“Be Witnesses to Me”
"… and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8b)
Why bother with tracts?
Christians are to be witnesses for the Saviour. What a calling and what a privilege! Are we like Isaiah who said, "Here I am! Send Me"; or do we prefer to answer, `Here I am, send someone else!’
Giving out tracts is a very simple way of witnessing and is effective on at least four counts:
- It puts us ‘out there’ amongst unbelievers - if people will not come to us, surely we must go to them!
- It gets the gospel to those we might not otherwise reach. A gospel leaflet is like a little missionary, which can get into dark places and be used by God to enlighten hearts.
- It is a work any Christian can do & there are so many opportunities. They can be given to anyone we come into contact with - the postman, window cleaner, the shop assistant or car park attendant. They can be discreetly left in public places such as pubs, the post office or even at public telephones.
- Tracts can be a good means of starting a conversation - people will often ask what you are offering and this can lead to wonderful opportunities to talk to others about the Lord.
What type of tracts?
We have a number of tracts you can download from our web site or, if you prefer you can use your own favourites, but bear these points in mind:
- Always use good quality material - drab, colourless leaflets are no advert for eternal life.
- Use tracts with an eye-catching statement or question on the front, maybe "God’s gift is free to all or “Where will you spend Eternity?’, that will challenge the reader.
- Include follow-up contact details - you may never see the recipients again so they need a means of finding out more.
What response can you expect?
There is always a variety of responses. People not wanting your tract sometimes politely refuse, other times you’ll be ignored completely. Some responses can be sad, some amusing - we’ve had people say, ‘I can’t read that, I’m out on the lash!’ and ‘I know all about God, I’m a Catholic.’ Many people rush by, seemingly totally disinterested, then every now-and-again one will come back, or even more encouraging, someone will cross the road or stop in a passing car to take a leaflet!
Whatever the apparent outcome of time spent distributing tracts, one thing we can always be certain of is that our sovereign Lord is always in control.
Blessings will abound
The Lord said, "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters" (Isa 32:20) and sharing the gospel always blesses the Christian. It reminds us of our dependence on Him (and that is always a blessing when you think about who He is!) and that He is always working unseen. Like the true story of the woman prisoner, who cleared out a cupboard in a cell, found a discarded tract and came to the Lord as a result.
What value just one saved soul?
Acknowledgement: Adapted from an Open-Air Mission leaflet
Just a couple more real-life examples of the way God can use tracts (drawn from Open-Air Mission):
1. We’ve already mentioned the woman prisoner. Her name is Greta and she was serving a nine-year prison sentence for killing her boyfriend in a drunken rage.
One day in prison she was cleaning out a cupboard in a vacated cell when she came across a gospel tract. Greta was moved by what she read. She noticed that on the back was an address with an invitation to receive further literature. She duly sent off for this and shortly afterwards she was saved. Greta’s life was wonderfully transformed. Through God’s amazing providence, a tract that had been discarded by someone else was left for this needy soul to find.
2. A man was converted to Jesus Christ after having been given a tract at, of all places, Epsom Races. The man went on to become an evangelical Anglican minister and saw many saved under his ministry.
3. A student in Luton called Martin e-mailed the OAM office to apologise for hurrying past the lady who gave him a tract, explaining that he was on his way to do a presentation at college and didn’t want to be late. He went on to say that he was very curious about religion and asked if he could be sent a Bible, (which we were only too pleased to dispatch the same day).
4. A lady wrote in saying `… I was really searching my heart knowing that Christ wasn’t my rock. I sat down on a seat … and prayed to God to show me the way to go when this piece of paper blew up to my feet. It was a gospel tract from OAM entitled `Are you Good Enough to go to Heaven?’ As I read it I knew that I wasn’t, but I also knew what I had to do. There and then, I asked the Lord to save me, to forgive me my sins and come into my life …
5. On arriving home that evening Kevin found the tract and decided to read it. He was struck by a question Jesus had asked, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” He says: “I was not at peace with God, but was not sure what to do about it. I knew the answer must be in the Bible, so I purchased one and read it fervently.
“I discovered that no amount of masses, confessions, penances etc, or trying my best to live a good life would suffice. Instead I found peace, joy and forgiveness in Christ, His cross and His blood. I cast myself upon God’s mercy, taking Jesus to be my all-sufficient Saviour, my absolute Lord and everlasting portion.”
That was over 20 years ago. Kevin has been involved in open-air outreach for many years and is now pastor of an evangelical church in central London.
Wonderful, eh?
Comment by Philip Pain — Wed, 24. June 2009 @ 10:04