This article provides an on‑the‑ground insight into the work of The Gideons. We trust it will be an encouragement to readers.

A Gideon camp is a group of members serving together within a town, city, or defined region. In Queensland, the Mt Coot‑tha and Caloundra Camps are two examples of local groups seeking to serve faithfully in their communities through the simple, steady work of Gideon ministry.

Mt Coot‑tha Camp: Steady and Shared Service

Serving across Brisbane’s metropolitan area, the Mt Coot‑tha Camp focuses on working together in a way that is sustainable and supportive. Responsibilities are shared so that no one carries the load alone, allowing members to balance their service in Gideons with commitments to family, church, and work.

Members maintain regular contact with schools, hospitals, hotels, and institutions that are open to receiving Scriptures. They are able to build relationships with these institutions patiently and respectfully. Even small opportunities are valued, with trust that God can use each Scripture placed.

Through both open doors and closed ones, the camp seeks to remain consistent and prayerful, continuing the work entrusted to them without being discouraged by the pace of results.

“Though different in size and geography, the Mt Coot‑tha and Caloundra Camps share a common approach: prayerful service, patience, and an emphasis on relationships.”

Caloundra Camp: Serving a Broad Region

The Caloundra Camp covers a large area across the Sunshine Coast, which brings both opportunity and complexity. Prayer underpins their ministry, and members make use of technology to stay connected, often joining others across Queensland for times of shared prayer despite the distance.

Intentional relationships with local pastors are an important part of their approach. When new pastors arrive in the region, Gideons aim to get to know them. These relationships open doors for ministry and create lasting partnerships.

While access to schools continues to shift, the camp remains patient and prepared. By maintaining respectful contact and a positive presence, they stay ready to respond when opportunities arise.

Faithful Service, Shared Purpose

Though different in size and geography, the Mt Coot‑tha and Caloundra Camps share a common approach: prayerful service, patience, and an emphasis on relationships. Their experiences mirror the work being carried out quietly in many Gideon camps across the country—consistent, often unseen, but grounded in faithfulness.

Together, these camps remind us that the Gideon ministry is not shaped by big numbers or quick results, but by a commitment to serve and to trust God with the outcome. Above all, the heart of this work is to see the Gospel carried into their local communities.

In the heart of Western Australia, as spring unfolded its glory, a dedicated group of Gideons and Auxiliary embarked on a mission to see God’s glorious Word placed across Perth. The 2025 Perth Scripture Blitz was more than a coordinated outreach—it was a passionate feat that brought the Word of God into empty drawers and rooms, and into the hands of people who needed it most.

Day One: A Holiday with Purpose

The Blitz began in Fremantle on a sunny Monday, coinciding with a public holiday. Amid the festive atmosphere, three teams visited hotels and shared Personal Workers Testaments. Conversations flowed easily, and many hotels welcomed Bible top-ups.

Day Two: Into the Heart of Perth

Tuesday marked the beginning of the Blitz in earnest. Auxiliary teams visited medical offices in West Perth, while Gideons covered Perth CBD, Northbridge, Scarborough Beach, and Midland. A notable highlight was the unexpected receptiveness of staff at backpacker hostels. The owner of a hostel that had initially declined Bible placements explained that he was saved out of a life of drug addiction after reading the Bible. Now, he is building a prayer room in the hostel and welcomed Bibles with open arms. Please pray for this man, that he would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Day Three: A Grand Finale

Wednesday, the final day of the Blitz, was the most active. Teams navigated high-rises and laneways, placing Bibles in medical and dental offices. At a skin cancer clinic, a woman spotted a Bible and asked, “Can I have one?”—a reminder that when you’re out on God’s business, you never know who is watching and listening. From Joondalup to Armadale and the Darling Scarp, responses were overwhelmingly positive.

“Please be in prayer that our gracious Lord will use all 806 Scriptures to bring glory to His name.”

