Charles Sheldon

Charles Sheldon (1857–1946) received his education at Brown University and Andover Theological Seminary before he founded Central Congregational Church in Topeka, Kansas, in 1889. He wrote stories that he often read to his congregation. In 1896, he published his fictional work In His Steps. The book introduced the world to the phrase "What would Jesus do?" and was an instant success. For sixty years it remained the highest-selling book in the United States after the Bible, with sales estimated at more than thirty million copies worldwide.