Truth Really Matters

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Did you ever hear the objection, “I don’t believe you should be giving tracts out. You should be sharing the Gospel verbally.” Most of the ice-cold-hearts that say this won’t share the Gospel verbally with five people in a year. Others are even worse. They’ll say, “I believe in building relationships and friendships in order to share the Gospel.” Duh. Of course we should be sharing the Gospel in the course of building relationships! But what about the thousands and tens of thousands of lost sinners within your reach that you never befriend? Just how many real relationships do you have?

Let’s camp here just for a moment. Count up the lost relatives, the co-workers, and the neighbors with whom you have actually developed a relationship . . . people with whom you communicate regularly . . . people you’ve been praying for and hope that they will repent and trust in Christ. OK, got that number? My guess is that if you can Lurasidone be bought over the counter really cared for them, that you could get to each and every one of them within the next two weeks and challenge them to repent and trust Christ. Well, have you done that? No? Get going on that, and then consider . . . what will you be doing for the Lord for the rest of your life, you know, after that two weeks of moderate effort?

Face it: the smokescreen of “relational evangelism” is just an excuse to waste your alleged Christian life while the world around you goes to Hell. By the way, the Master of this enterprise proclaimed, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” This seems to be debatable among many. Such excuses won’t stand up at the Bema.

So, the first principle is: Preach the Gospel verbally to as many lost people as will listen to you. The second principle is: Give tracts to everybody else! In a typical day doing personal evangelism in downtown Chicago, I can get perhaps 10-20 people to stop and listen to a serious Gospel presentation one-to-one (121). And I’ll get between 1200 and 2000 people to take tracts so that they can READ a serious Gospel presentation. Furthermore, the offer of a tract is the most effective way I know to entice someone to stop and chat. On a college campus . . . the BEST place in the world for 121 evangelism (!) . . . I’ll get out between 200 and 500 tracts and get about ten 121s. How about knocking residential doors? In a couple of hours, I can typically hit 30-40 doors, engaging perhaps 10 homeowners in a serious 121. The “not homes” get a tract in the door, and I keep a record so that I might try them again. I’ll also make notes on any serious 121s, so that if I get a call from them, I can (hopefully) remember something useful.

How should I prioritize during my day out? More 121s or more tracting? I find that by the time I’ve talked to 15 or more individuals, I’m getting really exhausted . . . talked out . . . and don’t get as many tracts out. If I do about ten 121s, then I get out closer to 1800 or 2000 tracts (in Chicago). As the years go by, I find myself getting more efficient in identifying people that are willing to chat constructively, and cutting off conversations more quickly that are getting nowhere. You’ll find your own balance in these things, with prayer and experience. But do make the day count!

If I’m in a pedestrian-intensive environment, like Chicago or a campus during a class change-over, I will (almost) NEVER engage with someone 121 for more than 5 to 7 minutes. I can share the Gospel three different ways in about 5 minutes and put the ball in the lost sinner’s court. If I get traction, I give him homework to do (visit this web site), my contact info, and several tracts. It’s up to him to respond and follow up. If he has genuine concern for his soul, he will, and I’m prepared to be a friend for life! But I’m not begging or chasing, which goes against the Biblical pattern. Preach the Gospel and disciple those who respond. Be fervent, be compassionate, care with all your heart . . . but don’t chase. The Satanic trap that well-meaning evangelists fall into, is to let a contentious “distractor” eat up 30 minutes of their time, while 500 potentially hopeful prospects walk by.

What’s a good way to offer a tract to someone on a sidewalk or in a parking lot? Feel free to experiment. I have tried a variety of different approaches, trying to enhance the likelihood of someone accepting a tract. Here’s my usual approach:

