INTRODUCTION
My wife and I hand out gospel tracts at almost every available opportunity. Whenever I express excitement about those opportunities, a bucket of cold water often hits me in the face. Comments like “they just throw them away” and “tracts are a waste of time; they’re never read” are not encouraging. Even amidst discouragement, we still hand them out.
Recently, I read an April 21, 2021 article by M. R. Conrad entitled “Gospel Tracts Don’t Work: Agree or Disagree?” The link is Gospel Tracts Don’t Work: Agree or Disagree? – Rooted Thinking : Rooted Thinking. I suggest you read the article, and especially the comments to the article. The very important one point Mr. Conrad made was tracts do not work in a vacuum:
Tracts are rarely the only factor in a person’s salvation, but they can be a step along the way. A quick read through a gospel tract may build upon the witness of a family member or friend. A glance through a tract before it hits the trash may give the reader a glimpse of light that God can use later. Even an unsaved person refusing a tract from a loving friend can make him more receptive the next time as his friend’s persistence highlights how important the gospel message is. In addition, a tract can be an early step in building a gospel-centered relationship.
For most people, their conversion event results from a series of steps, events, and encounters. A gospel tract may be only one of many encounters with the gospel as we try to carry out Jesus’ instructions in Acts 1:8 (NIV):
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The case study in his article reads:
Mrs. Geraldine Taylor reports of a Buddhist monk in the arid regions of western China. An unknown missionary distributed small booklets containing the Gospel of Mark. One booklet made its way to a Buddhist temple where it gathered dust for years. One day, a priest named Chu found it and read it. As the Holy Spirit used God’s Word to convict this man’s heart, he hungered for more truth.
Some months later, a friend who had visited a neighboring city brought Chu more pamphlets from missionaries who had traveled through. Years passed, and Chu’s spiritual thirst increased. He later said, “I was always reading it, though I understood but little. One thing that impressed me was that Jesus said the way to eternal life is strait and the gate narrow, and few there be that find it. ‘Alas,’ I thought, ‘time is going on. The end is coming soon. I am not in the way, and perhaps shall never be able to discover it.'” [2] Finally, though he was poor and rarely traveled, Chu decided he would journey by foot to a city with a Christian presence to find more truth. There, a local Chinese pastor led him to Christ.
The tracts were like bread crumbs, leading to the Bread of Life. Again and again, biographies report such stories. The missionaries who distributed the literature that Chu found in the temple never met this Buddhist and never knew the fruit of their labor.
Some of the comments to Conrad’s article provide encouragement. One encouraging comment reads:
I know two men who later were converted shortly after reading tracts. Both men also became pastors. One of the two actually found a tract lying on a random trail floor in the woods where he was contemplating suicide!
Gospel tracts have been widely read and useful in missions work in both Cambodia and Thailand. I find that writing your own tract makes it a much more well-received item as you can say, “I wrote this to give to you…”
Along the lines of the last sentence, I have written a tract entitled “FOR GOD SO LOVES you” published by Moments with the Book (link to order is https://mwtb.org/products/pmt-for-god-so-loves-you?_pos=1&_sid=01d305105&_ss=r&variant=12292440359015). By the way, I receive a minimal credit if my tract sells.
Another encouraging comment reads:
Thank you for being persistent and faithful in giving out Gospel tracts. My Grandfather was given a tract in Astoria Long Island City , a NYC fireman , by the Captain in the early 1950’s! And My Gramps was saved. After about 14 years praying for his son, my Dad, my family was saved. The Lord used this faithful Captain , prayers on behalf of my Gramps’ lost condition.
My husband and I believe that God uses His Word to bring people to Himself. God answers prayer.
We are thankful for your ministry.
Praying for you and yours!
Diane
CONCLUSION
It does my heart good to read comments that encourage handing out gospel tracts. Yes, many fall to the ground and on deaf ears, but isn’t that the case with many evangelistic efforts. That cannot become a discouragement because there are “success stories.” And, the potential for a “success story” far outweighs the time, effort, and cost to hand out gospel tracts.
If you are reading this post and are not a Christian, your eternal destination is hell unless God intervenes. But, your destiny can change. Today can be the day of your salvation. Please see my blog (https://stevebelsheim.com/2020/04/20/for-god-so-loves-you-2/) for a description of how you can be saved and a more concise description at my (https://stevebelsheim.com/2020/10/20/there-is-hope-even-when-there-seems-to-be-no-hope-2/ ).
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