Over 120 years ago, God raised up a group of Christian businessmen into a men’s ministry with a specific purpose – to hold each other accountable for the way they lived and worked in a culture in which the temptations to immorality were abundant and formidable. The mission he gave them was to work alongside the local churches they serve to introduce people in all walks of life to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through their own personal testimonies and through distributing free copies of God’s Word. Those objectives are as relevant today as they were when these men organized.
This morning we will hear a stewardship report from The Gideons International on how God has developed this group into the most effective, most comprehensive, and most integrated Bible distribution network the world has ever known. Nearly 2.5 billion times in some 200 countries, territories, and possessions of the world Scriptures have been placed into the hands of an individual, or into a room where people will have occasions to encounter it under the direction of the Holy Spirit.