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Bibles in hotel rooms are in high demand.  Guests usually look first for a TV program guide and then for a Bible. 

Johannes Wendel, executive director of the German Gideon Federation, told the evangelical news agency “idea” in Wetzlar, Germany, that a bible in a hotel room has an average life span of eight to ten years.  By that time it is usually worn out or stolen. 

 “We have mixed feelings about that,” said Wendel.  “On the one hand we regret that the next guest will go without the word of God, on the other hand it is a sign that someone had a special interest in the Bible.” 

 The Gideons – named after a judge in the Old Testament – are best known for placing Bibles in hotel rooms.  But they also hand out Scriptures to individuals in hospitals, prisons, schools and military institutions. 

 The Gideons, founded in 1899, are Christian volunteers engaged in distributing the Bible with the aim of winning others for Christ.  The association with international headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, is represented in more than 180 countries.  

Last year the Gideons handed out more than 70 million Scriptures worldwide, five million more than in 2005. 

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Other articles by Wolfgang Polzer: Three Evangelicals Murdered in Turkey

Islam is Taking a Grip on Europe and Persecution is coming to the West

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Wolfgang Polzer (56), is senior news editor of the Evangelical News Agency  (idea)  Wetzlar (Germany), which he joined in 1981. In all, he has spent 30 years in Christian media.

Tel: +49-6441-915102, Fax: +49-6441-915118
E-Mail: Wolfgang.Polzer@idea.de  - Internet: www.idea.de
Postal address: idea, PO Box 1820, 35528 Wetzlar, Germany

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