1. Get eye contact at least 10 feet away. Once you get inside someone’s personal space, they don’t like to be surprised. They need just a second or two to size you up. Amazingly, that’s all they need.
2. Smile and reach out with a tract in your hand. Hold the tract so it is right in the path of the free hand of the fellow, so he hardly has to make any effort at all to simply grab onto the tract. All these ‘little things’ can make the difference between a tract accepted or a tract rejected.
3. Say, “Good morning! Here’s a free gift!” Or “G’day!” for you Aussies out there. Or “Good afternoon!” Why “free gift”? Isn’t that redundant? Yes, the redundancy helps. “Free” and “gift” reduce tension.
4. If it looks like the fellow is not in a hurry, and you want to try to share the Gospel with him, then say, “It’s something to stimulate your brain . . . about life, death, Heaven, Hell . . . you know, the BIG STUFF! Ever think about those things?”
5. If they simply take the tract and keep moving, I say, “God bless you.” I do in fact want God to bless their understanding of the tract’s message and for the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to the heart. If they linger, then go on to explain the Gospel. See my essays in this section on Gospel presentations, especially A Very Short Gospel Presentation — Cold Turkey 1-2-1.
6. If there are two or three or more in a group, try to get a different tract into each one’s hand. Then there is the possibility that they will read and swap, getting the message multiple times. That’s why I always carry several different types of tracts, shuffled together so that everyone in a small group gets a different title.

Besides those ‘special days’ devoted to evangelism, most of us run several errands around town every week. Make it your determined practice to get tracts out everywhere you go. I do about 150 per week this way. As you walk by someone in a parking lot, give her a tract. In restaurants, leave the waitress a tract with a good tip. If you frequent the same diner regularly, bring a different tract each time. At fast food joints, slip a tract behind the next napkin in the dispenser, and leave some on seats for people to find. Every establishment that has a restroom, leave at least two there. If your spouse is with you, then two in each rest room! In grocery stores, hit the magazine rack and insert tracts into several magazines . . . surprise the reader with just one more insert! Soft drink cartons and other products often have slots to slip tracts into. Your objective is to put the tract where workers won’t find it, but the customer will run into it after going home. When filling up, note that on top of each gas pump is an advertising plaque. Slip a card into the plastic frame that holds the ad. Stores that sell clothes . . . think of all those pockets! Don’t forget to inspect the zippered pockets in luggage displays! Use your imagination!

Might stores get aggravated about these practices? Don’t over-saturate any store. And don’t worry — there aren’t any other Christians in your area doing this. In all these years I’ve had only two phone calls with explicit complaints . . . both from the same restaurant, a year apart! The first was a mother who was offended that her teenage daughter (waitress) had been confronted with a Gospel tract — “There’s no need to be pushing the Gospel down people’s throats!” The second was from the Manager who received a complaint from an atheist who found a tract in the restroom. I had a fascinating conversation with the fellow, focusing on why he objected so strongly to the content — the Gospel. Which gave me an opportunity to press on him his lost condition. So, both complaints were, I conclude, successes!

10 reasons why you should give out tracts (taken from onemilliontracts.com, although I’m not sure of the ultimate origin of this list):

1. They are a very economical form of evangelism.
2. They work while we sleep.
3. They have the ability to get into a house and stay there.
4. They are never afraid or show cowardice.
5. They never compromise their message.
6. They never get tired, discouraged, or give up.
7. They stick to what they have to say and never argue.
8. They can present the message when you (or they) don’t have time (or they won’t give you the opportunity to talk to them).
9. They can go to places where we cannot.
10. They only speak when they are read.

What tracts should you use?

This is easy: tracts that preach a Scriptural Gospel and that people read! Scriptural Gospel – read my other articles on this site to get my point here. So what kind of tracts get read? There are lots of “apparently respectable” tracts out there that are dirt cheap. Some of these are fairly long and have lots of Scripture quotations and lots of explanation – but don’t get read. We live in a media-centered / short attention span generation. Tracts have to be colorful, well-designed, and have a good “hook”.

Paper tri-fold tracts are boring. Regardless of how sound the content, they simply don’t get read. Many such “church tracts” emphasize church programs and schedules, diluting any Gospel content. Some feature a photo of the pastor . . . wow, how arrogant. I know a fellow in Chicago who passes out booklets (3″ x 4″ and about 50 pages) containing only Scripture verses. He passes them out by the tens of thousands. How could I possibly object to content that is purely Scriptural? Isolated verses do not make a complete and coherent argument. You’ll note that evangelistic preaching in the NT by Peter and Paul did not consist merely of a listing of OT verses. They made reasoned arguments. (Acts 18:4) I regularly encouraged that fellow to use other tracts that would get read and that get to the point efficiently. He always replied that I should convert to using his tracts. Oh well. The Lord will likely straighten out both of us someday.

You say, “But I can get some tracts ‘free’ or less than a penny apiece and give them away by the thousands.” This is usually the most “expensive” tract of all. You invest some money, much time and energy, much prayer, etc. – and then the tracts don’t get read. How foolish.

