The Scripture Press Story
I f you were to ask Victor Cory what was the strong point of the old uniform Sunday school lesson leaflets he’d have an answer without a moment’s hesitation. 1 “ The kids just loved them for making soldier’s hats and spitballs.” And he’d mean it. If you were to ask him what is the strong point of Scripture Press departmentalized lessons he’d also have an answer without a mo ment’s hesitation. “ Scripture Press lessons are all- Bible and presented in such a prac tical and attractive way everyone loves to study them.” Obviously no youngster would take these glittering literary goodies and turn them into anything as commonplace as soldiers’ hats or spitballs. Victor Cory is founder and pres ident of Scripture Press. Cory’s claims may seem boldly extravagant. To him they are not. And he seems to have some fairly solid statistics on his side. Since launching out in 1934 on the prem ise that the uniform lessons were dull and lacked real Bible orienta tion, Scripture Press has boomed to the top non-denominational pub lisher of Sunday school materials. Today Scripture Press is serving 59 denominations and other Pro testant groups. Latest figures show that more than 2% million chil dren and adults study Scripture Pi*ess lessons. And in anyone’s lan
the millionaire who befriended the late Death Valley Scotty and built Scotty’s f a b u l o u s desert castle. W h e n e v e r S c o t t y grandeously bragged about his secret gold mine his close friends knew he meant A. M. Johnson. The castle now be longs to the Gospel Foundation of California.) The Johnson’s had been led to the Lord by the mighty ministry of Paul Rader and Mrs. Johnson seemed to have some of Rader’s ability to put the gospel across. Having been a sorority girl herself she knew the pull the world had on young people. Sunday after Sun day she’d hammer away with the gospel. Bernice recalls the verse that finally convicted her was Mat thew 6:24: “ No man can serve two masters . . . ye cannot serve God and mammon.” O n e d a y M r s . Johnson asked, “ Bernice, does God say we must not serve God and mammon, or that we cannot?” Bernice looked pained. “ It says we cannot .” And for days afterwards that verse haunted Bernice Tucker. At the same time Bernice’s aunt Jennie (sister-in-law to Paul Ra der) was out to win the now con victed coed to Christ. Aunt Jennie planned a valentine party to which Bernice and Victor were invited. After the party Aunt Jennie got the young folks to talking about what the Bible says about hearts. Says Bernice: “ I can see us yet grouped around that table. Scrip-
guage that’s a success story of size able proportions. The proportions of this success story take on added meaning in the light of Cory’s background. He earned his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Case School of Applied Science (Michigan) and then went on for additional work at Heidelberg University (Ohio). At Heidelberg Cory took on an extra-curricular job as manager of the college, paper. But engineering was his vocation and from college he went first with American Tele phone and Telegraph and then with Commonwealth Edison in Chicago. In 1920 Victor met and fell in love with a Bernice (rhymes with furnace) T u c k e r , a v i v a c i o u s young coed from the University of Chicago. Bernice was majoring in English with minors in history, psychology and philosophy. Neither of the young lovers took religion very seriously. Both be lieved that leading a respectable life was all that was necessary as far as a person’s relationship to God was concerned. Both attended church and Sunday school, how ever, and Bernice’s teacher was concerned about this brilliant coed who spouted psychological and phil osophical phrases so glibly. The Sunday school teacher was Mrs. A. M. Johnson, wife of the president of the National Life In surance Company. (Johnson was
10
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker