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Literature Evangelism

A student at Jacksonville University in Florida was given a tract. The studentcrumpled the pamphlet up and tossed it into a trash bin in his dorm. Later, hisdorm mate picked it out of the trash, read it, and was soundly saved. He isnow a pastor of a church in Florida.

A Christian I met in a home group said his job was raking litter off the AvonRiver. It was dull, boring work and he often wondered what life was all about.One day he raked a soggy piece of paper off the water and decided it wasinteresting enough to keep, so he carefully placed it in his bag and took ithome. That evening he dried the paper in front of a heater and carefullyunfolded it, then he read it . . . it was a gospel tract. He became a Christian

that evening. Richard Gunther

Nothing surpasses a tract for sowing the seed of the Good News. BillyGraham

Gospel tracts how to use them

If Paul meant by allmeans, he no doubt would have used gospel tracts as ameans to reach the lost. A Christian book relates the true story of a diver whosaw a piece of paper clutched in the shell of an oyster. The man grabbed it,found that it was a gospel tract and said, I cant hold out any longer. Hismercy is so great that He has caused His Word to follow me even to thebottom of the ocean. God used a tract to save the man.

Why should a Christian use tracts? Simply because God uses them. Heused a tract to save the great missionary Hudson Taylor, as well asinnumerable others. That fact alone should be enough incentive for aChristian to always use tracts to reach the lost, but there are even morereasons why we should use them. Here are a few:

Tracts can provide an opening for us to share our faith. We can watchpeoples reaction as we give them a tract, and see if they are open tolistening to spiritual things.

They can do the witnessing for us. If we are too timid to speak tosomeone about the things of God, we can at least give them a tract, orleave it lying around so that someone will pick it up.

They speak to the individuals when they are readythey dont read ituntil they want to.

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They can find their way into peoples homes when we cant. They dont get into arguments; they just state their case.

Dr. Oswald J. Smith said, The only way to carry out the Great

Commission will be by the means of the printed page. Charles Spurgeonstated, When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have atract ready . . . Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospeltract may be the seed of eternal life. Therefore, do not go out without yourtracts.

If you want people to accept your literature, try to greet them before offeringthem a tract. Ifyou can get them to respond to a warm Good morning, orHow are you doing? that will almost always break the ice and they will take

it. After the greeting, dont ask, Would you like this? They will probablyrespond, What is it? Instead, say, Did you get one of these? That questionhas a twofold effect. You stir their curiosity and make them ask, One of

what? Thats when you hand it to them. It also makes them feel as thoughthey are missing out on something. So they are.

Perhaps you almost pass out at the thought of passing out a tract. Dontworry; you are not alone. We all battle fear. The answer to fear is found in theprayer closet. Ask God to give you a compassion that will swallow your fears.Meditate on the fate of the ungodly. Give hell some deep thought. Confront

what it is that makes you fearful.

Do you like roller coasters? Some Christians want to try bungee-jumping orsky diving. Isnt it strange? We are prepared to risk our lives for the love offearand yet we are willing to let a sinner go to hell for fear of giving out atract. Ask yourself how many piles of bloodied stones you can find whereChristians have been stoned to death for preaching the gospel. How muchsinged soil can you find where they have been burned at the stake? Part of ourfear is a fear of rejection. We are fearful of looking foolish. Thats a subtle

form of pride. The other part of our battle with fear comes directly from theenemy. He knows that fear paralyzes. We must resist the devil and his lies.If God is with us, nothing can be against us.

Never underestimate the power of a gospel tract. After George Whitefieldread one called THE LIFE OF GOD IN THE SOUL OF A MAN, he said, Godshowed me I must be born again or be damned.He went on to pray, Lord,if I am not a Christian, or if I am not a real one, for Jesus Christs sakeshow me what Christianity is, that I may not be damned at last! Then hisjournal tells us from that moment . . . did I know that I must become a new

creature.

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If you have never given out tracts, why not begin today? Leave them in ashopping cart, or put them in the mail when you pay bills. Then each night asyou shut your eyes to go to sleep, you will have something very special to prayaboutthat God will use the tract you put somewhere. You

will also have a deep sense of satisfaction that you played a small part incarrying out the Great Commission to reach this dying world with the gospelof everlasting life. Dont waste your life. Do something for the kingdom ofGod while you are able to. Always remember: treat every day asthough it were your lastone day you will be right.

Charles Spurgeon on Tracts

I well remember distributing them in a town in England where tracts hadnever been distributed before, and going from house to house, and telling inhumble language the things of the kingdom of God. I might have donenothing, if I had not been encouraged by finding myself able to dosomething... [Tracts are] adapted to those persons who have but little powerand little ability, but nevertheless, wish to do something for Christ. They havenot the tongue of the eloquent, but they may have the hand of the diligent.

They cannot stand and preach, but they can stand and distribute here andthere these silent preachers . . . They may buy their thousand tracts, and thesethey can distribute broadcast.

I look upon the giving away of a religious tract as only the first step foraction not to be compared with many another deed done for Christ; but wereit not for the first step we might never reach to the second, but that firstattained, we are encouraged to take another, and so at the last . . . Thereis a real service of Christ in the distribution of the gospel in its printed form, aservice the result of which heaven alone shall disclose, and the judgment dayalone discover. How many thousands have been carried to heaveninstrumentally upon the wings of these tracts, none can tell.

I might say, if it were right to quote such a Scripture, The leaves were for thehealing of the nationsverily they are so. Scattered where the whole treecould scarcely be carried, the very leaves have had a medicinal and a healing

virtue in them and the real word of truth, the simple statement of a Saviorcrucified and of a sinner who shall be saved by simply trusting in the Savior,has been greatly blessed, and many thousand souls have been led into thekingdom of heaven by this simple means. Let each one of us, if we have donenothing for Christ, begin to do something now. The distribution of tracts isthe first thing.

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Where to leave tracts:

At pay phones In shopping carts In clothes pockets in stores In letters to loved ones With a generous tip On seats in restaurant lobbies With fast-food employees, cashiers, flight attendants, cab drivers, and

gas station workers

In restrooms At rest areas On ATM machines and bank counters In envelopes with bill payments In elevators On hotel dressers for the maid

On ice machines On newspaper racks In waiting rooms of doctors offices and hospitals On seats at airports, subways, and bus stations In plane seat pockets Inside magazines In cabs In laundromats

Extracted from THE EVIDENCE BIBLE(Commented by RAYCOMFORT)