Let’s cut to the chase. My three favorite sources for tracts (outside of my own at ThinkTracts.com):

chick.com
livingwaters.com
onemilliontracts.com

The best Scriptural outline for tracts is livingwaters.com – Ray Comfort’s ministry. If you aren’t familiar with his ministry and resources, repent immediately! Onemilliontracts.com has emulated the Living Waters style and so has the same content quality. The tracts at Chick Publications are small comics, more expensive than most other tracts, but make very compelling reading.

The tradeoffs:

Chick offers quantity discounts. If you buy 10,000 of a single title, you can have them print whatever message or contact info you like on the back. At the bottom of this article, I reprint the message that I composed for my Chick tracts. Kids especially like comics. Even adults (including me the PhD) love comics.

Many times I have had adults approach me on the street to see if I have a new title on hand. Last week a mom asked me for several copies of one title that she wanted to give to her lost children. A dad once called me to thank me for the tract I gave him. When he got home he read it and realized it was the perfect message for his jailed son. Once when knocking doors, a lady responded to my tract offer by exclaiming, “Oh, I’ve got one like that on my dresser.” I asked her how she got the tract. She said that two years before someone had dropped it through the open window and on her car seat while she was in a store. (That had been me.) Last year I shared the Gospel with an out of town man who told me that he had been saved a couple of years before through a Chick tract given to him at the local courthouse. (That would have been either myself or one of my partners.) Jack Chick publishes hundreds of testimonies of people who have been saved through their comics.

You have to pick and choose among Chick’s tracts. Some have solid Gospel presentations (sin/judgment/hell/repentance/faith/the cross/resurrection/new birth/changed life) and some are weak. You can compensate with the message you print on the back page, but do be careful.

My favorite Chick titles are:

This was your life

It’s your life (the African-American version of the one above)

It’s the law

Busted

Scream

Bad Bob

Four Angels

Hi there

Living Waters has a wonderful variety of tracts, at different prices. The last time I looked I did not detect a quantity discount. The genius of Ray Comfort’s tracts is that they don’t look like tracts. There are many people who would reject your offer of a tract (not to mention rejecting any discussion of the Gospel). But they will take a colorful, creative, glossy card that has the “hook” of an intelligence test, or a celebrity bio, or a magic trick, or a card trick, etc.

One of my favorite opportunities is while leaving a fast food restaurant, when I see a group of 4-6 young people together. “Preaching” is not usually available in such situations, so I go up and ask them if they are all above or below average in intelligence. That gets their attention. Then I’ll ask who is the brightest and pick out one of my LW tracts for that self-selected genius. And different titles for the others. And then off I go without disturbing the restaurant staff and its customers. It’s important to give everyone a unique title so that they can all share.

Onemilliontracts is a small operation and very easy to work with. Marv does quantity discounts and will change the text (including your contact info) on purchases of 5,000 or more of a given title. I use more of these “card” tracts than anything else. For example, when I travel to Chicago, anything more than 300 Chick tracts in my carry bag really weighs me down. So I add 1700 of the cards to the 300 Chick tracts to enable me to get out up to 2000 when I make that trip.

One of my favorite experiences in using the OMT cards is when Christians come up and say, “I really like these. Can you give me a few to give to my friends?” Yes!! I give them 10-20 and thank God that someone is getting addicted to the ministry! One dear Christian lady accepted 20 cards from me eagerly near the Daley Center in Chicago. A few minutes later she came back and asked for more. I gave her 75. I saw her a half hour later and she asked for another 75. There was another Christian lady who works downtown . . . I ran into her about every other trip and she was glad to get another stack of tracts from me to use in her own neighborhood. I’m always hopeful to help addict Christians to the ministry that everyone should have! A middle-aged fellow received a tract from me, but didn’t read it until he was headed home on the bus. But every six months he calls me and asks me to send him a stack of tracts to use in the city. Love it.

I regularly press “evangelistically challenged” Christians I meet to give out tracts, since they have not made that part of their walk – especially if they are too “shy” (cold) to normally do so. I recently experienced how precious this opportunity is. A young mother of 3 girls recently joined our house church. She told us how that four months previously, she was walking downtown and an apparently nervous fellow gave her one of our tracts (the “icard” with my contact info printed at the end). The Gospel message gripped her soul, she got into her Bible, and was gloriously saved . . . and has shown much appropriate fruit in her life since then. At first, she tried going back to a Roman Catholic church, but she realized that wasn’t the place to be. She tried an evangelical church that wasn’t helping either. So after four months she decided to call the number on the back of the tract. My wife and I met with her and she became part of our small fellowship. We determined that the “nervous fellow” was not one of our church members, but must have been a Christian whom I had encouraged to hand out some tracts for his very first time. Praise God!

