c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ In a way, you could say Bill Heiland has shared his faith with millions around the world during the past decade. But he’s neither an evangelist nor a pastor _ he runs what he calls”God’s cookie business.” Heiland is the founder of Evangelistic Foods and the creator of Scripture Cookies, a fortune cookie with a Christian twist. Instead of a Chinese proverb, Heiland’s cookies contain one of 420 different Bible verses.

Since starting the Minneapolis-based cottage industry in October 1987, Heiland _ with the help of his wife and 14-year-old son _ has sold more than 5 million Scripture Cookies nationwide; he’s even shipped cookies as far away as Asia.”An Indonesian guy was getting married, and for the wedding he ordered 5,000 cookies,”Heiland said with a chuckle.”I said, `That sounds like one big wedding.'” Scripture Cookies are also a big hit at church retreats.”They’re used as icebreakers for people to open up and share about the verse or pray about the verse,”said Heiland, who describes himself as a charismatic Roman Catholic.

Folks have ordered them for baptisms and confirmations; have served them with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners; and some have even doled them out to Halloween trick-or-treaters because the cookies come individually wrapped.

And each year, Scripture Cookies are served at the Lutheran Church-sponsored pagoda selling Chinese food at the Minnesota State Fair, Heiland said.

But mostly Scripture Cookies are found in Christian bookstores, usually perched near a cash register, where they sell for 25 cents each.

The cookies are made by a fortune-cookie manufacturer but Heiland supplies the Scripture inserts, which are printed on large sheets that need to be cut, sorted and stacked so they can be fed into the machine that stuffs the cookies. A pool of about 15 aging nuns from a Benedictine priory in St. Paul have volunteered to help handle the small slips of paper.”Be self-controlled and alert (1 Peter 5:8)”;”Wait on the Lord (Psalm 27:14)”; and”A cheerful heart is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22)”are some examples of the divine directives encased in the cookies.

Heiland says when it comes to his sweet endeavors he’s more concerned about his Christian witness than his profit margin.”I try to run my business as a Christian,”he said.”So I give people a full refund, including shipping, if they are unhappy … for any reason. … And they don’t have to return the product since the money’s not an issue for us.” Heiland has other sugary ideas about how to spread the gospel. He’s also developed Sweet Words Lollipops, which sell for 15 cents each. The pops come in five different flavors and have one of 100 different Bible verses especially for children on the stick.”But they don’t have the same surprise element as the cookie,”he said.

Also in the works are plans for a low-priced after-dinner mint with a Bible verse printed on the inside wrapper. Heiland says he focuses on cheap sweets because he’s more interested in spreading the word of God than making a buck from the venture.”There’s a lot of other things I could be doing that are more financially rewarding. But I like this,”said Heiland, who is also a self-employed statistical analyst.

Meting out the godly goodies is his personal, preferred method of evangelizing, says Heiland, who has given his cookies to cab drivers and flight attendants.”I’m not good about talking to someone and asking them if they are saved,”he said.”But I can hand them a cookie.”

Eds: Evangelistic Foods, P.O. Box 16410, Minneapolis, Minn., 55416 or call 800-743-0142.)

DEA END PAQUETTE