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Is Tract Evangelism Effective?


bropro

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The tract by Campus Crusade called The Holy Spirit booklet really showed me that there was something wrong with my Christianity.  Not only was I back slidden, but I had never been established in my faith.  So I was a church goer.  It brought me to the "action group" that discipled me and re established me in the faith, encouraging me to walk in the Spirit as we studied the series "10 Basic Steps".   

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@bropro (And Others!) "Do Gospel Tracts Really Work?"

Yes, they absolutely "work." :)
Without thinking at all as a lost man, I would damn God with some regularity. Still recalling the first Christian tract I stumbled onto as a heathen in laundromat billboard years ago. The outside of it said "God's Last Name Is Not" and upon opening the inside said "Damn." On the back, it mentioned a verse on God's judgement and said "Your Judgment Is Coming Soon!" Kinda got my attention. Later a Baptist slipped a few Chick Tracts into my hand that I read. Not much further down the road, I read the Bible cover to cover for the first time. Upon finishing it, I knew it to be no normal Book, and went on to repent of my sins and believed in Jesus Christ who bore them on the cross for me.

For those who share the seed of God's Word in this fashion, start your day by prayerfully asking God to use them to His Glory.

Some brief thoughts on tracts:
Check their content and make sure they are Biblical and have a solid Gospel message.
Know your crowd, some are "adult" in content. Others, one could give to any, young or old alike.
Some Christians doubt there effectiveness. I've occasionally had some Christians and Non-Christians fuss at me passing them out. I just politely ignore them.
Folks who reject them? That's OK, pray for them and move along!

Last week, I suppose I passed out about 50 or more Christian tracts to adults or children going about their day as I passed by. I'll generally always use them for follow up after speaking to people about Christ.
With a fair amount of the Hispanic community about our area, Spanish tracts are great too. I'll pass them along to them as they do a much better job of speaking for our Lord than I do with my gruff Spanglish.
I keep a handful of Chinese and Russian tracts too, as I'll occasionally engage them.
Chinese take out? Their surprised when you pass one along in their language!

“Let each one of us, if we have done nothing for Christ, begin to do something now. The distribution of tracts is the first thing...When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have a tract ready. Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life. Therefore, do not go out without your tracts.” C. Spurgeon

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The below are a few suggestions from Chick tracts with a few added comments.
I use several tract ministries, they all say similar things.
Also consider printing your own or getting a printer to work with you, I've personally done this as well.

-At the library: Place tracts in returning books. Leave a tract on the desktops. Leave a tract in the restroom.
-Restrooms: Leave in the stall, on the mirror, on the soap dispenser.
-Going bowling: Leave a tract in the rented shoes. Leave a tract at the lane. Place tracts on the video games.
-Taxis: Leave some on the seat. Don't forget the driver.
-Garage Sales: Set up a "free tract" table.
-Gas Station: On gas pumps, in a restroom. Give one to the cashier. A "business" size tract will fit into the gas credit card slot!
-Buses, Trains, Planes: Hand tracts to people and leave them on seats, in magazines and seat back pockets.
-Motels/Hotels: Leave tracts in the room, in the Gideon Bible or other literature.
-College Campuses: The ideas are endless!
-Halloween: Give tracts to trick-or-treaters along with a piece of candy.
-Police Officers: If you get pulled over, cheerfully hand one to the officer. Or just pass them to them in general, tell them your thankful for their being work.
-Your Home: Have tracts available for guests on your coffee table.
-Store Counters: Have tracts in a container with a "FREE - Take One" sign.
-Bills: Enclose tracts with payments.
-Bus Stops: Leave tracts on the benches for people to read as they wait.
-Fast Food Drive Thru: Place money inside a tract and give it to the cashier.
-Clothing Stores: In dressing rooms, in clothes pockets. Give one to the cashier.
-Christmas Caroling: Leave tracts at the homes you visit.
-Mailings: Send tracts to elected officials, celebrities, etc. Include tracts with Christmas, Easter and birthday cards.
-Schools: In lockers, library books, restrooms.
-Church Office: Give tracts to the mailman, phone man, delivery person. etc.
-At Church: Give everyone in your Sunday School class a tract and teach the lesson from it. Then send the tracts home for their parents to read. Hand out tracts along with the programs for your church plays.
-At the Bank: Place a tract in the drive-through cylinder. Leave a tract in the night drop box.
-Hospitals: Leave tracts on the waiting room chairs and tables. Place tracts inside the magazines.
-Stores and Markets: Leave tracts on shelves and bulletin boards. Hand one to the cashier. Set up a FREE TRACT rack.
-Elevators: Give to passengers, leave one near the control panel.
-Church Buses: Give every rider a free tract for coming.
-Public Parks: In restrooms, benches, picnic tables.
-Vending Machines: In the dispensing tray.
-Airports: Restrooms, lockers, phone booths, restaurants, seats.
-Hospitals: On waiting room chairs and tables, inside magazines.
-Restaurants: In the waiting lounge, restroom, by the phone. Hand one to the waitress and cashier (To add, if no tip was given, and the service was good, I've seen a waitresses cuss the customer & toss it away. For folks who don't know, waitresses and waiters generally are paid little per hour, and depend upon tips for much of their income.)
-Copy Machines: Leave a tract under the flap.
-Local Events Billboards: Pin one to the board.
-Cars: Under the windshield wiper, rolled up under the door handle, tossed in open windows.
-Break Rooms at Work: On tables, chairs, vending machines.
-Houses: Wrap a rubber band around a tract and place it on doorknobs or fences.
-Laundromats: Be creative, but don't put them in the washers or dryers. Pass one along to everyone there. I'll stop in them occasionally with no washing to do just to briefly pass them along to all inside.
-Neighborhood Kids: Give tracts when inviting kids to Sunday School.
-Escalators: Leave one next to the handrails.
-ATM Machines: Leave a tract for the next customer.
-Parades: Have a Christian float with people handing out tracts alongside. If watching the parade, just walk along and pass them to folks watching.