It’s vital that you print, or have printed, or stamp your (first) name and phone number or email address on each tract – whatever kind of tract you use. Give people a chance to call and hear more! I love to get such calls. Don’t expect a large number. And do expect that some will be hostile or silly. That gives you the opportunity to grow in grace! But don’t give up and don’t get lazy by not including your contact info.

I’ve had so many interesting experiences from tracting. I once got a call from a town 50 miles away (where I had never been) from a young man who found my tract on a gas pump and wanted to talk about spiritual things. That tract must have changed hands at least once. I recently got a call from two construction workers who found a tract during their work day and wanted to thank me for the message. They were calling from North Carolina (I haven’t been there) and I live in Illinois.

“Specialty” tracts. Whenever I go out of the house, for evangelism or just to go to the store, I always have tracts on me. At least 20, including the following:

Several general purpose Chick, LW, and OMT selections for anyone I meet.

Chick tracts in Spanish – not everyone in America speaks or reads English. (I like the Spanish version of “This was your life”.)

Chick tracts for Roman Catholics – I like “Murph” and “Last Rites”. Some Chick tracts for RCs are a little too much “in your face”. Just choose carefully.

Several LW tracts with good hooks, especially for the restaurant-like situation.

The Chick tract “The Letter” – a story focused on the necessity of sharing the Gospel with those around us. I reserve this for people that seem to be “real Christians”, in order to encourage them to get busy on the Great Commission. By the way – I find that those that have experience in cold-turkey street evangelism are much better equipped — and alert – to share the Gospel effectively with relatives, friends, and acquaintances.

The Chick tract “Love the Jewish People” has a wonderful title and focuses on prophecy to introduce the Jews to their Messiah. I find it very difficult to get a Jewish person to accept a Gospel tract, and even harder to get them to stop and talk. So when I see an evidently Jewish man with a black cap approaching, I pull out this tract, smile, and say, “God bless the Jewish people!” This usually provokes him to accept the tract. One man recently responded with appreciation and asked me what it was. I responded something like, “A short Biblical study of prophecy.” He stuck it in his pocket and off he went. At least he is likely to read it. With most Jews, if they know it is a Christian message, they are so offended that they will reject it and your message without a reading or a hearing.

The Chick tract “Allah Has No Son” has a title that Muslims will agree with. The point here, as with Jews, is to get them to read a full treatment of the Gospel. I usually give this out at the end of a conversation with a Muslim. Muslims often will engage in conversations, but many are argumentative. You have to use judgment to decide how much time to spend if the individual is argumentative, as opposed to receptive.

It’s important to have a variety of “specialty” tracts on hand. We need to do the best we can to reach out with the Gospel while at the same time trusting the Lord to convict the hearts – which is the big job. Whenever I do get someone to talk with me, I always send additional tracts with him. With the variety I use, I try to pick the ones that may bring the most conviction, relevant to the sin problems that come out in our conversation.

So get out there and get some tracts out. Every soul is of infinite worth, so be willing to cross the street to give out one. Even and especially if the person won’t talk to you. If she does, great. But if not, let the tract do its job.

Addendum:  Below is the text I like to use on the back of Chick tracts . . .

Dear Friend, Your life is too short & fragile to neglect salvation. Humble yourself today. Confess your sins to God, TURN from them, and trust the Saviour. Eternal life can start today. Are you willing to live in obedience to your Lord (Jesus Christ) or will you kneel at his Judgment Seat – lost and condemned?

Do you THINK you’re OK? Already saved? Think again. Most American churchgoers are lost. Do you hate sin and love righteousness? Do you preach the Gospel to the lost? Do you love the Bible as much as lunch? Is your music godly? Is your language clean? Are you free from sexual sin? Even in your mind? Are you addicted to lust, porn, cigarettes, alcohol, anger, greed, or just SELFISHNESS?

Check out 2 Corinthians 13:5 and 2 Corinthians 5:17. Don’t fool yourself – most people do and land in Hell – deservedly.

– drdave@truthreallymatters.com