Billions of people spend their time in digital spaces where Scripture rarely reaches them in a native, meaningful way — not because it doesn't belong there, but because no one had built the bridge yet.

That's the challenge we put in front of builders this year: using the YouVersion Platform API and the Gloo AI Studio API, create an experience that integrates Scripture natively into an emerging digital context — gaming, social platforms, creator tools, developer environments, wearables, fitness apps, and beyond.

We didn't know exactly what to expect, and what we got back exceeded anything we imagined.

By the Numbers

The challenge drew 365 entrants, 89 participants, and 75 teams, resulting in 75 total submissions. What stood out most wasn't just the volume — it was the range. Builders pushed Scripture into corners of digital life we hadn't even named as frontiers.

Here's how submissions broke down by category:

Gaming led the pack by a wide margin, but the long tail here is what impressed the judges most — from accessibility platforms to travel apps, participants found Scripture-shaped gaps in places we never explicitly asked them to look.

Honestly? We Were Blown Away

Every submission we reviewed reflected real thought about where people actually spend their time and genuine care for how Scripture could show up there without feeling like an interruption. The creativity on display, the technical craftsmanship, the willingness to experiment in genuinely uncharted territory — it was a joy to watch unfold. Thank you to everyone who built something and put it out into the world.

🏆 The Winner: Muse by Psalmlog

After review across Impact & Vision, Video Storytelling, and Technical Execution, our $10,000 New Frontiers Prize goes to Muse by Psalmlog, built by Preston Zeller.

Muse matches a user's Spotify listening history to emotional themes and surfaces a matching YouVersion verse — weaving Scripture directly into the music people already turn to for how they're feeling. It's a quiet but powerful example of meeting people exactly where they are, using a habit they already have rather than asking them to form a new one.

Congratulations, Preston — incredibly well deserved.

Honorable Mentions

Rounding out our top 10 finalists, each of these projects pushed the YouVersion and Gloo APIs into genuinely new territory:

• Scripture Steps (Jesus.net) — a GPS walking companion with voice-guided biblical characters offering reflection along real-world routes

• Grace in the Gap (Marc Donovici) — a Claude Code plugin surfacing brief Scripture moments during AI coding wait states

• Threadlight (Eric & Preston) — a restrained Discord/YouTube bot offering an attributed Scripture reply pending human approval

• Selah (Physiological Moment) (dominic_justo) — pairing wearable stress and affect signals with a matching verse

• Selah (Treatment Journey) (Sudharsan Velumani) — a hospital companion delivering context-appropriate Scripture across a patient's treatment journey

• Verse & Vale (Tyndale Digital Product) — a retro 2D game guiding players through the Book of Daniel with AI cross-references

• Supagloo.com (Supagloo) — turning a Bible passage into a short AI-generated storyboard video

• Bible for Life (Louis Reid) — a Chrome extension adding optional Scripture anchors beside major news articles

• Wellspring (Jake Liefer) — scheduling a spoken devotional as a calendar event via text-to-speech or meeting bot

What's next?

This doesn't have to be the end of what you started. This October, we're hosting another hackathon — and we'd love to see you there, whether that means taking your project further or starting something brand new.

Thank you again to everyone who participated. We can't wait to see what you build next