The Impact in Numbers

• 267 accommodation sites visited
• 101 medical sites reached
• 647 Bibles placed
• 159 New Testaments shared

Over three days, the teams covered Perth’s CBD, coastal strip, and rural farm stays—representing the bulk of the region’s accommodation venues. This was an immense effort by all involved. Please be in prayer that our gracious Lord will use all 806 Scriptures to bring glory to His name.

Stories That Inspire

• A rural accommodation owner said: “You know, in 10 years of running this place, not once has anyone ever asked me for a Bible. But I will take 12 and put them in the rooms.”
• A hotel manager, found mid-renovation, said: “Hotels have Bibles. We have 32 rooms—can you do that?”

Looking Ahead

The Blitz may be over, but its impact will ripple through time. The Scriptures placed will remain, the stories shared will encourage, and the prayers offered will bear fruit. To God be the glory, now and forever. Amen.

Vivid Sydney is an annual festival held in the Sydney CBD. It includes outdoor light installations, music performances by local and international artists, and a forum for exchanging ideas. The festival is Australia’s largest of its kind, attracting millions of visitors each year.

This year’s festival ran between 23 May and 14 June, and as the world showcased its lights to the people, it was most appropriate that the ‘Light of the World’ shone during these nights for all to see. A team of Gideons and Auxiliary stepped up to bring the Gospel to the people at Vivid Sydney 2025.

The team met at Martin Place, and with bags filled with Youth Testaments and pockets ready with a Personal Worker’s Testament (PWT), engaged the crowds in George Street. Being a ‘Fair and Festival’, Youth Testaments could be given to the youth. It was certainly a large fishing ground for the Lord’s work. As thousands of people made the trek up and down George Street, many were greeted with an offer to take a Testament.

Witnessing Testimonies

A Gideon reported that many young people were “ecstatic” to receive Bibles with one saying “Wow, the Holy Bible. Yes. I’ve been wanting to read this. Thank you so much.” It has been very encouraging seeing young men and women wanting to hear the Gospel message and to learn more of the things of God. During the night, groups of youth and families approached the team enquiring “Is that the Bible?” and asked for one as they entered into conversations about the Gospel.

A large group of teenagers asked to hear a Bible verse. The Gideon chose John 3:16 and they all listened with great intent and had seeds sown into their lives. They heard the Gospel message and about how they could be with Jesus for eternity.

“It has been very encouraging seeing young men and women wanting to hear the Gospel message and to learn more of the things of God.”

Several people wanted prayer and the Gideons obliged. You can really get a good idea of the pulse of a city and how hungry people are to hear about God by being on the ground interacting with them. We learnt that there is an interest in enquiring about the truth.

To God be the Glory

Over the course of the 23 nights, over 10,000 Youth Testaments and PWTs were handed out.

Many people are praying for revival, which is a wonderful mission. However, if revival is to come next month that would be of no use to the sinner who dies next week. As Jesus said, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest” (John 4:35). To God be the Glory.

The privilege of leading the Madagascar International Scripture Blitz (ISB) was heightened by the disappointments of two successive cancellations in years leading up to the event. Finally, in October 2024, a team of seven international Gideons joined with members of six camps around the capital of Antananarivo where the hand of the Lord moved mightily from the very outset. Being challenged by a goal of 250,000 Scriptures for the one-week blitz, the local members meticulously planned every detail, making for an incredible, well-ordered operation.

A raft of church presentations at entry built a significant prayer base amongst believers across the city. Almost every door was wide open to distribution or placement. Even refusal to enter school property didn’t thwart the success of sidewalk distributions that became necessary on only two occasions.

Eager hands stretched out to receive personal copies of Scriptures with graciousness, being equally noticeable in schools of student populations over 2,000 to the small, single room entities with a mere handful of students. An aged university lecturer, disappointed that we had no English Bibles, wept as I showed and loaded the Gideon Bible App on his device.

“By the end of the blitz, a total of over 317,000 Scriptures had been distributed, all praise and glory being the Lord’s because of your generosity in giving and faithfulness in prayer.”

