Over many years, I have heard numerous criticisms from people inside and outside the church that gospel tracts are useless and a waste of money because most people throw them away. I wholeheartedly disagree with this sentiment. There are many articles online that answer the question, “Why Use Gospel Tracts?,” read this article by Ray Comfort, from the evangelistic ministry, Living Waters to see the value of this gospel tool at https://www.livingwaters.com/use-gospel-tracts/
And for Audio proof that gospel tracts matter, listen to, “The Man From George Street” at https://youtu.be/0rXhHhNwHZk
Yes, I have shared the gospel with a very hard-hearted athesist who immediately after our lengthy discussion took the gospel tract I gave him and marched it right to the public trash can. Yet, for some this may be comical, but I believe God can do anything, so my immediate thought in that moment was maybe a trash collector will find it. God has changed me over many years to not take people’s actions and words towards the gospel to heart. Instead, I celebrate the fact that I was able to share the gospel, but I cannot control how the person will receive it.
I recently was encouraged by Charles Spurgeon’s view on the importance of gospel tracts. Spurgeon was a Pastor and Evangelist who would distribute tracts in England on the streets and house to house. Spurgeon countered the typical excuse many people express for not evangelizing, one of them being, “I could never talk to strangers and tell them about Jesus.” Here is his response to that type of thinking, “Gospel tracts are adapted to those persons who have but little power and little ability, but neverless, wish to do something for Christ. They have not the tongue of the eloquent, but they may have the hand of the diligent. They cannot stand and preach, but they can stand and distribute here and there these silent preachers… They may buy their thousand of tracts, and these they can distribute and broadcast.” He urges all God’s people, “Let each one of us, if we have done nothing for Christ, begin to do something now. The distribution of gospel tracts is the first thing.”
I love how D.L. Moody believed in the power of God even through a simple piece of paper, “You might have had a gospel tract presented to you. That was the Son of God seeking for your soul. He has used a four-page tract—sometimes just one page—to seek to convert a man.”
That is exactly what happened to me, God’s providence and a stranger’s obedience gave me a gospel tract on a Saturday morning in Pittsburgh at my college campus. The Bible tells us that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few and this dilemna exists in all churches. But J. Hudson Taylor, a missionary and evangelist who brought the gospel to China, learned that, “evangelism is the great work of the Church, and the order of lay evangelists are a lost order that Scripture required to be restored.”
Hudson in his autobiography, the Men Of Faith series, captured how God used a gospel tract he found lying around at his home. It looked interesting to him but he admitted his thoughts were, “There will be a story at the beginning, and a sermon or moral at the close: I will take the former and leave the latter for those who like it.”
Hudson took the gospel tract and sat in an old warehouse to read it, his plan was to then just discard it. Meanwhile, his mother who lived over 70 miles away would daily plead with God in prayer for her only son’s conversion.
What caught Hudson’s attention as he read the gospel tract? The words “The finished work of Christ.” He had no idea what it meant, specifically, “what was finished?” The gospel tract had the gospel of Jesus Christ which was the next thing he read. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Hudson was transformed, he finally understood, “If the whole work was finished and the whole debt paid, what is there left for me to do?” He realized the answer was nothing, except to fall down on his knees, accept Jesus as his Savior and His Salvation, and to praise him forevermore.
Later, Hudson discovered his sister’s diary and was amazed to read his mother and sister were praying for his conversion. And now, they can praise God for turning their son and brother from darkness to light.
There are also many others who also can testify that God used a gospel tract as part of their testimony. Mark Spence, who is the Senior Vice President of Living Waters and Dean of the online School of Biblical Evangelism has an amazing testimony of how God used a gospel tract. Spence found a gospel tract and the timing could not have been more perfect. Listen to his testimony in the video below.
Where To Buy Biblical Gospel Tracts?
- Gospel Tract Planet https://www.tractplanet.com
- One Million Tracts https://onemilliontracts-com.3dcartstores.com/
- Moments With The Book Gospel Tracts https://mwtb.org/
- Living Waters http://store.livingwaters.com/gospel-tracts.html
People Who Poured Into My Life
Another lost priority today is biblical discipleship. People pouring into the lives of others can truly make a tremendous difference in the growth of a believer.
God used various people over the 16 years in my walk of faith. I am thankful for them. Early in faith, my mother gave me a Bible, two women invited me to Bible study. Another woman later invited me to an Alpha Course which introduced me to the basics of the Christian faith. Then a husband and wife tremendously poured into my husband and my life by feeding our souls with Puritan books and piles of CDs of Paul Washer sermons. At the time we did not know who Washer was, but we were so hungry for exposition of the Word that we listened to the sermons repeatedly. Then there was a man, who was wheelchair-bound man, who greatly desired to disciple others, regardless of his physical and financial abilities. He opened his home and also shared biblical resources with others. More recently, I met two women evangelists who also know the importance of discipleship. One is a woman on fire for the Lord and is the President of Christian Collegiate Network (CCN). She has set time weekly for others to study truth and learn Biblical Evangelism/Apologetics on Zoom. I put off participating for years due to the fear of not knowing her and others, but she has introduced me to many valuable resources and is helping me grow as Christ’s disciple! The second woman faithfully goes out to evangelize with a team of people in Philadelphia daily. She surprised me with The Evidence Study Bible which I discovered is a valuable resource for learning how to share the gospel with others.
All of these people took to the time to care for my spiritual growth and God used them at integral times throughout my life. I am so thankful for His love through these people.
To see some of the Books That Helped Me Grow in Christ, go to https://changeyourcampus.com/2022/08/03/kristas-bookshelf/