Photo courtesy of Romanticando.

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Do you remember when the Gospel was preached in public schools?

Reading this scripture had me thinking about my childhood. When I was in the fifth grade (many, many decades ago!) the Gideons Bible group sent permission slips home to our parents, asking if they could give each student a new Bible when they came to visit the school. I recall my mother telling me that I didn’t really need a new Bible since we were Jehovah’s Witnesses and we already had our own Bible (The New World Translation).

Anyway, I recall one of my Bible-receiving classmates taunting a non-Bible-receiving classmate – asking why he refused the new Bible. The Bible-receiving classmate had said, “Why didn’t you get a Bible? Do you love the devil?”

The non-Bible-receiving classmate mumbled that he already had a Bible. I also recall that the teachers had separated us non-Bible receivers into another room while the rest of the students were gifted with their Bibles. We returned to the classrooms later, amidst students flipping through scriptures, enjoying their new gifts. The teachers had received the full Bible, both Old and New Testaments, the students received a smaller Bible containing just the New Testament.

Anyway, my whole point to this blog post is that times have changed. I can’t imagine the Gideons visiting a public school nowadays, gifting each student with a new Bible. I’d imagine it would make the school explode with shock, as well as some possible lawsuits, if such an event happened today?

Do you remember a time when Christianity and faith were discussed in public schools? Do you remember when the Gospel was shared in the classroom? Please share your thoughts…