During a military distribution, the general stated that he begins parade every Tuesday with the reading of Scripture. He reflected that now the troops would have direct access to the Word of God. Though the country is said to be 85% Christian, fewer than about 15% are actually recognised as being born again, practicing their faith.

In addition to the organised distributions across all the approved areas, many personal encounters brought individuals into a life-changing decision to follow Christ. This was distinctly evident in our hotel where many staff would bring others, knock on the door and request a Scripture. Though the entire team was impacted by food poisoning to some degree, two seriously, potentially disrupting obstacles projected by the enemy, were overcome repeatedly through the petitions of the faithful.

By the end of the blitz, a total of over 317,000 Scriptures had been distributed, all praise and glory being the Lord’s because of your generosity in giving and faithfulness in prayer.

Three eager teams covered the Central West (CW), Far West (FW) & South West (SW) of Queensland during August and September 2024. Much of this country is remote with few folk living in the small towns and scattered sheep/cattle and goat properties – sometimes all three.

Truly Remote

The Central West (CW) of Queensland encompasses an area from Roma north to Emerald and the coal fields, west to Barcaldine, also taking in the semi-remote towns of Aramac, Muttaburra along with Ilfracombe and Isisford to the west of Blackall and Yaraka southwest of Blackall.

How the Lord blessed us. During the weekend we were in Roma, there was a combined churches special get-together. We had the opportunity to set up a stall and one of our Gideons spoke to the much-enlarged congregation plus we had the opportunity to engage with folk over lunch.

Emerald is in the northern part of the CW. The highlight here was joining forces with The Gideons Northern State chaplains Jenny & Rod who live in Emerald and successfully covered much of the town. Thanks to Jenny’s thorough knowledge of her hometown, the ladies were able to visit, very successfully, some 25 medical and para-medical centres in one day. The men managed 16 accommodation places with only two refusals, one motel taking 80 Bibles.

The most remote distribution was Yaraka, a very tiny community 164 km SW of Blackall with a population of 18. The Bibles left on the last visit had all disappeared so the hotel was very pleased to be replenished.

The South West (SW) begins with St George as the hub of a number of very small communities which were all visited.

The SW team were very busy ensuring every possible location was covered, even very remote spots on the map such as Toompine, southwest of Quilpie, consisting of one pub but no other buildings and Adavale, north of Quilpie, similar but several folk do live in that town. Despite the smallness of the communities, there were opportunities to place Bibles and present Personal Workers Testaments. The team’s overall territory stretched from St George including some communities to the east, south and north out to Cunnamulla on to Thargomindah, Noccundra and even Innamincka in South Australia, back through Eromanga and Quilpie to Charleville.

“There are so many stories and miracles – GOD is so GOOD as he enables us to fulfil the Great Commission, enjoy wonderful Christian fellowship, travel safely and learn so much about our wonderful remote areas.”

A Testimony from St George

We had a great day at a school in St George. A teacher told us when we arrived at the school that we could see the students in the playground, take the names of the kids who wanted a Testament and then leave the Scriptures at the office for them. Many students came to ask what we were doing. Thankfully the chaplain came out and we were able to hand out 72 Testaments. One Year 12 student came to ask if she could have some Scriptures for the kids who were too shy to ask for them. Max had been told there were 50 students. Praise the Lord, 70+ were handed out. How easy for us to underestimate what God will do, despite man.

Innamincka

Leaving part of the SW team at the remote spot of Noccundra by the Wilson River, some members travelled west over 500 kms in the day to visit the South Australian outpost of Innamincka. On arriving in the town, the team discovered that the flying doctor was also there – God’s divine timing. The medical clinic had a notice on the door “Closed For 2 Weeks”, but opened on 9 September, the day the SW team was there. Praise God for the great opportunities we had in a very, very remote community.

The Far West (FW)

That is exactly what it is! Longreach is by far the largest town, just 990 km, as the crow flies, NW from Brisbane. This town is surviving to a great extent on tourism with the Stockman’s Hall of Fame, the Thompson River and the QANTAS Museum just to name some of the attractions.

