JANUARY 1986
Bob Pritchett releases a simple program for quickly searching the KJV Bible in plain text. Notes and letters from users nurture thoughts of a more powerful program.
Still committed to equipping the Church to grow in the light of the Bible
1991
In May 1991 Bob and a fellow Microsoft employee he met at church, Kiernon Reiniger, began writing a Bible software product. Their initial goal was to create a “shareware” product to distribute on BBS systems (the dial-up precursors to the internet era) for Microsoft Windows instead of the still-dominant MS-DOS operating system.
By summer, they presented an early version of Logos Bible Software to an existing Bible software company that declined to distribute Logos because the future for Microsoft Windows was unclear. Interest increased as testers tried early versions of the software, and by August 1991, it was clear a shareware business model wouldn’t support the license fees required to access the most popular modern Bible translation. Dale Pritchett (Bob’s father, and at the time, president of his own company) started developing a sales strategy and pursuing text licenses—things Bob and Kiernon couldn’t do while working for Microsoft during business hours. In December 1991 Logos Bible Software for Microsoft Windows v1.0 was released.
1992–1993
In January 1992 Bob, Kiernon, and Dale quit their “day jobs.” After raising a small amount of capital from friends and family, they incorporated Logos Research Systems, Inc. Also in 1992 Dale opened a sales and marketing office in Marlton, New Jersey, and Bob and Kiernon opened a research and development office in Kirkland, Washington. Research and development headquarters moved to Oak Harbor, Washington, in March 1993.
1995–1998
In August 1995 Logos Bible Software v2.0 shipped, built on brand-new technology. The Logos Library System (LLS) introduced the “library” concept to Bible software—the first Bible software platform designed to support hundreds of electronic books delivered (or unlocked) as separate products.
The ever-growing list of new books for the LLS started to push the limits of the technology. The emerging field of digital libraries, combined with research in library science and information retrieval, lead to a new plan to build a third-generation platform that could handle 10,000 electronic books.
2001–2003
The first Libronix Digital Library System—a user-friendly version of Logos Bible Software Series X—was released in September 2001 and was an enormous success. In 2002 Logos Research Systems, Inc., relocated its headquarters from Oak Harbor, WA, to Bellingham, WA. In 2003 Logos Bible Software released its Biblical Languages Supplement with the Libronix DLS v2.0 code, and Logos Bible Software moved to the top level of support for study in Greek, Hebrew, and other biblical languages.
2008–2011
Logos 1.0 for Macintosh was released in December 2008. Logos Bible Software launched Logos 4 in November 2009, a multiplatform program designed to run on Windows, Macintosh, iPhone, and iPod Touch. In 2010 Logos 4 Mac was released, and in June 2011, Logos released Vyrso—a Christian ebook store and e-reader app that integrates powerful searches and Bible software with Christian fiction and trade ebooks.
2012
Logos kicked off 2012 by releasing Proclaim Church Presentation Software, giving pastors, worship teams, and volunteers smart, cloud-based, collaborative solutions to Sunday morning presentations. Then in early summer 2012, Faithlife launched the Faithlife Study Bible (FSB) and faithlife.com, giving users free subscriptions to the FSB and the opportunity to create groups and share notes and events in the Faithlife community. In November, Logos launched Logos 5 with precise new tools and seven new base packages. This significant update included more innovative features and enormous new datasets, including the Bible Sense Lexicon, Clause Search, Bible Facts, and the Timeline of Christian and Biblical History.
2013–2014
In January 2013 Logos Bible Software released 2.5 million free copies of the Faithlife Study Bible. Christians worldwide could now study the Scriptures on their iPhones, iPads, Android, Kindle, or online. This same year Logos also launched Mobile Education—video-based, seminary-level courses within Logos. Also in 2013 Logos Bible Software began a partnership with Dallas Theological Seminary to equip students with personal research libraries and digital research tools.
In 2014 Logos introduced denominational base packages as part of Logos 5, beginning with a track specifically for Reformed users. Others like Baptist and Lutheran soon followed. In September 2014 Logos Bible Software rebranded as Faithlife to reflect the company’s ongoing commitment to equip the Church to grow in the light of the Bible. Logos 6 launched that same year in October, providing users with improved tools and new ways to study the Bible, and in December, Faithlife was named one of Glassdoor’s Top 10 Places to Work for the second consecutive year.
2015–2016
In 2015 Logos Cloud was launched with subscription-based access to Logos Bible Software tools and content, allowing users even greater flexibility and options. Faithlife TV was also launched, bringing family and Bible-based video entertainment and teaching to homes and churches. In 2016 Faithlife continued its global commitment to help equip pastors and Christians to grow in their faith by releasing foreign language versions of Logos in Portuguese, German, Chinese, and Spanish. Also in 2016 Logos 7 was launched with added features such as Sermon Editor and the Courses Tool. Faithlife also released Archaeology + Jesus, a documentary featuring Dr. Craig Evans.
2017–2019
In 2017 Faithlife celebrated 25 years of equipping the Church to grow in light of the Bible and also released a new free version of Logos Bible Software and the first Korean Logos base package. This made it possible for 3 billion people to study Scripture in their own language using Logos tools. In 2018 Logos 8 launched in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese. Verbum 8 was also launched, in English and Spanish. Both releases included added features such as Canvas and Workflows. Also in 2018, Faithlife launched Faithlife Sites and Faithlife Giving.
2020–2021
In 2020 Faithlife acquired Wordsearch and Servant Keeper. Also in 2020 Faithlife entered the inclusive access textbook delivery market to serve the biblical and theological textbook needs of Liberty University, the largest higher-education institution in the world. The Logos Preaching Suite was released—the first-ever integrated preaching platform. And in the fall of 2020, Logos 9 was launched.
In 2021 Faithlife acquired Go to the Hub, entered the church curriculum and discipleship content space, and launched the French version of Logos.
2022
In January 2022 Faithlife celebrated its 30th anniversary of the incorporation of Logos Research Systems. Vik Rajagopal stepped into the CEO position at Faithlife and Bob Pritchett transitioned to Executive Chairman and later to a board member.
This year brought healthy structural change to the business, including critical, foundational work needed to kick off a new season of growth and development. As part of this change, Faithlife made the difficult decision to sunset parts of Faithlife Equip and exit the church management space, noting a desire to stay close to its roots, mission, and vision by doubling down on Bible study tools.
On October 10, 2022, Faithlife launched Logos 10, which offered improved speed and UI and other tentpole features like integration with print libraries, auto translation, sermon importing, and the ability to auto-translate any book into a hundred modern languages.