(lively pop music)
- Welcome to BibleProject.
Now, most days, Tim and I are locked away
in a room somewhere writing a script.
But Mike, you get to hang out
and talk with our audience all the time.
- Yeah. I get to spend a ton of time with you guys.
And one thing that they're often asking is,
"How does this whole thing work?
Like what makes BibleProject BibleProjecty?"
- Yeah, that's a great question.
I don't really know how to answer that.
- Maybe Mike, you could go talk to the people
on our team,
and you could find out what it is
that makes the BibleProject BibleProject.
- Love it. I'm in.
(upbeat music)
So here's what I want to do.
I want to take you around,
show you a little bit behind the scenes,
kind of see some of the secret sauce, if you will.
Hey, Rose. You ready for that interview?
(upbeat chill music)
Well, hey everyone. This is Rose.
- Hi. I'm a story artist, creator, and destroyer of worlds.
- (chuckling) You say that so nonchalantly.
I love that title.
Okay, Rose. There are tons of different types of people
that watch our videos.
What do you think is some reasons why they're drawn to them?
- So when I try to read the Bible,
it's hard because I get lost and confused.
I don't even know what's going on after a while.
But visuals, like our videos, help a lot.
- Totally.
I feel like when I watch the animated videos,
I'm learning from a much more intuitive place.
- That's exactly what we're aiming for.
- Well, could you give us some examples
of what that looks like?
- Yeah.
I think of the Visual Commentary series,
where we are helping our audience intuitively
understand the literary structure of the Bible.
And it's example of art
creating new categories of understanding.
- Oh, that's awesome.
So what are some things that
you're getting to work on this year?
- This year, we're doing Blessing and Curse,
Eternal Life, and Firstborn.
Blessing and Curse was really cool because we
got out a whole new style,
and that fit the theme really well.
- I feel like you've got something
on the tip of your tongue
that you're wanting to share with us.
- We have a lot of great videos coming out next year,
but there's a special project
that our studio's working on that
I just can't tell you about.
- Okay. You said, "apecial project,"
and, "I can't tell you."
Like (chuckles),
I feel like you're just leaving us on the edge of our seats.
Is there anything you can share with them?
- No, but it is going to help you experience the Bible.
Our team is pulling out all the stops,
and I'm so excited because
it's bringing the text to life.
- Ah, I'm so excited.
I know they're going to be excited.
Thank you so much, Rose.
- Thanks, Mike.
(upbeat chill music)
- Well, Dan, here we are.
- Mike, welcome to the podcast studio.
Thanks for coming by. - Thanks, man.
I love that we are doing this
podcast style. - Dude.
I'm so comfortable right now.
It's great to see you.
- (chuckles) I love it.
Well, man, there are a—kind of similar to our videos—
a ton of different folks that listen to our podcast.
- Totally.
- Why do you think they want to tune in to
a couple people just nerding out about the Bible?
- Yeah, I think what makes the podcast unique is
at the end of the day,
it's simple. - Yeah.
- It's just a conversation.
And there are usually three characters
in the conversation,
Jon, Tim, and you guys—and the listeners.
And, you know, we've tried to create a place
where we're not trying to sell anybody-
- Yeah.
- Something.
We're not trying to persuade somebody
a specific line of reasoning-
- Yeah. - or theology.
We're trying to create a place where people can just
be curious and say,
"Hey, check out this interesting thing
I've been learning in the Bible."
- Man, I totally feel that
because I know when I'm trying to learn something new
and complex and everything else,
I need the space to kind of sit in it.
And I feel like the podcast gives me that space.
- Yeah. I'm really glad you feel that way.
That way that you feel is intentionally designed.
It's a combined effort between Tim and Jon
and the rest of our team.
You know, the Bible is really complex,
and we owe it to the material to honor it
and to treat it in a way
that people can engage with it at their own speed.
And, you know, it feels really good to be able to learn
with something that's engaging,
but there's no sense of expectation.
- Totally. Well, man, it's been a big year, 2022.
So anything that you can share with the audience
of kind of like what's happened over the last year?
- Yeah, so if you've been listening along this year,
you will know that we have spent a lot of time
in Genesis over the past few years.
- Totally.
- I mean- - Like since the beginning.
- Since the beginning, we were there in the beginning
talking about Genesis.
And this year, we were actually able to talk through
the whole Torah.
- Mmm. - Which meant that
we started in Genesis— we also walked through
all the other books in the Torah and ended in Deuteronomy.
- Wow.
- And you know, we heard from so many of you guys
and from the listeners that how valuable that was to
be able to start to talk about other topics and sections
of those Scriptures
that we hadn't previously been able to cover.
- Yeah. Amazing.
Okay, 2023 coming up.
- Yep.
- Anything on the docket that we can share with them?
- A lot.
I'm really excited for 2023.
We've got at least five new series planned.
One of them is going to be on the dragon.
- Ooh, the dragon?
- Do you know where the dragon is?
- It's—I don't know where the dragon is.
- The dragon is in the book of Revelation.
- Okay. Wait, that's a complex book.
- Yeah, it's going to be really, really fun to talk about.
And I think it'll be a little spicy.
- Yeah. - So yeah.
And then going forward, we are also experimenting
with some new show structures and styles
that we're internally piloting right now.
And we're really optimistic about it, and we are
looking forward to bringing those forward as well.
- Man, I'm so looking forward to next year.
Thank you so much for sharing all this, Dan.
- Mike, thanks for coming by.
(lively music)
- All right.
Hello everyone, this is Erin.
- Hey, everyone. I'm Erin. I lead our Classroom project.
- And Classroom,
for those that don't know,
kind of one of our newer projects here.
Tell us about it.
Like what are you working on? What are you building?