It is really a large circle for the FW team – down to Stonehenge on to Jundah and Windorah, then west to Birdsville 379 km further across gibber plains and sand dune country – some sealed roads. They then turned north to Bedourie and Boulia with a quick trip up to Duchess and back to Boulia. All of these towns have country pubs and generally welcome Bibles being placed.

This section of the FW was covered by a team of two couples who were experiencing remote areas for the first time. From Boulia they had to return to Longreach via Winton which was a 362 km journey crossing the magnificent Cawnpore Hills ablaze with colour. A further 180 km took them back to Longreach.

One of the FW team members happened to speak to the chaplain of the school in Aramac who reported that a student was in trouble and had been expelled for the day. Later he told the chaplain that he’d been given a Gideon Bible and he had been reading it, paying particular attention to the red words as he thought they were important! Praise the Lord!

There are so many stories and miracles – GOD is so GOOD as he enables us to fulfil the Great Commission, enjoy wonderful Christian fellowship, travel safely and learn so much about our wonderful remote areas.

It was a great honour for me to be invited to participate on the International Scripture Blitz (ISB) for The Gideons in Zambia. I was delighted to meet up with five members from the USA and also our Team Leader from South Africa. We all arrived at Kabwe in Zambia on Saturday, 1st June. The 4-hour road trip from Lusaka Airport to Kabwe was rather frightening and though it is just 120 km we are thankful to the Lord we were able to arrive and return safely. The roads are hazardous with many trucks and other vehicles competing for road space.

On the first evening we met with the local Gideons and it was apparent to me immediately how important their preliminary work in notifying schools and receptors of Scriptures was for our visit the next week. The local Gideons were well organised. On the first Sunday we divided into our groups for church presentations. The church I attended was a very lively and enthusiastic church and it was such an eye-opener of how African and Zambian people value their faith. It is a big part of their life. In general, we found Zambian people to be a lovely group of people, very polite, honest and of high integrity. Indeed, the faith throughout the country was very impressive and I felt as though I was trying to preach to the converted!

The next day we went with our team to a number of schools. It was amazing to speak in front of up to 1000 students at one time, all attentively listening and each, without exception were very grateful to receive a New Testament. What a contrast to our own land! We also visited places of accommodation, hospitals, hospices, police stations, army bases and universities. Here too, we received a very warm reception and folk were delighted to have the Word of God in their hands or on their premises.

“During the course of the week, we distributed 67,000 Scriptures to this region.”

Zambia has had a time of drought last summer and on the third day as we drove through rural areas we saw field after field of dying corn plants and obviously some people were finding life to be very tough. Nonetheless they could raise a smile and were very happy to receive a copy of God’s Word and a prayer.

During the course of the week, we were encouraged by each other (at our morning prayer sessions) to look out for that one lost sheep, and we each prayed that we would be able to personally witness to one individual to accept the Lord on our visit. My opportunity came the very next day at a hotel when I least expected it – when a young receptionist asked to pray the Prayer of Salvation with us which was such a delight. During the week we distributed 67,000 Scriptures to this region. We thank God for the great opportunity and pray that His Word would not return to Him void. On the final evening, we had a Pastors’ Appreciation Dinner, which was one of the highlights of my week, as we met with local pastors and Gideons and realised that though most had not much in earthly wealth, they were so rich in their faith.

It was just so overwhelming how many young people there are in Zambia. In one classroom there were at least 80 students and not everyone had a chair or a desk. For them to receive a New Testament was life shaping as it would probably be the only book they own. I recall when our car was parked just outside a Catholic school that around 1,000 young girls came out from the church to return to their classroom, and the procession lasted for around 10 minutes.

An important part of ISBs is to form cross cultural bridges with local Gideon members. I am still communicating with my team including three local Gideons who helped for those five days. It was a real honour to know them and to help them and for us to encourage each other in our walk with the Lord. We had so much fun together driving around in a little red Ford, which had two minor breakdowns during the week! May we continue to pray for this lovely land and in its beautiful people and pray that this young generation will continue to honour and serve the Lord and be a springboard to the rest of Africa.