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1 hour ago, B3L13v3R said:

-At the Bank: Place a tract in the drive-through cylinder. Leave a tract in the night drop box.

Fantastic idea!

Our main problem here is everyone believes in baptismal regeneration, everyone, and I mean everyone has been baptized, ..so when talking about receiving Jesus into their hearts and being born again the response is always, "...I'm saved, I've been baptized!"

Reading a tract won't allow them to argue or give an excuse, ...thanks for the idea!

Lord bless

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45 minutes ago, JustPassingThru said:

Fantastic idea!

Our main problem here is everyone believes in baptismal regeneration, everyone, and I mean everyone has been baptized, ..so when talking about receiving Jesus into their hearts and being born again the response is always, "...I'm saved, I've been baptized!"

Reading a tract won't allow them to argue or give an excuse, ...thanks for the idea!

Lord bless

Yes, I understand completely.
That "water" does not wash away sins as they believe. And if they actually believe it does, they are not Saved.
They "wrangle/twist" a number of the Bibles verses to come up with this thinking.
A few of the Christian tracts I use point towards Christ shed blood for our sins. Perhaps this could get them "thinking" in the right direction!

It's ONLY the BLOOD of Jesus Christ that washes away sins.
Many good Christian tracts testify towards the same, hopefully they can get some of the "baptismal regeneration" people thinking!

Those folks miss these verses completely. Perhaps look to prayerfully expound on a few of them to reach out to these dry sinners who came up wet sinners out of the baptismal tank:

Ephesians 1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Colossians 1:13-14  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  (14)  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Hebrews 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

1 John 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

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3 minutes ago, B3L13v3R said:

Many good Christian tracts testify towards the same, hopefully they can get some of the "baptismal regeneration" people thinking!

Thanks bro, you wouldn't have any Tracts written in French?

My only tract in French is the A,B, C,s of Salvation.

Lord bless

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25 minutes ago, JustPassingThru said:

Thanks bro, you wouldn't have any Tracts written in French?

My only tract in French is the A,B, C,s of Salvation.

Lord bless

This goes with the OP, since its the "This was Your Life" tract, but give this link a try. Its the chick.com website, and they have several French versions available . . . including Tahitian French.

https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=1

The page will default to English, (or maybe what ever your system language settings is) then just use the drop down for the language you want.

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3 hours ago, B3L13v3R said:

@bropro (And Others!) "Do Gospel Tracts Really Work?"

