Greg Bowers spoke Tuesday to Marion Kiwanis about Gideons International, of which he is a member.

The organization is best known for placing Bibles in hotel rooms, but it also places them in hospitals, nursing homes, physicians’ offices, and distributes them at schools, colleges, jails, and to military, emergency response, and police personnel.

The Gideons have a presence in more than 190 countries and distribute Bibles in more than 90 languages. Gideons distribute about 83 million Bibles every year.

Because of the success of the Gideons’ work, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and at least one branch of Hinduism are mimicking the Gideons’ methods to distribute their scriptures, Bowers said.

The main sources of money Gideons’ use to pay for Bibles come from members, churches, and estate bequests. Gideons International is limited to men, but there is an auxiliary organization for women.

Kiwanis will serve dinner at the March 21 meeting of Circles of Hope. The club’s next board meeting will be April 1, and it will celebrate its 90th anniversary with a banquet April 18.

There were 22 members at the meeting Tuesday.