NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Long before cable TV, spa treatments and eco-friendly soaps and shampoos became staples in hotel rooms, there was the Gideon bible.

And the book with the familiar two-handled pitcher and torch on its cover that guests find inside hotel nightstands doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Gideons International is celebrating its 100th anniversary of distributing bibles, and has begun efforts to hand out more in the U.S. to boost a distribution rate that's remained relatively flat in recent years.

Last year, nearly 76.9 million Gideon bibles were given out in nearly 85 languages in 187 countries. Close to 1.5 billion have been distributed since 1908, when the Gideons first began to place bibles in hotel rooms.

Since then, the nondenominational evangelical group run by businessmen has spread its tremendous reach, also giving out free bibles at hospitals, schools, prisons and in the military.

"This is not a church-sponsored, clergy-led effort," said Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella group for evangelical churches and organizations. "It's individuals that go around and distribute bibles. It's an astonishing accomplishment.

"What it's done is actually changed our culture. People expect there to be a bible in a hotel room. There's hardly anything that's parallel to it."

The admittedly media-shy Gideons rarely seek outside attention, but leaders agreed to an interview with the Associated Press at the group's Nashville headquarters to mark the anniversary.

"We've never been an association that necessarily dwelt on the past," said executive director Jerry Burden. "We always work in the present and look to the future. We're a very low-profile organization. That's been our underlining philosophy. For us, we look to be around another 100 years."

Because the Gideons were founded by Christian traveling salesmen who spent a lot of time away from home, the group sought to put bibles in hotel rooms for themselves and others.

Around 1916, the group started distributing bibles in hospitals, then to the military, public schools, prisons and colleges and universities.

The Gideons have about 176,000 members, plus their wives, who distribute scripture around the world, and their numbers have remained steady over the years. The group only allows evangelical business and professional men to hand out scripture to its targeted groups, although the Gideons allow their wives to hand out bibles in healthcare settings and women's prisons.

Elliott Osowitt, 59, pastor at Faith Fellowship in Jefferson, N.C., said that when he used to work in the tourism industry, the life he led "involved loose living and immorality." His wife eventually kicked him out of the house, on Christmas Eve in 1996.

His daughter was also sent to prison during that time, and Osowitt felt he'd failed as a father and husband. He was going to shoot himself in a motel room that night, but saw a Gideon bible lying on a television, he said.

"When I looked at it, I thought who needs that and threw it on the floor. It fell on the floor and it still stayed open, like it was beckoning me," Osowitt said. "It really made me mad, so I kicked it, but it hit this wooden box frame under the bed and popped back on the floor."

He picked it up and was about to throw it, but he looked down and saw a passage from the gospel of John.

"It caused me to stop. It caused me to cry. When I read it was Jesus, I had a hard time with it," said Osowitt, who converted from Judaism and became a Southern Baptist minister.

"It literally began a process of healing that eventually led to the reconciliation with my entire family. I just thank God for saving me, and the Gideons for being so faithful."

Steve Smith, director of communications and development for the Gideons, said the group has thousands of similar testimonies on record.

"I think there's an untold number of people that have had their lives changed as a result of reading the Gideon bible or New Testament," Smith said. "We've been blessed to learn the details of many of those and are confident there are still many more we have not yet learned about."

"We don't keep a running number 'cause it's impossible."

While worldwide Gideon scripture distributions increased by a third from 2004 through 2007, U.S. distributions have averaged about 10.5 million annually for the past few years. Gideons want to try to increase that to 12 million by the end of their fiscal year in May.

Burden said that as part of the initiative, the group is trying to reach more college-age students.

"In many cases, a lot of our local (member) groups are just not aware of the colleges they have in their area," Burden said. "They recognize the major schools, a university or college, but they don't think about the business schools, the technical schools and others available to them. There's a significant amount of students there."

Burden added that in some areas of distribution, such as public schools, the Gideons are being limited. Several school districts throughout the U.S. have been sued or threatened with legal action by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, which argue that distribution of bibles at schools is an endorsement of religion.

Burden said the Gideons now hand out bibles on sidewalks off school grounds.

Jeremy Gunn, director of the ACLU's program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, said the ACLU doesn't specifically challenge Gideon distribution. He said the ACLU would take issue with any organization being given what's perceived to be privileged access to children on public school grounds.

The majority of Gideon bibles — about 60 percent — are given to students, a demographic seen as a source for future growth.

Even the place where the Gideon movement got its start is changing. An increasing number of hotels are offering religious texts besides the Gideon bible to appeal to visitors from a variety of backgrounds.

The Gideons have made some other adjustments to accommodate the hotel industry, which has become more environmentally conscious. For example, this year the Gideons started using bibles made of 30 percent recycled paper for hotel rooms.

"We think it's beneficial to the environment. We need to be conscious of that. And then, secondarily, if the hotel industry is going that way, it helps with our relationship with them," Burden said. "We're fine with that. We're just going to continue to do what we do."