You may have encountered some men on campus handing out Bibles. Those are the Gideons.

This organization of Christian men, founded in 1899, who are responsible for the Bibles that are placed in hotel rooms, came to Oakland University to distribute the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs to interested students.

The Gideons are “dedicated to saving the lost through personal witnessing and the distribution of God’s Word,” according to their international website.

Clarence Vos, a retired engineer and a member of the Gideons for several years, further explained the mission of the organization.

“The main reason we want to get out the Bibles is to present the Gospel, which explains why God sent his son Jesus on this earth over 2,000 years ago and why Jesus came, and we want people to know the good news that Jesus saves,” Vos said.

Vos was one of several Gideons who distributed the Bibles on campus.

The Bibles are distributed not only on college campuses and hotels, but also hospitals and jail cells in more than 196 countries. While the Gideons have the legal right to be on the college campuses, they first get permission from the college or university before they distribute their Bibles.

“For most of the schools and colleges and universities, we don’t have a problem getting on the campus,” Vos said.

Vos said that the Gideons receive numerous letters every day at their international office describing how the Bibles have helped people who read them.

“We’ve heard about some that were going to commit suicide and read the Bible and got their lives changed,” Vos said. “There were a lot of stories where people got their lives completely turned around because of reading the Bible.”

The Bibles the Gideons give out have a special section at the beginning describing the the organization’s mission, and also provide specific verses that people can look at for help for specific problems one may face on a daily basis.

While some students at other universities simply walk by the Gideons as if they didn’t hear them, Vos stated that he was very happy with the reception the Gideons received at Oakland.

“I was impressed with the students at Oakland University that they were very friendly and very receptive and just thanked us for being there,” Vos said. “I really enjoyed being on campus and the other Gideons have had the same reaction.”

You can learn more about the Gideons and their mission at their international website www.gideons.org