For nearly 200 years, Chicago Bible Society has put Scripture into the hands of people who need it: inmates at Cook County Jail, patients in hospital beds, students in city schools, and neighborhoods across Chicagoland with no church or bookstore nearby to hand them one.

About the Gutenberg Award

Johannes Gutenberg’s movable-type press printed the first Bible in 1450, putting Scripture into more hands than any technology before it. Chicago Bible Society named this award for that legacy. Since 1952, we’ve presented it to leaders who championed the Bible in public life, among them are famous leaders of faith like Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Billy Graham, and Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

This year, we honor Alex Jones, Founder and CEO of Hallow, and Reverend Jon Dennis, senior pastor of Holy Trinity Church Chicago, for the same work: bringing Scripture into daily life in this city and beyond.

Our Mission

Every week, men and women incarcerated at Cook County Jail gather for Project Philip to study Scripture and support each other into a fresh start.

Family Connection and Care, our newest program, grew out of a simple request from those men and women: look after our families while we're gone. What started as informal check-ins from our chaplains has grown into a structured program, already helping close to 200 families meet basic needs and connect with a local church, and reaching more each month.

Why This Event Matters

When we gather to celebrate the Gutenberg Awards, we celebrate more than legacy—we celebrate the living Word of God. Scripture teaches us that community includes the burdened, the overlooked, and the incarcerated. At the Chicago Bible Society, we take the Bible seriously—and that means extending its hope and truth to “the least of these.”

Our programs offer more than access to Scripture—they create spaces of belonging, healing, and transformation. Your support funds Project Philip, Family Connection and Care, and the rest of the work of the Chicago Bible Society.

Gutenberg Award Luncheon 2026