The Christian media organization ERF – Der Sinnsender and the German Bible Society are developing a free Bible app together, with a launch planned for mid-2027, the two organizations said in a joint press release.
The app will offer short devotional prompts meant to help people make Bible reading part of their daily routines, according to the partners. Selected users will test early versions and help shape the final product.
"The free offering is intended to give people simple, contemporary access to the Bible and to support them in discovering biblical texts in their everyday lives," said Christoph Rösel, general secretary of the Stuttgart-based German Bible Society, known in German as Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
Each partner brings different strengths to the project. Rösel said the Bible society would supply its theological and editorial expertise, its translations and networks, and its long record of encouraging Bible reading.
ERF, whose name stands for Evangeliums-Rundfunk, will contribute experience in digital product development, technology, infrastructure and fundraising, said Christian Kolb, a managing member of the organization's executive board. He said the two partners together draw more than 1.5 million visitors a month across their platforms.
Kolb said the aim was a widely used app that would "meaningfully complement" the services both organizations already provide.
Work on the app begins in the final months of 2026. Its planned release falls in the 25th anniversary year of ERF Bibleserver, an online Bible platform the Wetzlar-based broadcaster has run since 2002, the press release said.
Timotheus Israel, who leads the ERF Bibleserver unit, said many people rely on the website for personal study.
"With the app, we want to expand the offering and make it easier to get started reading the Bible," Israel said. Brief devotional content that fits into ordinary days would be central to that approach, he added.
Manuel Stemmler, head of the German Bible Society's digital department, said readers trust the quality of the society's Bible editions and study materials.
"The joint app creates moments in everyday life in which people encounter the Bible personally," Stemmler said.
Test phases are planned during development, in which participants can comment on the app's features, content and ease of use. The organizations said that input would guide adjustments to the app in stages so that it matches what its intended users need.
The German Bible Society's existing digital services and ERF Bibleserver will continue to operate independently of the new app, according to the release.
