rhodes, +44(0)118-952-1428

SWINDON, England, Feb. 7, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- In our increasingly secular, celebrity-obsessed, connected world, it's no surprise that Facebook is read far more than the Bible, which a study highlighted this week as the giant of social media celebrated its 10th birthday. But it's also true that millions of people who may not encounter the Bible in any other way are doing so through Facebook-based Bible ministries.

Take the Digital Bible page, owned by United Bible Societies. It's been going just for just over 5 years and has more than 9.2 million fans in more than 95 countries. With the aim of seeing God's Word shared across Facebook the page posts Scripture verses and Scripture photos several times a day. Each of these are 'liked' by tens of thousands of people, and shared or commented on by thousands, making the verses visible in many of their friends' newsfeeds.

In fact, over the past month, thanks to this fan engagement, each Scripture post was seen by an average of 419,800 people, with 42.4 million people reached by the page in total.

"Some people will just glance at our Bible verse posts as they scroll through their newsfeeds, but other people tell us our daily Bible verses have a profound impact on them; providing hope, comfort and inspiration when life seems tough," comments Jane Pleace of United Bible Societies, who oversees the page. "We believe the Bible is relevant to everyone, and Facebook, with its huge global reach, is just one of the tools we are using to share it's life-changing message with as many people as possible."

And the evidence is there that the Scripture posts are having an impact: not only are more and more people becoming fans and openly interacting with the posts, people also send private messages to the page, asking questions and requesting prayer and counselling.

"It's clear from the private messages that people out there are genuinely searching for meaning," says Ms Pleace. "We have some very interesting conversations with people who want to go deeper into the Bible or who are struggling with a particular issue in their lives that they want a biblical perspective on. We also pray with those who request prayer. I feel very blessed to be part of this global ministry."

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