Open any nightstand drawer in nearly any hotel across America and in many parts of the world and there will be a Bible in it. The chances are that Bible will say, “Gideons” on it.
Pipestone’s new 45-room Crossings Inn & Suites by Grandstay, which opened Thursday, Oct. 8, is no exception. Members of the local Gideons camp arrived Monday morning to deliver 50 Bibles to the new hotel.
Contacting local Gideons when a new hotel is built is standard practice for Grandstay Inn & Suites, according to Sheila Peterson, Crossings manager. But in this case, she was beaten to the punch when Cal Farmer, membership chairman for the Luverne and Pipestone Gideons camp, called her first.
It’s not surprising the Gideons are quick to act. Placing Bibles in hotel rooms has been the group’s primary mission for more than 100 years.
“Two businessmen started it because they wanted every hotel room to have a Bible,” said Marten Kruger, president of the local camp since 2007.
The two businessmen were John H. Nicholson and Samuel E. Hill. They met when they shared a double room in a crowded Wisconsin hotel in 1898 and discovered they were both Christians. Later, they shared evening devotions.
That occurrence sparked an idea to band together commercial travelers for personal evangelism and united service to the Lord. Only three men attended their first meeting in July 1899. The three men — Nicholson, Hill and William J. Knights — thought and prayed about what to name the organization. Eventually Knights stood up and declared, “We shall be called Gideons,” after the story of Gideon, the servant of the Lord in Judges who led an army against the enemies of Israel.
Kruger said the name was chosen because like the story of Gideon, the organization began as a small group of men taking on the world for the glory of God. Today, the organization has grown from those three men to 280,000 members worldwide. The local camp, which encompasses Rock and Pipestone counties, currently has 52 members.
In 1908, the Gideons decided that because they were businessmen who were always traveling they should bear witness to God as they traveled. That suggestion turned into “The Bible Project,” and 101 years later, the mission has reached 180 countries and distributed 1.5 billion Bibles.
Eventually the project expanded beyond hotels and the Gideons began distributing Bibles to people in prisons and jails, the military, hospitals, college campuses and schools across the world.
While the Bibles left in hotels are typically full versions, those the members personally hand out are small pocket-sized Bibles that include only the New Testament, Proverbs and Psalms. Kruger said the New Testament is the key because it contains the story of salvation through Christ and Psalms and Proverbs are included for the hymns of praise and wisdom they contain.
Howard Van Essen, former president of the local camp, explained that the pocket Bibles come in a variety of colors depending on the recipient. Camouflage for Military personnel, white for people in medicine, green for college, light blue for the ladies auxiliary, brown for personal witness and red for those who are already Christians.
“It’s not so much about handing out Bibles,” Kruger said, “but to win the world for Christ.”
Distributing Bibles is however, a large part of what they do. The Gideons are funded by $40 per year membership fees and donations. While membership fees are used to support the organization as a whole, donations are used solely to produce Bibles.
“Every dollar that’s collected during a fundraiser goes toward Bible printing and distribution,” Kruger said.
Last year, the Gideons distributed 7.79 million Bibles around the world and their goal is to increase that number to 100 million by 2020.
Potential Gideons must be members of protestant/evangelical churches and businessmen; women whose husbands are members can join the women’s auxiliary. The main requirement is that people must hold the belief that salvation comes only through faith in Christ and not by their own works.
To learn more about the Gideons visit www.gideons.org and to join the local camp call Marten Kruger at (507) 920-9386. Local meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Edgerton Pizza Ranch.
Who are the Gideons?
• The Gideons began in 1899.
• They started placing Bibles in hotel rooms in 1908.
• They are an association of protestant/evangelical businessmen.
• Today the organization has 280,000 members in 185 countries.
• They have distributed 1.5 billion Scriptures in 80 different languages around the world.
• In 2008 they distributed 75.9 million Scriptures.
• The local camp includes all of Luverne and Pipestone County and has 52 members.
