What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:5-7)
When Samuel Hill and John Nicholson met at a crowded hotel in Boscobel, Wisconsin, in 1898, they shared a room with double beds. Before retiring for the evening, Mr. Nicholson asked Mr. Hill if he wouldn’t mind if he read his Bible and prayed—a practice he promised his mother he would do as a young boy. Mr. Hill was a Christian and asked Mr. Nicholson to read aloud, and the two men started a strong friendship. An idea started to take root that would later become The Gideons International. The mission was simple – to win the lost for Jesus Christ. A significant method to accomplish this mission started in 1908 when Scripture Distribution efforts began.
“The mission was simple – to win the lost for Jesus Christ.”
At the 1923 Annual Convention, Samuel R. Boggs was elected national president. Under his watch, the target to place more than 100,000 Bibles in one year was set. The goal was reached nearly three years later on June 30, 1926, with 100,195 Bibles placed in a single year. The one-millionth Bible was placed in January 1929 – months before the crash of the United States stock exchange. It was the start of one of the most trying times in the nation. Association President Jason M. Averill stood before the Memphis Convention in 1930 and said, “Through it all, God, in his infinite wisdom, has blessed our ministry far and beyond that which we have any reason to expect.”
More growth would come in the early 1940s when one member had the vision to reach the men and women who serve in the United States military. Charles Pietsch of the first Honolulu Camp in Hawaii came to the International Cabinet with an appeal for pocket-size Testaments for the Pacific Fleet, which was based at Pearl Harbor. Mr. Pietsch asked the Cabinet to sponsor the suggestion, and he personally paid for the first 10,000 Testaments. The days of war that followed were dark and hard. Yet, in the aftermath of these events, it was discovered that many soldiers who were killed had previously signed the back page of their Testament indicating a decision to follow Christ. We plant, and God gives the growth in His perfect timing.
By the early 1970s, The Gideons reached the milestone of the 100-millionth Scripture. President Richard M. Nixon received a commemorative copy. At the time, an estimated one million Scriptures were being distributed every 46 days, while it had taken 21 years (1908 – 1929) to place the first million. Scriptures went out at 75,000 per day in the mid-1980s, and total membership topped 150,000. While the numbers were important, former International President Scott Myers challenged all members, “Let us never forget that ours is a spiritual ministry, and it takes spiritual people to carry it out. Our real strength is not in the numbers but in our devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Gideons crossed another milestone as the 500-millionth Scripture was distributed soon after the turn of the century. President George H. W. Bush was presented with a commemorative Bible on July 30, 1990. On September 10, 2001, the one-billionth Scripture was distributed by The Gideons International. Former Executive Director Jerry Burden said, “Who would have thought our world would be irreversibly changed by the catastrophic events of 9/11? Personal security and assumption of safety have been replaced by anxiousness and fear.” Yet, the Association moved forward trusting in the Lord.
“May we, by His grace alone, continue to reach a lost and dying world with the truth of God’s Word until Jesus returns.”
In October 2022, we celebrated 2.5 billion seeds sown so men, women, boys, and girls may have the chance to continue experiencing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ through His Word. In response to this incredible achievement, former International Auxiliary President Cindy Davis says, “Praise God for every member, Friend, donor, prayer, Scripture, and especially for every soul saved!” While we celebrate what God has done, we know there is more planting and watering to be done. Many people will go to bed tonight without knowing the Saviour that gave His life for them. May we, by His grace alone, continue to reach a lost and dying world with the truth of God’s Word until Jesus returns.