Transcript of BONUS: Fr. Mike Reflects on 5 Years of The Bible in a Year

Some people get done with the Bible in a year and they think, What's next? Press play. Hi, my name is Father Mike Smith, and today I wanted to take a moment as we get ready for another year of the Bible in a year. It's hard to believe, but 2026 is actually the fifth anniversary of this journey. When we launched the Bible in a year, back in 2021, none of us, the Ascension team, Jeff Cavens or myself, had any idea what God was going to do with it. We never, never anticipated the reach, the impact, or even just the sheer number of people who would say yes to reading scripture every day, whether with their eyeballs or with their earballs. As you might know, The Bible in Here is the number one religious podcast in the world, still five years later. It's reached listeners in over 150 countries. Years ago, I was watching a Christian movie, and in this Christian movie, there was a Muslim woman. She was listening to her iPod. That's how old it was. Listening to her iPod, listening to a man preach on, I think, first Corinthians. She had a conversion to Jesus.

I remember thinking, God, that would be It would be incredible. It would be incredible to be able to do that. We've got messages from people who were raised Muslim who have now professed faith in Jesus. And not just in this country, the United States of America or in Canada, but people in countries where if they publicly become Christian, their lives are forfeit. But they've listened to the Bible in a year and have come to that place. God's word has transformed their heart, has transformed their minds in such incredible way that they were like, No, I believe Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is God. When I first heard about the first person, that first story, I remember thinking, Oh, my gosh, Lord, that's what I prayed for. Here we are, 150 countries, some of them, countries where it would be illegal to listen to the Bible in the air. Talked to another man who talked about how he lives in a country where it is illegal. It is illegal to openly practice your Catholicism, your Christianity. He said, Use a number of VPNs to get around all these things to be able to listen to the word of God through the Bible in the air.

It's consistently top, not only actually the religious charts, maybe you've heard about this, but it's actually been the top podcast overall, even hitting number one in the entire US podcast charts a couple of times. Usually, it's the beginning of every year. People, they like to start. This is good. I always like when people start listening to the Bible at the beginning of the year. I have heard of full families, like an eight-year-old who like, Yeah, I've listened to the whole Bible now. I'm not sure how much they got out of it, but the is they heard all of the stories to an 88-year-old, 93-year-old. Literally earlier today, I heard from a 99-year-old person who listens to the Bible an ear. I remember this one man, he said he was in his He's been an atheist his whole life. He said he read the Bible a couple of times on his own, raised his children to be atheists. I remember this was the first year, maybe a couple of months in, and he said, I know, I realize. I believe. I know I've shared this before, but that first year, my mom and dad both listened to the Bible in a year, and they finished the whole thing.

I remember coming downstairs. It was like a Sunday afternoon, and I had done with masses and everything, and I was visiting them and came downstairs and I heard my voice in the living room. I come down, I'm like, Oh, hey, guys. They're like, We're almost done. They were listening to the Bible in a year together. I just think, Oh, my gosh. The people who taught me how to read, I got to read God's word to them. I have my sisters who have listened to the Bible in the air. One of my brothers literally just finished for the first time ever, the day 365, and he texted me. I literally can't put into words. It's one thing to have stories of people who I've never met before. It's another thing to be able to bring this to people that you love more than anyone in the world. We have so many college students who, low key, you listen to the Bible in the air, and at the end, they're like, Hey, I just finished it. I'm like, Really? The whole time? My own bishop At one point, this is either Bible or catechism, one of the two.

At one point, he said, Father Mike, I've been listening. I thought, Oh, my goodness. I hope I'm not making mistakes. There are people in prison who say that scripture has given them hope again. It's literally thousands of stories of what God has done. Because this is God's work. All of this, I got to be the narrator. So thank you, Lord, for this. But this is God's work. Then, of course, the Ascension team. I read somewhere that just to create one episode, the podcast has to go through 19 different stations. We have to do this, we have to do this. There's so many people who have worked on social media and letters, I mean, people responding to people. The Holy spirit has been moving in ways I could never, no one could script. This is what the fifth anniversary means to me. It just means that God continues to work. Because this is the reality, is that this could be year one for you. This could be year one for a thousand, a million more people this year. Some people get done with the Bible in the air and they think, What's next? I say, Do it again.

Honestly, I'm doing it. Literally, I am doing it. I'm going through it again because it is one of those things where God's word is inexhaustible. There's always more. When you get done, press play. Day 366, day 367, because God's word is never old. It is always new. It is always powerful. It is always living and effective. When I think back to those Our first days of recording, it was in 2020 we first started recording. Never imagined what God would do with this podcast. It has been one of the coolest things in my priesthood to be able to walk with so many people through God's word. It's God's word, right? It's not my words, it's his word. This upcoming year, my invitation, press play again because this upcoming year, for the first time, there is bonus commentary. As we hit this five-year milestone, we wanted to do something a little special. After each episode in the early world time period, which is days one through five, I'll be offering bonus, an exclusive bonus commentary available only in the Ascension app. If you want to get that commentary, on those days one through five, the extra little extra something.

I mean, those days one through five are pretty packed with some pretty amazing things. Just go download the Ascension app. There's some things in the readings I didn't share the first time, as well as some questions that pop up from listeners every year. Just excited to share some of those insights with you. If you want a little more context or reflection as we start this journey, I'd love for you to join me there for free on the Ascension app. When you open the Ascension app, it's one of the things. I did it two days ago yesterday. I was listening, and I'm listening to the readings, listening to the narrator do his thing. I noticed on the bottom, there's all these questions that I might have. I could tap on them and there's answers right there. The Ascension app is just... It is the best place to listen to the Bible in here. Whether you've been here since the beginning or you're joining here for the first time, I'm so grateful that you're here. God's word is alive, and he has something for you this year. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike, and I cannot wait to begin this journey with you tomorrow.

God bless. We're just shy of one billion downloads. Press play today.