- Yeah, so with Classroom,
what we want to do is make biblical education
accessible to everyone.
And how we're doing that
is we're inviting students like you,
and we have Tim here as well,
And we actually film classes right here at this table.
Something unique about Classroom is that
the whole thing is available online for free.
Historically, biblical education has been a luxury
for a lot of people with extra time and resources.
But with Classroom,
what we're trying to do is remove those barriers.
So if you have a computer or a smartphone,
you can start a class with us
and begin to understand the Bible more deeply.
And really, we're just getting started.
- Okay. That sounds like a lot.
- It is, yes. - So like just getting
started, like what's actually coming up in the future then?
- Yeah, so you know how we are.
We think the experience right now is good.
And so what we're doing
is overhauling the whole experience
and putting Classroom on our app.
So we are exploring some cool new features,
like audio mode, visualizing and interacting
with the literary design of Scripture.
We're adding a ton of cool new features,
and we think our audience is really going to love it.
- Erin, I'm so excited about Classroom
and for everyone to get to experience this.
I'm going to go chat with the App team and hear more.
(chill music)
Well, hey everyone. This is Nathan,
and Nathan's designing our app.
Nathan, it feels like there are millions of apps out there.
And so what makes the app that we're creating
unique for our audience?
- Yeah, well, we genuinely think
that it's more than just an app.
- Mmm.
- It's part of a long tradition,
like thousands of years long-
- Mmm.
- of using technology to share and teach the Bible.
- Okay, it feels like there's a ton to unpack here
because when I read the Bible,
I find it extremely difficult to understand,
especially when I'm by myself.
And so are you saying
that the app can actually help people understand Scripture?
Like how does that actually play out for them?
- Yeah, well, in addition to reading the Bible in the app,
we want to make all of our resources available for people.
- Mmm.
- And we have a lot of great resources.
Videos, podcasts, articles,
even classes.
- Yeah. - We want it all
available in the app.
But we're not just going to put it there.
We want people to be able to find the right path
for them through that content.
- Hmm.
- And ultimately,
we want to explore new ways of reading and studying
that are engaging.
Really help people fall in love with Scripture
in whole new ways.
- Ah, that sounds super cool.
- Yeah, totally.
I love to imagine people
reading in the app,
and after a while just realizing,
"Man, I've read the whole Bible.
But not only have I read it, but I really understand it
like I haven't before."
- Man, I think you guys are really going to love this app.
- I'm a little biased, but I totally agree.
(upbeat electronic music)
- Now I'm going to share with you what my team, Global Focus,
has the privilege of working on.
We get to localize our content in over 50 languages.
You might be thinking, "Mike, what's localization?"
Well, let me give you an example.
In our Justice video, there's a scene where
Tim, in the beginning, mentions a honey badger
and that it doesn't care.
And it's this great comic relief moment
that's a throwback to a YouTube video
that got millions of views.
But you can imagine if we translated that
word-for-word into Arabic, and then somebody in Tunisia,
like Northern Africa, was watching that, they'd be thinking,
"What's a honey badger? Why doesn't it care?"
It just doesn't play.
So we end up hiring language advisors
to actually rework the script.
We hire artists and illustrators and animators
so that we can redo all the visuals.
We bring in voice actors to redo all the sound design
so that we can end up with a product
that is culturally and
contextually relevant. - Hey, Mike.
Are you making that video?
- Hey, JoDee. Yeah, totally.
- Do you mind if I share something?
- Please come on in.
Everyone, this is JoDee.
She takes care of you at BibleProject.
- Hi, everyone.
I just want to say thank you.
You are all a part of making this possible.
Every day I get to hear from you
and people all over the world.
It's so encouraging and inspiring,
and I wish I could share every single
inspiring message with you.
- You totally can.
Like just send them to me. I'll put them in the video.
- Really?
- Yeah. - That's great.
That's awesome. - Hola, BibleProject.
Your friend Max here from Monterey, Mexico.
- My name's Marie,
and I'm from the Midwest of the United States.
- My name's Leslie.
I live in Roseburg, Oregon.
- I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you
for all the incredible and amazing
resources you have shared.
- They're always on point and accurate.
- And all of my categories had to fly out the window.
It was not the do-good manual that I expected it to be.
It was a beautiful, compelling story that leads to Jesus.
- I want to especially say thank you for Classroom.
I have never studied the Bible with such depth,
and I felt that this has taken my personal relationship
with Jesus into another level.
- I've shared them with friends,
and we used them in our family,
and I felt it was time to give back to what I had been
using so freely.
- Having a greater
and deeper insight and understanding into Scripture.
- Understand, appreciate, and marvel
in the beauty of that story.
- So thank you very much,
and let's keep up the good work.
Cheers.
- It's my blessing and pleasure to help you guys out.
(ambient pop music)
- So Mike, you got to talk with the team.
What did you find out?
What makes BibleProject BibleProject?
- Man, it's a combination of things.
Like our teams, our ideas,
but most importantly, it's about the Bible,
and you guys.
And everything that we make and do
is about helping you experience the Bible.
- That checks out.
- We obviously really like the Bible.
We love to explore it,
to help people understand it.
But what really makes all of our work worth it
is to hear the stories of how you're being impacted
by experiencing the Bible in a new way.
(upbeat music)
- We have a lot of resources,
and everything that we make is free for everyone.
- And while it's not free to create,
we have a lot of talented people giving time and energy
to make all these resources.
They are free for us to give away.
And that's because of your generous support.
- If you want to be a part of this
and us making more in this coming year,
you can give at bibleproject.com.
- You guys, thank you for being part of this with us.
(lively ambient music)
(clapping) - Ba ba, ba, bum.
(clapperboard snapping) (soft piano music)