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In the first portion of this interview, Mel speaks with Rachel Barach, General Manager of Bible Gateway. Bible Gateway is an online resource that offers 111 translations of the Bible in 54 languages, in operation for 18 years and attracting 8 million website visits a month, 25% of which are international.
Though the website has an impressive track record and years of consistent traffic, Bible Gateway will launch a revamped version of the site this month, with added features to allow for deeper study of Scripture and a simpler user interface. Congratulations to Bible Gateway on entering a new phase in online ministry!
Running an online hub for study of Scripture, especially one that impacts so many people, doesn’t come without challenges and places for discretion. Today there’s a sense, according to Barach, that social media and the amount of communication available to people somehow diminishes Bible reading to a “sound bite” level, where people are only interested in short bits of Scripture and don’t spend as much time immersing themselves in passages. There’s definitely a risk of reading a tidbit of Scripture without getting the context. But, explains Barach in this interview, there are also tremendous advantages to having the Bible available at all times and in an easily accessible format. She discusses some of the benefits of such a tool.
About Rachel Barach
Rachel Barach has been the General Manager of BibleGateway.com for just over a year. Prior to Bible Gateway, Rachel worked at Salem Web Network, where she built and managed Christianity.com and Oneplace.com. Rachel and her husband, David, have been married 5 years, and are the proud parents of twin boys, Noah and Jesse, who were born in 2009. David owns his own business developing database systems for non-profit organizations. Rachel hails from a large family and is happy to be living now in the Seattle area, close to family members that love to spoil Noah and Jesse. She graduated from Whitworth University in 1996 with degrees in Theatre and Communications, and is an accomplished actor and musician. Nowadays, Rachel stays busy entertaining her passions for Biblical literacy and technology, and keeping up with her toddlers.