For the first years of his life, Oliver Wittenmyer was more interested in being successful in business than in spiritual matters. At age 16 he began to learn the machinist's trade and continued in this field for nine years. But his heart was not in it. When he read an advertisement about building battery-powered radios, he sent for the instructions and component parts to build one. That went well, so he sent for two more and sold them. He continued to do this in the evenings and found ready customers. After a while he determined he could earn a living in this way and was able to quit the machine shop. He learned all he could about radios in general and in 1925 he enclosed the front porch of his home for a showroom and went into business as Sanatoga Radio Company. He no longer had to build radios but bought and sold ready made electric ones. The market was good and he expanded the business to include electric refrigerators, stoves and washing machines. Oliver liked being in business for himself and it was easy to devote all his energy to increased sales and happy customers. The business he began is now in its 78th year.
In the fall of 1938 he had an experience that proved to be a life-changing one. He had a boating accident in Canada while deer hunting and nearly drowned. This gave a new perspective to life, and he realized there were more important things than being successful in business. In 1940 Oliver's wife became a Christian and she urged him to go to church with her and the children. Shortly thereafter he gave his life to the Lord and gradually wanted to share his own experience with others. He joined the local Christian Business Men's Committee and heard other businessmen tell of their experiences in witnessing. Distributing gospel literature became a part of his life.
During a trip to South Carolina in 1952 he met an advertising specialties salesman. Among his samples was a small booklet of Bible verses. Oliver liked it immediately and ordered 2,000 with and had this message printed on the back cover: "You may not preach or teach, but you can point others to Christ as you pray and give out little Bibles. For extra copies write, Box 1, Sanatoga, PA". He wanted others to experience the same joy he found in distributing portions of the Word of God.
Orders started coming in from enthusiastic users as well as from those who had received the booklets. Some gave suggestions of other Scripture verses that should be included. Oliver sought the mind of the Lord as to what verses should be used and in what sequence to clearly explain the way of salvation. A new selection of verses were chosen along with the title, "Personal Bible - Verses Of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation". Arrangements were made with a local printer. Demand increased steadily and enthusiasm continued to build. In time, other titles and verses were selected for additional booklets. "Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled" is one such title.
Since the little Bibles are made up only of Scripture verses, people seem to reference them, and they are seldom thrown away. But even if discarded, they often continue to bear witness to others as is evident in the newspaper article entitled, "Biblical Nest Shakes Her Up."
Oliver Wittenmyer died in 1994, but the Little Bible Ministry goes on.