Bobby Gruenewald: Biography, Family Life, Career, And Net Worth: Bobby Gruenewald is an American pastor and the Innovation Leader at Life Church, an Oklahoma-based multisite church. He is also a previous entrepreneur and the creator of the YouVersion Bible App.
Bobby Gruenewald Biography
Gruenewald was born and raised in Decatur, Illinois. On July 31, 1976, he was born. He started and performed in a Christian rap group called Christ B4 Everything while still in high school. He met his wife Melissa in primary school and went to Oklahoma to be with her when she wanted to do so.
Bobby Gruenewald Family Life
Gruenewald is married to his wife Melissa. The pair got married in 1996. Bobby and his wife, Melissa, met as children in Central Illinois subsequently married while they were both undergraduates at Southern Nazareth University (SNU). The couple lives in Edmond, Oklahoma with his wife, Melissa, and their four children. He is close friends with many religious figures and loves to travel with his family.
Bobby Gruenewald Education
Gruenewald attended the Stephen Decatur High School. He later went to Southern Nazarene University where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Finance.
Bobby Gruenewald Career
Gruenewald founded and sold two technology companies after college. The first was a web hosting company that he founded in 1996 and sold in 1998 for an undisclosed sum in the millions. The second company was established in 1999. It had games and online chat rooms for fans and was the largest WWE fan site at the time. The WWE website was later sold for an undisclosed sum in 2000, and he sold it as well. He’s also worked as a consultant for a number of businesses and venture capital funds.
Gruenewald also provided a monthly column to Outreach Magazine for seven years and gave a TED Talk on innovation and the use of technology in the church. In addition, the entrepreneur is a member of the board of directors for OneHope and the Museum of the Bible.
Bobby Gruenewald YouVersion
The first concept for the YouVersion app was conceived in 2006 at the Chicago airport. Initially, the plan was to create a website that would allow anyone to read the Bible from anywhere.
When the App Store originally started in July 2008, the Bible App was one of the first 200 free apps accessible, and it was also the first Bible to be featured. The You Version app received over 80,000 downloads in its first weekend, and it has since been downloaded on hundreds of millions of devices in every country on the planet, approaching 500 million total downloads.
Today, industry experts have estimated the app to be worth around $200 million.
Awards and honors
One of Fast Company’s most creative people was awarded Gruenewald in 2011.
Gruenewald received the Scripture Impact Award from Wycliffe Bible Translators in 2014.
He was also honored by the Christian Business Men’s Committee of Oklahoma City with the 2014 Salt and Light Award.
Gruenewald met Pope Francis in the same year and gave him a gold iPhone loaded with the Bible App and the Bible App for Kids.
Bobby Gruenewald Life Church
In 2001, Gruenewald became a part of the Life Church team. Gruenewald co-founded MySecret.tv in 2006 with Senior Pastor Craig Groeschel, an internet community that allows users to confidentially share secrets.
“We feel that if we confess to one another, healing can begin,” Gruenewald stated when asked about the initiative’s rationale”.
In 2006, Life Church developed an Internet Campus, which is currently known as Church Online. This technology allows people from all over the world to attend Church Online sessions, which include worship music, biblical teaching, live chat interaction, and one-on-one prayer via a private chat.
Gruenewald managed the creation of a fully interactive church location in Second Life, a 3-D online virtual environment, a year later. Gruenewald is also in charge of Life’s development and management. The Church Open Network is a non-profit organization that provides free services to churches.
Bobby Gruenewald Books
Among other things, Bobby is also an author. He authored the book: The Engagement Economy.Â
Bobby Gruenewald’s Net Worth
Bobby Gruenewald is estimated to be worth around $5million.
Social Media
You can find Bobby Gruenewald on the following social media platforms:
Instagram:@bobbygwald
Twitter: @bobbygwald
Facebook: @Bobby Gruenewald