Nearly 76.9 million Gideon Scriptures were given out in nearly 85 languages in 187 countries last year. Close to 1.5 billion Scriptures have been distributed since 1908, when the Gideons first began to place Bibles in hotel rooms.
Since then, the nondenominational evangelical group run by businessmen has spread its tremendous reach, also giving out Scriptures at hospitals, schools, prisons, and in the military.
"This is not a church-sponsored, clergy-led effort," said Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella group for evangelical churches and organizations. "It's individuals that go around and distribute Bibles. It's an astonishing accomplishment."
"What it's done is actually changed our culture. People expect there to be a Bible in a hotel room. There's hardly anything that's parallel to it."
The admittedly publicity-shy Gideons rarely seek outside attention, but leaders agreed to an interview with the Associated Press at the group's Nashville headquarters to mark the anniversary.
"We've never been an association that necessarily dwelt on the past," said Jerry Burden, Gideons executive director. "We always work in the present and look to the future. We're a very low-profile organization. That's been our underlining philosophy. For us, we look to be around another 100 years."
Because the Gideons were founded by Christian traveling salesmen who spent a lot of time away from home, the group sought to put Bibles in hotel bedrooms to spiritually nurture themselves and others.
Around 1916, the group started distributing Bibles in hospitals, followed by the military, public schools, prisons, and colleges and universities.
The Gideons have about 176,000 members, plus their wives, who distribute Scripture around the world, and their numbers have remained steady over the years. The group allows only for evangelical business and professional men to hand out Scripture to its targeted groups, although Gideons allow their wives to also hand out Scripture in healthcare settings and in prisons for women.
