REAL PEOPLE. REAL STORIES.

Charles Sheldon

(1857-1946)

As pastor of the newly established Central Congregational Church in Topeka, the Reverend Charles Monroe Sheldon devised a novel approach designed to attract students to attend the regular Sunday evening service. Instead of delivering the usual sermon, Sheldon read sermon stories in installments. The subjects were of a moralistic nature and each chapter ended on a note of suspense, designed to bring his listeners back the following Sunday evening.

In the fall of 1896, Reverend Sheldon introduced his latest sermon story entitled In His Steps or What Jesus Would Do. It was the story of a tragic incident in a fashionable church which caused its pastor to recruit a little group each of whom pledged to live his daily life for one year as thought Jesus would. Response to the sermon by students was enthusiastic. A weekly religious magazine from Chicago published the stories in weekly installments. Response from the readers was such that soon it was out in book form. Sales were spectacular. Some 20 other publishers discovered the story as it appeared serially and they too offered it in book form, without compensation to Sheldon since the stories were never copyrighted.

Now In His Steps is being offered by as many as 12 different publishers whose sales have been estimated from $10 to $30 million dollars for the book that Sheldon originally sold for 75 cents.