Yes, they absolutely "work." :)
Without thinking at all as a lost man, I would damn God with some regularity. Still recalling the first Christian tract I stumbled onto as a heathen in laundromat billboard years ago. The outside of it said "God's Last Name Is Not" and upon opening the inside said "Damn." On the back, it mentioned a verse on God's judgement and said "Your Judgment Is Coming Soon!" Kinda got my attention. Later a Baptist slipped a few Chick Tracts into my hand that I read. Not much further down the road, I read the Bible cover to cover for the first time. Upon finishing it, I knew it to be no normal Book, and went on to repent of my sins and believed in Jesus Christ who bore them on the cross for me.

For those who share the seed of God's Word in this fashion, start your day by prayerfully asking God to use them to His Glory.

Some brief thoughts on tracts:
Check their content and make sure they are Biblical and have a solid Gospel message.
Know your crowd, some are "adult" in content. Others, one could give to any, young or old alike.
Some Christians doubt there effectiveness. I've occasionally had some Christians and Non-Christians fuss at me passing them out. I just politely ignore them.
Folks who reject them? That's OK, pray for them and move along!

Last week, I suppose I passed out about 50 or more Christian tracts to adults or children going about their day as I passed by. I'll generally always use them for follow up after speaking to people about Christ.
With a fair amount of the Hispanic community about our area, Spanish tracts are great too. I'll pass them along to them as they do a much better job of speaking for our Lord than I do with my gruff Spanglish.
I keep a handful of Chinese and Russian tracts too, as I'll occasionally engage them.
Chinese take out? Their surprised when you pass one along in their language!

“Let each one of us, if we have done nothing for Christ, begin to do something now. The distribution of tracts is the first thing...When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have a tract ready. Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life. Therefore, do not go out without your tracts.” C. Spurgeon

 

It looks like you are sold on the use of Gospel Tracts. So glad to hear of someone who believes in the power of the printed word in tracts. You may not have gone to the link I shared here because I moved it to "Videos, Biblical Topics, Do Gospel Tracts Really Work?" This little 9 minute segment of a man who reached thousands of people through his 40 years of passing out Tracts, is an awesome story of faithful endurance in the work of Christ. Hope you will be able to listen to it and give me your thoughts on it.

 

Gary

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2 hours ago, JustPassingThru said:

Thanks bro, you wouldn't have any Tracts written in French?

My only tract in French is the A,B, C,s of Salvation.

Lord bless

I don't have any in French personally, but a number of ministries out there do. Will send you a PM.

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Dr. Craig videos on youtube as a section of animated videos that help establish theism as the best explanation of things like:

  1. the beginning of the universe from nothing,
  2. why there exists anything rather than nothing,
  3. existence of objective moral values and duties
  4. fine-tuning of the constants of physics and the initial conditions of the universe to support life
  5. a universal search for objective meaning and purpose in our lives.

The videos are conversational and with some work one can use the points in discussion. 

Tracks are easily memorized. If you are familiar with the engels scale you will see that tracks are not effective until right before someone is about to give their lives to Christ. 

I don't use them at all and haven't in 40 years of evangelism. 

You can start by learning the 4 spiritual laws. 

But in order for that to be effective someone must be willing to trust the Bible as a source of knowledge. 

I used to use Josh McDowell's Evidence that Demands a Verdict approach, but found that much of the facts underpinning Josh's premises were not nearly as straightforward or uncontroversial as Josh made out in his great presentations. 

Now I focus on asking the Lord to lead people into my sphere of influence at work or with friends, neighbors, family, or even strangers on planes or at bars. 

I do a pull not a push approach. 

Let them ask you for the gospel. My friends know I disciple people, teach at my church, and do prison ministry. When they engage, so do I. I have also had the opportunity to share the gospel on planes hundreds of times. Bring books that are provocative? On Guard by William Lane Craig for instance. 

When people ask, "What are you reading," I say, "a rational defense for the existence of God and the supremacy of Christianity over and above other religious worldviews." And we are off to the races. 

No rhetorical games or tricks (That means I don't use "Way of the Master." 

Who Would Jesus Manipulate is not a good bracelet to wear as a Christian. 

Handing out tracks that won't be read is a waste. 

Memorizing great material in tracks in order to be able to give a 1-2 minute version of the gospel is marvelous. 

 

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