The 2024 Coffs Harbour Scripture Blitz took place in the few days leading up to The Gideons National Convention in September. The planning for this Blitz commenced about three months preceding convention.

Key towns and suburbs covered were those that the Coffs Harbour Camp is typically responsible for and included Macksville, Nambucca, Bellingen, Dorrigo, Sawtell, Toormina, Coffs Harbour, Ebor, Urunga, Grafton, Nymboida and Coutts Crossing.

The team also managed to extend Scripture distributions to towns north of Coffs Harbour to the Queensland border and included the towns of Murwillumbah, Yamba, Tweed River, Cabarita Beach, Chinderah and Moobal. Facilities visited included aged care, hospitals, medical practices, hotels and motels. Substantial numbers of conversations also took place.

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
– Psalm 55:22 (ESV)

We praise the Lord that:

• 1071 Bibles and Testaments were distributed.
• 35 Gideons and Auxiliary volunteered to take part in this Blitz.

Please pray for:

• The placed Bibles, that they will be read and lead to the salvation of those who read them and their loved ones.
• Towns and facilities where we received knock backs to our requests to place Bibles.

On Day 5 of the blitz, as we travelled around Njeru looking for Jamal Education Centre, my team came across Kiryowa Primary School. There were approximately 600 students participating in a school assembly as we arrived unannounced. The students were singing in full voice “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”

This was certainly a great way to finish a very busy week.

On the International Scripture Blitz (ISB) there were nine International Gideons that included the team leader from Italy, six from USA, one from South Africa & me (from Australia). My team consisted of two local Gideons and myself. We were one of the ten teams who took part in the ISB in Jinja and surrounding villages. During the week we visited 290 schools, 21 police/military facilities, 22 hospitals and 1 hotel. The total number of Scriptures distributed was 107,278. During the week there were also 2,498 salvation prayers by students and staff.

“We were warmly welcomed at each place we visited to offer Testaments. School principals, (or head teachers), would stop lessons and allow us to go classroom to classroom or they would call their students out for an assembly.”

In Uganda, 85% of the 50 million people are either Protestant or Roman Catholic. However, Uganda is a poor nation where their average monthly income is less than what most people in Australia earn in a day. Hence the schools often do not have textbooks to assist in their students’ education.

We were warmly welcomed at each place we visited to offer New Testaments. School principals (or head teachers) would stop lessons and allow us to visit classroom to classroom or they would call their students out for an assembly. The students would often applause spontaneously when they were told that we were there to offer them their own little Bible.

We received feedback from Rev Brenda Kito who, as the school chaplain at Neyenga Secondary School, had a Gideon Testament that she received the last time Gideons were in Jinja 15 years ago. As it was the only Bible at the school, it was showing the effects of being well used. She was very pleased to know that all the students at the school would now have their own New Testament. Brenda also really appreciated receiving a new one for herself.

My International Scripture Blitz (ISB) was an incredible and memorable experience. Malaysia is a country with a majority Muslim population and so there are significant challenges in distributing Bibles. Yet God is powerfully at work in this country through the partnership between the local church community and The Gideons.

In April 2024 I left Perth for Kuala Lumpur to meet with our team leader, Walter from Switzerland and four other international team members, Norman from Queensland, Charles from South Africa, David from the USA, and Tsai from Taiwan. We enjoyed rich fellowship as we met each morning and prayed for guidance and the protection of the Holy Spirit before we left to distribute the Word of God each day. We worked with a large group of local Gideons and Auxiliaries who had a passion for the Lord and helped us negotiate the intricacies of culture and place. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 were the theme verses for the Blitz and with a particular emphasis on experiencing a peaceful distribution which was pleasing to God, “…who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

On the first Sunday I gave a church presentation during both an English and Tamil service accompanied by Elijah, a local Gideon, and his wife Sylvia. After I had introduced the Gideons, Elijah delivered a sermon on obedience. Shoes were removed during these services, which was a new but comfortable experience. It struck me how these churches were a beacon of light in a city skyline dominated by mosques. It was inspiring to see a Gideon and Auxiliary couple with a passion for the Lord working together.

