After 114 yrs., Pocket Testament League still spreading Gospels of John

AS PRESIDENT of the Pocket Testament League, a 114-year-old organization providing Gospels of John to its members at no cost, I am amazed at the power of God's word to transform lives in any generation. I'm also impressed at how one person, choosing to share his faith with others, can continue to make a difference for many years.

Such was the case of John Wanamaker, the great department-store pioneer and lifelong resident of Philadelphia. Wanamaker, born in 1838, was a deeply religious man whose business strategies were ahead of his time. His innovations included one price for a product, as opposed to bargaining, and a full-return policy.

He also printed the first copyrighted store advertisement and provided his employees with free medical care and profit-sharing plans before these benefits were common.

Around the turn of the century, Wanamaker and a group of Philadelphia businessmen and ministers invested time and money in a three-month outreach event hosted by evangelist Charles Alexander.

Approximately 375,000 people attended the meetings, and 7,000 publicly committed to trust in Christ. The mission experience spurred many local revivals across the United States and was called the chief religious event of the day.

A few years later, Alexander officially organized the Pocket Testament League in Philadelphia, and John Wanamaker joined. Its purpose was to provide Scripture to people so they could read it, carry it with them and give it away to people they met in the normal routine of life. The League grew so popular that by World War II, there were eight million members. In fact, the whole student body of the Philadelphia College of the Bible joined in 1941.

There are many wonderful stories about the League's impact, including that of Capt. Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese naval officer who led the attack on Pearl Harbor. Later, he read a Pocket Gospel and asked Christ to be his savior. Eventually, he went to work for the League.

Some of the best stories, however, are those close to home. Today, more than 18,000 members carry on the legacy of John Wanamaker in Philadelphia. Each day, they read, carry and share the word of God at the supermarket, the post office, in soup kitchens, in prisons, on trains and at work and school.

One Philadelphia member works in an inner-city clinic. Her patients are often looking for hope, so she gives them a Pocket Gospel. Another member is the chaplain at the local racetrack. He is able to share the English and Spanish Gospels with workers at the track. One member works in a local soup kitchen where she noticed a homeless woman reading a Pocket Gospel she had given another homeless woman the day before. The Gospel had made its way into someone else's hands.

Personal faith is a very private matter as God deals with each heart individually, but Christians are supposed to share their faith with others every day. Jesus' command in the Bible is clear: We are to go into all the world and share the Gospel. This is not a popular concept in our culture. Unfortunately, some well-meaning Christians have beaten poor souls over the head instead of building relationships and allowing God's word to point the way.

I am convinced that when we place a Gospel of John into someone's hands, he has everything needed to understand God's love and make a decision concerning God's plan for his life. He can choose to read it or not, but God has promised to speak through his Word.

Everyone has empty pockets. Have you ever considered dedicating one of those pockets to God and impacting history in a life-changing, eternal way? *

Editor's note: Visit the Pocket Testament League at www.pocketpower.org to find out how you can get free Gospels to give away.

Each Saturday the Daily News offers men and women of faith the opportunity to share their words of life and comfort with our readers.

If you are a minister, a priest, a rabbi, or the head of another religious organization and would like to submit a faith-based column, contact Lorenzo Biggs at 215-854-5816, or by e-mail at biggsl@phillynews.com.