Using Gospel tracts is somewhat controversial these days. Some post-modern Christians believe that they are no longer effective for reaching people with the gospel. Some are even offended that a Christian would consider using tracts to communicate the gospel.
What I have learned is that they don’t speak out of experience and usually ignore the statistics. Gospel tracts are effective if… 1) You use the right tract. 2) You use the right tract in the right way.
I use tracts constantly in my street evangelism ministry. I have even had people that come to me and ask for my latest tract. I try to make sure that the tracts I use are well written. I want them to be thought provoking and at times novel.
Some of the best ones I have used come from http://www.livingwaters.com/ produced by Ray Comfort. I like their Giant $100 dollar bill tract – especially for witnessing in the hood. I walk up to a drug dealer or gang member and say, “Hey, let me lay a Benjamin on you man.” I use several other tracts from them as well. I also like their 10 commandments coins.
I have also found that the old standby tracts are sill effective. One such tract, available from the North American Mission Board, is the old Eternal Life tract. It was originally designed to go with their CWT evangelism training program but is still effective today.
When it comes to mass distribution of tracts at a special event, called tracking, I would recommend you write your own tracts and print them on a laser printer or copier. That way, if you have a high rate of throwaways, you have not invested as much money.
When distributing tracts, I usually look the person in the eye and say something like, “Can I give you a little book of wisdom that will tell you how much God loves you?” Another way of doing it would be to say, “Here is a little book that will tell you how to get heaven from ________ (Insert the name of the city you are in.)”
I always use tracts as an opening to a gospel sharing conversation. I make sure I put the tract in the persons hand first, and then ask an exploratory question to determine where the person is in their spiritual journey. After the conversation is over, I ask them to read the tract as a follow up to our conversation.
Before using tracts, always pray for each person who receives a tract before you give them away. Pray that their spiritual eyes would be open and that God would use it to touch their heart. Also pray that other people in their household would read the tract once they take it home.
Here are some great articles available from the American Tract Society that will help you be more effective in using tracts...
4 comments:
Excellent ideas! I agree that Ray Comfort's tracts are great, as is much that his ministry produces. I created a little tract that my husband and I give to our server whenever we go out to eat. We leave it with their tip and since we tend to frequent the same restaurants, we have developed some wonderful friendships with our servers by doing this. They come to us for prayer and while we have yet to lead one to the Lord, we are planting seeds that someone else can water. God bless you!
Dee
thanks Dee for the comment. I like the resturant tract idea.
There is a shortage of good tracts over here in Britian. I like Ray Comfort's tracks but they would need to be converted from American $ to £ sterling(!) to be useful over here. lol
Neil, Ray did have an Euro tract for a while which might be a little more familiar to your audience. Living Waters just came out with the Obama millions here. People in GB might like those for their historic value. You could always write your own. I have done that myself. I have written trivia tracts that line up with holidays such as Christmas and New Years.
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