“Malaysia is a country with a majority Muslim population and so there are significant challenges in distributing Bibles. Yet God is powerfully at work in this country through the partnership between the local church community and The Gideons.”

I had the privilege to work with many more such committed couples during this trip. One of these was Captain Siva, an airline pilot, and his wife Rani. Captain Siva’s religious background was bound by idolatry and animism. While flying to little towns in remote Borneo he repeatedly came across Bibles placed by the Gideons in hotel rooms. He recalls how he felt the Bibles were following him! He started reading out of curiosity and would continue were he left off in different hotels. Eventually, on the day his first daughter was born, he gave his heart to the Lord. Three weeks later an initially sceptical and surprised Rani followed him. He subsequently joined The Gideons in Malaysia. Many years later he went back to the town where he first read the Bible to speak at a Pastor’s Banquet.

Afterwards he saw an old man weeping at the back of the room. He went and spoke to this man, Eric Thien, who had faithfully placed Bibles in these hotel rooms over the past thirty years. Wrestling with self-doubts, he had asked God if all his work had been in vain, and if God would show him one person who had come to faith because of his work before he died. God had shown him that his work had not been in vain. One-week later Eric went home to the Lord!

During the rest of the week, we visited clinics, hotels, and schools, with enthusiastic local Gideons and Auxiliaries, distributing 28,000 Bibles. I was so encouraged by their faithfulness in such a challenging environment.

The climate was hot and humid, but the fellowship refreshing. School distributions were mostly done from the sidewalk, but we saw so many children gladly receive a Bible in their own language. God indeed blessed us with a peaceful Blitz.

The week concluded with a massive Pastor’s Appreciation Banquet. There were 59 Gideons and 96 pastors present and so many powerful testimonies delivered in person by a pastor, an airline pilot, a young new Gideon, a businessman and others that had all come to know Jesus through a Bible distributed by The Gideons.

What a privilege to have been part of this ISB. May God’s Kingdom continue to grow in this nation.

Being selected to participate in an International Scripture Blitz (ISB) is always a very exciting privilege. This was even more special for me when I was selected to participate in the ISB to Thailand in January this year. In part because this is the country to which I have been assigned as a Regional Field Officer (RFO), to work with the Gideon leadership. So to be able to work alongside some of the national leaders on the ground while also meeting and working with other Gideons and Auxiliary from Thailand in Chiang Mai for a week was a real blessing.

We all gathered in this amazing city in the north of Thailand in preparation for the week ahead. Despite a number of challenges with exams and other issues with the schools, in particular, it was exciting to be part of a team of seven international brothers and local Gideons as we were able to place nearly 88,000 Scriptures into the north of this beautiful country.

As always, there are so many stories of the amazing way that God just intervenes in situations that we would think impossible. Such as a request from our team leader to the principal of a Buddhist seminary which resulted in the team being invited to share in a meal and then ensure every student received their own copy of the Word of God. Or when we had been assured of a distribution at a school and on arrival were told this was not possible. Instead we could give out the Bibles during the lunch period at the school canteen. Somewhat disappointed, we headed down to the canteen. While I was not expecting too much from this endeavour, how wrong was I. ‘Ye of little faith’ springs to mind. During the lunch time we were able to place over 900 New Testaments into the hands of those students happy to take one. Even more exciting was to witness one young lad spend over 30 minutes sitting reading his New Testament, give his life to the Lord and then start sharing his new faith with his fellow students.

“Even more exciting was to witness one young lad spend over 30 minutes sitting reading his New Testament, give his life to the Lord and then start sharing his new faith with his fellow students.”

We then travelled way out into the ‘boon docks’ to a very small, isolated school which resulted in just 19 copies of God’s Word being placed. However, one of the local Gideons shared the plan of salvation with two young boys and both of them gave their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Was that long drive out to a place that the local Gideons would not have normally been able to cover a waste of time – absolutely not!! What an awesome God we serve!