A major digital campaign has launched on New Year's Day to encourage "everyone, everywhere" to read the Bible.

Bible 2020 delivers a daily reading plan via the app, with users being invited to film themselves reading the Scripture passages and post their footage to a global video wall. 

App users are also being encouraged to share the Bible verses with their social networks. 

Bible 2020 is an initiative of the Scottish Bible Society with the aim of Christians taking the words of the Bible off the pages and speaking them out loud in their daily lives.

The Scottish Bible Society said that while the increasing smartphone use could be seen as encouraging individualism and isolation, it can also be a force for good in bringing communities together, both at the local level and global.

Elaine Duncan, CEO of the Scottish Bible Society said, "There's something about speaking words out loud that make them more real.

"The Bible traditionally was passed down orally, but both this tradition and deep confidence in scripture have been lost over the generations.

"We hope this campaign will encourage Christians to rediscover confidence in the Bible and the power of speaking God's Word aloud. And it may stimulate people into starting a habit of reading the Bible daily through this year."

The campaign was originally intended only for Scotland but has instead launched as a global campaign, with Bible Societies from more than 85 countries now involved in the movement and the first reading plans getting underway in New Zealand this morning.

The Scottish Bible Society is also partnering with the popular Bible app YouVersion to maximise global reach. 

"Already many Christians have joined the movement and are ready to start the global wave of Bible reading," said Duncan.

"The app will have access to up to 2,000 languages thanks to the United Bible Societies' Digital Bible Library.

"Imagine the impact of hundreds of thousands of Christians reading the same passages across God's world every day. We hope it will bring a tangible unity of the Church across the globe."

The Bible 2020 app is available from Apple and android app stores, with a reading plan also available on the Youversion Bible App. For more information and to join the global movement visit www.bible2020.org