Gideons International

History

The organization began in fall, 1898, when two traveling salesmen, John H. Nicholson of Janesville, Wisconsin and Samuel E. Hill of Beloit, Wisconsin met when they shared a hotel room at the Central House Hotel in Boscobel, Wisconsin, where they discussed the formation of an association. In May, 1899, the two met again in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, where they decided the goal of their association would be to unite traveling salesmen for evangelism. In July, 1899, Nicholson, Hill, and Will J. Knights met at the YMCA in Janesville. Two of them continued with the distribution of the Bibles. Gideons began distributing free Bibles, the work it is chiefly known for, in 1908, when the first Bibles were placed in the rooms of the Superior Hotel in Superior, Montana.

The organization describes its link to the story of Gideon:

Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God's will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the Holy Spirit leads.

In keeping with this symbolism, the symbol of the Gideons is a two-handled pitcher and torch, recalling Gideon's victory over the Midianites as described in Judges, Chapter 7.

In addition to their well-known hotel room Bibles, members of The Gideons International also distribute Bibles to members of the military of various countries, to hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, MPs and students. A typical Bible or New Testament from The Gideons International contains:

a short preface;

a pamphlet suggesting Bible verses that may be of assistance in various sorts of trouble;

translations of John 3:16 into a variety of languages and scripts;

the Bible text itself, without notes, references, or any other reference matter other than chapter and verse headings — this can either be the full Bible (typical of the copies placed in hotel rooms), or just the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs (typical of the copies handed out as gifts to individuals);

a short description of the evangelical understanding of salvation, with biblical quotations, and a place for the reader to sign and date their confession of Jesus as their savior (this is especially common in the shorter editions featuring the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs).

Membership

Membership is limited to current or retired business or professional men aged 21 or older who are members in good standing of an evangelical or Protestant church. Wives of Gideons may join the Gideons International Auxiliary.

Colors of Testaments distributed

The covers of the New Testaments distributed by Gideons are color-coded based on which groups they are meant for:

Orange: given in sidewalk distribution

Green: for college/university students

Red: for in-school distribution to Middle/High school students

Digital Camouflage/Desert Camouflage: for the military

Dark blue: printed in a foreign language

White: for medical professionals

Light blue: for distribution by the Auxiliary only

Brown: for facilities distributions, (for witnessing in prisons and jails by Gideons)

Burgundy: personal worker's testaments (for individual witnessing by Gideons)

Periwinkle: personal worker's testaments (for individual witnessing by the Auxiliary)

During World War II there were Military Issued New Testaments, brown for Army and blue for Navy distributed by the Gideons. In addition to the Desert Camouflage and the Digital Camouflage, there are also Woodland Camouflage editions for the Military.

Distribution of Bibles during school hours

The distribution of Bibles on school grounds has been an issue because of the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of the Establishment Clause in the Constitution. Five Supreme Court cases discuss this issue: Everson, McCollum, Zorach, Engel, and Schempp.

In 2008, Americans United for Separation of Church and State brought suit against the South Iron R-1 School District in Missouri for allowing the Gideons to distribute Bibles during class time. In 2009, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis upheld a lower court ruling that found the South Iron district's distribution of Bibles to the schoolchildren in their classrooms was unconstitutional. An "attorney representing the South Iron School District in Annapolis, Mo., said the decision allows a new policy to finally be implemented, one that allows any group to hand out literature at the rural district, including information on how children can obtain Bibles."

The Gideons International continues to contact youth in America through The Life Book, coordinating with churches and their youth to distribute copies of the Bible in high schools. The Alliance Defending Freedom, as of 2013, maintains that there are "constitutionally permissible ways in which Gideons Bibles may be distributed" and attorneys Rory Gray and Jeremy Tedesco write that the Alliance Defending Freedom sent letters to 174 school districts in Kentucky, stating that "Federal caselaw overwhelmingly supports the decision to grant religious and non-religious community groups an equal opportunity to provide literature to willing students". In early 2014, the "Gideons International again distributed Bibles at a public elementary school in Kentucky".

The tradition of Gideons handing out small New Testaments continues in many British secondary schools. Some schools have banned Gideons.