W. SCOTT LAMB: Who puts those Bibles in hotel rooms?

Have you ever wondered why there is a Bible in the drawer or on the desk in your hotel room? How did it get there? Who funded the purchase? 

The Wall Street Journal published a wonderful profile piece on the Gideons, the group behind the Bible distribution. They’ve been at it since 1899, when some businessmen staying at a hotel in Janesville, Wisconsin, came up with the idea. They recognized that there was very little to occupy a person’s time in a hotel room—especially in a day before radio, television, or the internet. What’s more, the believed in the power of the Bible and the Holy Spirit to lead a person to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Read the entire piece here—”A Comforting Word in the Hotel Nightstand: Two billion Bibles later, the Gideons are still at it, spreading the Gospel room by room.” 

Here is an excerpt:

You may not have thought about them in a while. Which is fine with them. The Gideons don’t seek publicity. They are content to do quietly what they have done for more than a century: endeavor to put a free Bible in the drawer of every nightstand in every hotel room in the United States and throughout the world.

…According to the Gideons, they have distributed, since the group’s inception, more than two billion Bibles around the world in more than 90 languages. The Bibles are given to hotels and are also offered to police and fire departments, military bases, hospitals, prisons and domestic-violence centers. The Gideons say their work is supported entirely by contributions, and if a hotel guest decides to take a Bible home—well, no one’s going to call the cops. The Gideons are always glad to print more.