As we wrap up 2025, we’re celebrating two big milestones: 10 years and 500 episodes of exploring the Bible together! To mark the occasion, we’re strolling down memory lane to see how it all began. How does a side project recorded in a closet turn into a decade-long global conversation? In this episode, producer Lindsey Ponder interviews Jon, Tim, and other team members about how the show came to be, its growth over time, and how it continues to shape us, even as it helps hundreds of thousands of listeners experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus.

FULL SHOW NOTES

For detailed, chapter-by-chapter summaries and referenced resources, check out the full show notes for this episode.

CHAPTERS

1. Intro (0:00-2:22)
2. Before the Mic (2:22-11:17)
3. The Closet Under the Stairs (11:17-19:35)
4. A Growing Audience and Team (19:35-22:29)
5. The Podcast in Other Languages (22:29-30:03)
6. Hearing From Listeners, Plus Jon and Tim on What Motivates Them (30:03-44:15)

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• Heaven & Earth video
• Genesis 1-11 video
• Genesis 12-50 video
• The Messiah video
• The Law podcast series
• God and Money podcast episode
• Revelation Premiere live event
• Proyecto Biblia Pódcast (Spanish localized podcast)
• Japanese localized podcast (Apple | Spotify)

SHOW MUSIC

• “The Way Forward” by Richie Kohan
• “Selah ft. Bobcat” by Lofi Sunday
• “Blue Sky ft. TBabz” by Lofi Sunday
• “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain” by Kashido
• “date night” by Lofi Sunday, Cassidy Godwin
• “Bird In Hand” by Foreknown ft. JGivens
• “Eden Dreaming ft. sxxnt.” by Lofi Sunday
• "Defender (Remix)" by TENTS
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Jon Collins, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. The host and creative producer of this episode is Lindsey Ponder. Special thanks to all those interviewed: Jon Collins, Tim Mackie, Robert Perez, Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, Anna Wyche, Angela Keuter, and audience members Matthew, David, Emily, and Ausha.

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In our next-to-last episode of 2025, Tim, Jon, and BibleProject CEO, Steve Atkinson, review all the resources we released this year, while reflecting on the bigger worldwide movement of people reading the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. The guys then share about some of what’s coming up next for BibleProject in 2026.

TIMESTAMPS

1. Gratitude for Our Mission (0:00-4:08)
2. New “One Story That Leads to Jesus” Reading Plan (4:08-9:01)
3. A Year Studying Themes From Exodus (9:01-16:15)
4. How the Bible Was Formed and the Deuterocanon / Apocrypha (16:15-17:53)
5. The Bigger Movement of Reading the Bible as One Story (17:53-27:34)
6. 2025 Classroom Releases (27:34-30:02)
7. 2025 Updates to the BibleProject App (30:02-31:58)
8. Ten Years of the BibleProject Podcast (31:58-33:09)
9. What Are We Releasing in 2026? (33:09-38:38)
10. Gratitude for Our Volunteers, Prayer Team, and Patrons (38:38-45:01)

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• Subscribe to the “One Story That Leads to Jesus” annual reading plan on The Bible App by YouVersion.
• Check out our 2025 collections of resources! Each has a video, podcast series, scholar-written guide, reading plan, and group study.
  • The Mountain
  • The Exodus Way
  • Redemption
  • The Wilderness
• Listen to the 2025 podcast series How the Bible Was Formed.
• Watch the 2025 overview video series on The Deuterocanon / Apocrypha.
• Listen to the 2025 Advent podcast series.
• Check out OneStory, a creative nonprofit that develops free Bible studies, lessons, and homeschool curricula—all featuring BibleProject resources.
• See how Streetlights has localized BibleProject videos for their audience.
• Watch or listen to the final installment of our Genesis Classroom series, Joseph. Also check out the second installment of the Gospel of Matthew Classroom series, The Messianic Torah, which focuses on the Sermon on the Mount.
• Download the BibleProject App from the iOS App Store or Android Google Play Store.

SHOW MUSIC

BibleProject theme song by TENTS

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Special thanks to our guest, Steve Atkinson.

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Advent E4 — We’re ending our short Advent series with a reflection on love. In the Hebrew Bible, the word “ahavah” involves faithfulness to God and living by his wisdom, but it also means showing practical care to others—especially the vulnerable. Jesus views this love for God and neighbor as the greatest command, and he expands it to be indiscriminate, radical kindness and generosity even toward our enemies. The New Testament authors were so blown away by this kind of love that they adopted an obscure Greek word for love, “agape,” and redefined it to be a self-giving, sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrates in his life, teaching, death, and resurrection. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore the main biblical words for love, showing how the story of Advent characterizes agape as God’s own essence and our calling.

FULL SHOW NOTES

For chapter-by-chapter notes including summaries, referenced Scriptures, biblical words, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.

CHAPTERS

1. The Hebrew Bible’s Understanding of Love (0:00–13:17)
2. Agape and Jesus’ Redefinition of Love (13:17–21:25)
3. God Is Love (21:25–31:10)
4. Reflections on Love With JoDee (31:10-36:12)

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• The Affections of Christ Jesus: Love at the Heart of Paul’s Theology by Nijay Gupta
• Ahavah / Love: Though not referenced directly in the episode, this 2017 video explores the same biblical word ahavah.
• Agape / Love: Also not referenced directly in the episode, this 2017 video explores the same biblical word, agape.
• Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

• “Clouds ft. ahmo” by Lofi Sunday
• “Warm Hugs” by Lofi Sunday & Cassidy Godwin
• “Snowflakes” by Aves
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Special thanks to our guest JoDee Atherton.

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