Discover Jesus: Status 2024 DEC

Discover Jesus – Update

By Mike Robinson

The Writing is Complete!

At last, we can share some exciting news: the writing and editing of DiscoverJesus.com is complete!

As of December 18, the development of content for the life and teachings of Jesus (before Christianity) has been finalized, and we await a small number of images for the last 12 articles to be added to the site shortly after January 1, 2025.

So, Where Did We End Up?

We have published articles about:
• 100 People/Groups
• 250 Events
• 55 Locations/Objects
• 100 Topics

In total, this is 500+ articles on the Discover Jesus website. At an average of 1,200 words per article, it is over 600,000 words of writing on Jesus' life!

Audio Deep-Dive Features

To make the wealth of content less daunting, we're expanding the number of articles with accompanying audio features. Currently, 158 articles include an audio discussion, marked by a speaker icon. You can also find them via the "Discussions" selection under the main "Discovery" menu.

These audio exchanges, linked at the top of each article, offer an engaging way to explore key points. Featuring dynamic, informal conversations between a man and a woman, they bring the content to life with thoughtful and cordial insights. Most recordings are 6 to12 minutes long, with some extending slightly longer. These discussions are natural and compelling to listen to – even for seasoned readers!

We're proud to use NotebookLM to power these audio experiences, seamlessly creating conversational, thought-provoking, and highly engaging content. Our goal is to have 200+ audio features, covering all topics and many longer articles.

Here are a few favorites – take a listen if you haven't yet!

• Jesus' Ministry 'As He Passed By'
‍• Desirability of Being Well-Balanced
‍• Family Ideals
• Jesus' Resurrection Experience
• Loving God Instead of Fearing God
• Religion – Christianity
• Women's Evangelistic Corps

‍New Articles

If you haven't checked recently, here is a sample of some of the newest articles that have been added to the site:

• Event - Visit to Philadelphia
• Event - John Zebedee is Permitted to Stay with Jesus
• Event - Jesus Navigates Challenges with Family and Foes
• Topic - Ganid's Research of the World's Religions
• Group - Celestial Messengers
• Topic - Priesthood in the Times of Jesus
• Event - The Fateful Journey to Golgotha
• Topic - Desirability of Being Well-Balanced
• Topic - What Did the Apostles Teach the Multitudes?
• Topic - Family Ideals‍

Check out these and more on the site by going to What's New!

New Languages and Other Features

We are excited to share that we are making great progress in translating the site into Spanish and French, with a beta version being shared in the second half of December with select readers before launching full versions at the start of the year. More languages will soon follow, thanks to the incredible efforts of our writers and the support of AI-powered translation tools.

We have also implemented a faster search experience for those typing in the website search bar. You'll find it is nearly instantaneous, and we have Fraser to thank for his diligent work in getting our search process to match the speed of the rest of our website.

Lastly, we will continue to add other site features that enhance the visitor experience in the coming months. This includes adding "previous" and "next" links in the Event articles to allow for an easy chronological review, decreasing the sensitivity of the article preview links for desktop users, and more accessibility features, including a "read out loud" function for those who would prefer to listen to the article.

A Heartfelt "Thank You"

While our development efforts continue, our volunteer writers have concluded their work and deserve our heartfelt gratitude and recognition. This includes MaryJo, Rick, Susan, Roland, Gregg, Trudi, Chris, Lisa, and Martha, with Sandra and others contributing many hours in the early stages of data curation for the project. Susan and Gregg have also been a tremendous help with the audio discussions.

For many, this has been a two-year journey of writing, editing, and creation for the Discover Jesus project. It's been quite an expedition, and we hope it has also been a labor of love. Personally, I have valued all of the writer's contributions and their unique voices in the editing process. Please note that in each article, the writer is recognized in the Contributors section.

This is also the time to recognize the artwork of our dear friend Gary Tonge. He created each profile image that accompanies the 500+ articles and many additional images that appear within the articles and in our Journey experiences. Out site would not exist without Gary's tireless efforts to bring the visual aspects to life, helping to complement and elevate the writing. His work has transformed the site into a vibrant, immersive experience.

A special "thank you" to Gabriel, for his visionary genius imagining such a wonderful, educational resource, and for creating new tools to assist our team every step of the way on this journey.

We also thank our readers for their enthusiasm and support – it has helped us to make this journey and motivates us to continue to improve upon it.

To all who contributed their time, talent, and dedication, thank you for making DiscoverJesus.com a reality.

As we move forward, we invite you to explore, share, and continue this journey of discovering Jesus' life and teachings with us and others!

Editor's Note: We extend yet another special "thank you" – to Mike for all of his professionalism, and for bringing his particular stamp of excellence to this project. We could not have accomplished this goal without his dedication and willingness to give generously of his time and talents.