GIDEONS INTERNATIONAL

organization of Christian business and professional laymen that places copies of the Bible in hotel rooms, hospitals, penal institutions, and schools. Organized by three travelling men in Janesville, Wis., July 1, 1899, the association began placing Bibles in November 1908. During World War II the Gideons supplied the U.S. armed forces with service Testaments. The work is supported through freewill offerings. Their emblem is a two-handled pitcher and torch, in memory of Gideon's victory over the Midianites (Judg. 7).