As I exited a building yesterday afternoon I turned and saw a man sitting against the wall eating his lunch in the sunshine.
“Hi!” I said and smiled, a little startled to see him there.
“Hi!” he replied, surprised by my greeting.
I kept walking.
You know, that man didn’t look too busy, I realized, I think he’d read something if I gave it to him. I walked back and handed him a little tract called “Something to Think About.”
“Here’s something for you to read when you finish eating your lunch,” I told him.
“Thank you!” he said.
I turned to leave.
“Now wait,” he asked, “what is this?”
“It’s a Christian gospel tract,” I said. “I like it because it clearly explains things that we all need to be thinking about.”
“Oh, okay!” he replied. He was fine with that.
“Have a good day!” he told me.
I am recounting this little story to illustrate a few points about passing out tracts.
1) It’s very helpful to be confident to be upfront about what we are handing people—a gospel tract. People like it when we are honest and call it what it is. If we act timid and shy, they’ll feel uncomfortable too.
2) I think young people (especially girls) have an advantage when it comes to passing out tracts because people aren’t intimidated by them. What I mean is this: if my dad would have gone up and given this man the tract, he may not have reacted as warmly. But if a girl cheerfully greets someone and gives them a tract, they almost always receive it. In fact, sometimes it makes their day! But it is also important to be wise about who you talk with and be safe.
So, girls, we have the responsibility to do what we can do and to do it well. And to do it faithfully.
A few weeks ago, I was walking near our town square with a 15-year-old friend. I saw a girl smoking by the side of the street and thought of giving her a tract but didn’t. Before I knew it, my friend had pulled out a tract and given it to her. And then my friend, (Rachel, from a missionary family who was staying with us for a few days) continued to give out tracts to everyone we passed on the street. I was impressed! No one was annoyed or offended…instead they all responded well and thanked her for the tracts.
I think Satan tries to decieve Christians into thinking that people will be offended if given a tract. Some may be, but most are not.
Sidewalks are public property. You can pass out anything you want. In this country of increasing darkness, let’s learn to take advantage of every opportunity!
Great points! Needed to hear that!
Thanks for the tips about tracts, Grace. A few days ago, my family and I went out of town for this spelling competition and stayed in a hotel. There was a Bible inside a drawer in the table in our room, and I realized that I should have brought a tract. I usually leave one after we stay at a hotel. So I wrote some verses on an index card (like Rom.10:9, John3:16,etc.) and stuck it in the Bible. I just wanted to let you and everybody know that if you have God’s Word hidden in your heart, you don’t always need to have a tract with you to be a witness 🙂
Christy
1Cor10:31
Hello, Grace!
I was wondering if you could give me a few links to some good tracts. I don’t have a lot of money to spend on them, but I’ve been wanting to pass out tracts for a while. I just don’t know where to look! Would you mind pointing me in the right direction? 😉
Thanks!
Sure!
I use a lot of tracts from Living Waters (Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron’s ministry). Go to http://www.livingwaters.com and click on “store”.
Living Waters also sells some evangelistic DVD’s for $2 a piece if you buy ten or more. Our family really likes a video they’ve put together called “Joe Average” and so we bought quite a few to give away as gifts to unsaved people we meet.
I also use a tract written by Randy Alcorn entitled, “How can we know we’ll go to Heaven”. http://stores.homestead.com/eternalperspectiveministries/Detail.bok?no=124
You can get 25 of those for $1.25.
At holidays, I often pass out tracts my family has written for the holiday. There’s an advantage to passing out tracts you have written yourself because you can say “this is something I wrote” or “this is something my family put together” and people feel it’s more personal. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It’s also easier to give out tracts at holidays because people are in a festive mood and take it as a holiday gift.
Thanks for asking. I’m always on the search for good tracts and good ways to pass them out as well….!
God bless you as you serve Him!
Grace
Hi Grace!
Thanks for the encouraging words! So many times I find my self scared to share about Christ love and to simply give a tract. I have been realizing that it is the simple things that are some times the hardest!
Have a blessed day,
Haley
Thanks so much for this reminder Grace!
I love to use tracts, but don’t always think to give them to those I pass on the sidewalk, or people on lunch/ smoking breaks.
I have a question about the tracts you make. Have you ever made one for Christmas?
I’ve seen some good Christmas tracts online, but I’m also open to designing my own as well. (any suggestions you have about this would be appreciated!).
Blessings,
Emily
That’s such an encouraging story, Grace! Handing out tracks and telling people about God usually scares me because I think they’ll be offended. But you’ve just reminded me that Satan is trying to make think that and most people probably won’t be offended at all. Thank you so much!
~Caroline
Hey Grace, was that Rachel Paulus that you were talking about? Thanks for sharing your story…
Hannah Ruth
I liked your encouragement to minister through tracts. I heard a story recently that really impressed me. A small group in center city Philadelphia has been handing out gospel verses (different ones each day) at the same spot for the last 25 years. They are there for a set number of hours, and now have regulars who come by to pick up “their” verse for the day. It has been a powerful witness of caring in a rough part of the city for many years. The point of the story is, as you indicated, you don’t have to have something fancy to hand out–just true and important!