With 50 Million Copies Sold Worldwide, 'Jesus Calling' Devotional Gears Up for a New Generation of Readers

Author Sarah Young, 'Jesus Calling'. Photo image courtesy Religion News Service
NASHVILLE -- For more than two decades, Jesus Calling by the late Sarah Young has offered readers a daily invitation to pause, reflect, and draw near to God’s presence. First published in 2004, this beloved devotional has now surpassed 50 million copies sold worldwide and has been translated into more than 35 languages, becoming one of the most influential Christian devotionals of our time.

Written in a warm, conversational style rooted in Scripture, Jesus Calling encourages readers to find peace, hope, and reassurance in the midst of everyday life. Young’s heartfelt reflections grew out of her personal prayer journals and continue to inspire millions seeking comfort, stillness, and a deeper spiritual connection.

As this remarkable milestone is celebrated, the enduring message of Jesus Calling remains as timely as ever: God’s presence is near, and His peace is available each day

To celebrate 50 million books sold and the launch of Jesus Listens: For Moms, I recently sat down with Jesus Calling brand editor Mandy Wilson to discuss the past, present, and future of one the most influential devotional books of the 21st Century.

The original Jesus Calling book has sold 50 million copies. What does reaching that number mean to the team behind this book?

We are just in a state of gratitude for that and humbled that we got to be a part of this. In publishing this is a rare milestone to reach. So, we're extremely honored to be a part of that, but also just so grateful that we've been able to, to witness what it's meant to readers. That was always the focus of the author Sarah Young. She made a point to pray for her readers every day. That's special. And so, we're just honored to be able to be a part of that. There is a responsibility for us to shepherd the message well.

What I find interesting about this book is it's just not for one particular audience. It's just not for women. It's not just for men. It’s not just for older people. It's not just for younger people. It just seems to be for everyone. Have you been surprised by the cross generational reach and appeal of this book over time?

It's rather surprising, yes. We hear from people who are grandparents. And we hear from people who would be their grandchildren's age. It is really our readers that span all kinds of ages. And that's really neat that we've been able to see that come to fruition. There's not a lot of books out there that can mean something to a young adult, teenager, college-aged person, their parents, and their grandparents reading the same message. It resonates with them too. Sometimes books are very much about a certain topic or a certain situation that certain age groups are going through, but not this book. It really meets people where they're at.

Now, of course, the book's author Sarah Young has sadly passed away in recent years. But I'm sure that the team is very careful about how to continue on her legacy with this book in the future. What types of things are you doing to ensure that this keeps going forward to impact future generations?

We are very intentional about her brand. We don't want to just put products out there to be putting products out. Everything that we do with this brand is really carefully researched, thought about, prayed about, to make sure it is something our reader needs. For example, we recently started releasing some seasonal versions of Jesus Calling and Jesus Listens. Those are great entry points for people who maybe are looking to give a gift or looking for something for a short amount of time, like Christmas, or Lent. This book is an easy read during those particular seasons. We've been really careful to make sure that we're putting out things that are ultimately pointing people back to God’s Word, but getting people close to Jesus in a certain way, whatever that medium may be. I personally have worked on our ‘Jesus Calling’ app, and that's been really neat to see that grow over the years.

Having an app where Jesus Calling devotional content lives on your phone, has been very helpful to people, to keep going with their devotional reading, even when they're busy and on the go. We've been really excited to be able to develop products like this that have been able to speak to people wherever they are in their day.

I do need to ask this question though. There are some critics, some theologians, who have raised questions about Jesus Calling as related to theological accuracy. How do you respond to those concerns and critiques that you receive?

That's very fair. We're always open to conversation. I don't want anybody to feel that we're above having conversation about things. My whole viewpoint is just to remind people that this was never meant to take the place of the Bible. It was always meant to be a tool to go along with your Bible study. We've received countless letters from readers who have said, ‘I received Jesus Calling and started looking up the scriptures after the devotional reading. And I just kept reading my Bible. And it was the first time I've ever really read the Bible.

You have been working on the Jesus Calling project for nearly years. That is a substantial amount of time. I'm sure that along the way God has taught you something, perhaps a valuable lesson as an outcome of this book. Could you share a little bit about something that God has shown from your close involvement with it?

For me, it's always been about the readers. I get so encouraged hearing stories from our readers about some amazing things and seeing how God has really worked in their lives through the book. But also, just what God's doing overall in their lives. We've had so many stories shared with us over the years, and I can't help but be encouraged in my own faith journey as a result of being a part of those stories, and listening to them. It's been amazing to hear some of the people who have shared with us some amazing testimonies. That encourages me so much.

If Sarah Young were here with us today, what do you think she would say about this big milestone the book just hit?

I think Sarah would be completely in awe of it and very humbled by it. We are just so thankful that it's been able to help people meet them where they're at. She always had such a heart for the readers. She and I communicated quite a bit about letters we received, or she saw somebody had made a comment on a Facebook post, and she would ask me from time to time, “Hey, can you reach out to that person and let them know I'm praying for them?” So, she would be in complete awe and completely humbled by this milestone.

After people, who may not have read Jesus Calling yet, people who have come to this book now for the first time, what do you hope they would get out of the reading experience? What's your greatest hope for the book?

My hope for the book and for readers would be what Sarah's hope was for all readers. And that's to just point people back to Jesus. If you look at the subtitle of the book, it's ‘enjoying peace in His presence’. And we need that today. The world is just so overwhelming and chaotic and even a few minutes of peace in your day is so important for people. We need that connection to our Father and we need that connection to each other. And so, just having a little bit of peace, a little bit of groundedness before you step out into what the day is going to bring. That's really important.

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