How To Use Tracts

Summary - All about using Bible Tracts

The Evangelism committee has put together some information on how to get the most out of using Bible tracts as a tool for witnessing. We would like to share a summary of our findings tonight with you and encourage everyone to use the tools that we have available here.

Let me introduce tonight’s topic by telling a real story by R.A. Torrey. R. A. Torrey, born in 1856 was a Congregational evangelist, teacher, author, born in New Jersey. He became the superintendent of the school which became known as the Moody Bible Institute.

“Some years ago a man came into a mission in New York. One of the workers tried to talk with him, but he would not listen. As he was leaving, a card tract was placed in his hands which read, “If I should die to-night I would go to ______ Please fill out and sign." He put it in his pocket, went to his steamer, for he was a sailor, and slipped it into the edge of his bunk. The steamer started for Liverpool. On his voyage he met with an accident, and was laid aside in his bunk. That card stared him in the face, day and night. Finally he said, “If I should die tonight I would go to hell, but I will not go there, I will go to heaven, I will take Christ right here and now." He went to Liverpool, returned to New York, went to the mission, told his story, and had the card, which was still in his pocket, filled out and signed with his name. The conversation he had had in the mission left him, but the card stayed by him.

To be clear, it is the Holy Spirit that does the work, but we know that it does not return void and always accomplishes what it sets out to do. This gives us great encouragement when we send out Bible tracts.

A Bible tract may be used in ways you never expected. For more information please visit our new updated church web site ( www.livingwaterreformedchurch.com ).

Why use Bible tracts – Here are some reasons

1. It has been said that “nothing goes farther, costs less, or says it better than a Gospel tract.”

2. Most people have never read a clear presentation of the Gospel. / to correct errors.

3. The best tracts explain and share God’s word - which we know never returns void 4. Gospel tract’s can be read at anytime and can be found almost anywhere

5. To fulfill the great commission. It may seem difficult at first, but it is worthwhile. Heb 13: 5b,6: …For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

How to use Bible Tracts Effectively

1. Pray before and after you use or plan to use tracts

2. Read the tract first before you share them, and be prepared for questions

3. Leave tracts where people are waiting around and have time to read. E.g.: waiting rooms, airports, lounges …

4. Match the message of the tract with a previous conversation or person or occasion. E.g Easter, when tipping, or paying a bill, someone going through a hard time, in libraries, in prison, in magazines ..

5. Have a selection of tracts with you. In car, home, purse, briefcase… “always be ready to give a defense”

6. Engage them. Smile, make eye contact. If they respond to a warm “Good morning,” or “How are you doing?” that will almost always break the ice and they will take it. Say "Did you get one of these?" instead of “would you like one”. You stir up curiosity and make them ask "One of what?" That's when you pass it to them. That phrase also makes them feel as though they are missing out on something. And so they are.

Isaiah 55:10-11. 10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

----End Summary ---

Details and research on Bible Tracts

Introduction

A tract can never truly reflect the scope of God's love. And yet, nothing goes farther, costs less, or says it better than a Gospel tract. Most people have never read a clear presentation of the Gospel.

If you don't already use tracts, I encourage you to try it for a time. You might not be the one to stand on a street corner in a busy intersection handing out tracts (although you'd be surprised how effective that can be).

Charles Spurgeon stated, “When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have a tract ready . . . Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life. Therefore, do not go out without your tracts.”

Never underestimate the power of a gospel tract. After George Whitefield read one called “The Life of God in the Soul of a Man,” he said, “God showed me I must be born again or be damned.” He went on to pray, “Lord, if I am not a Christian, or if I am not a real one, for Jesus Christ’s sake show me what Christianity is, that I may not be damned at last!” Then his journal tells us “from that moment . . . did I know that I must become a new creature.”

Why use Bible tracts

Reference
In Chile, a young mother came to Christ after reading a tract a missionary had given her. A man in the southern US was born again in his prison cell after reading a tract handed him by one of the guards. A Soviet paratrooper read a tract he was using to light a fire, and his life changed for eternity.

Why evangelize

Most of us are not “evangelists” according to the classic definition. We reserve that role for the Billy Grahams and D. L. Moodys of our day. But the Bible is clear that we are to share the gospel.

Why Us

God has chosen to reach the world through us. In fact, God uses our faithful (and sometimes fearful) efforts at evangelism to grow us. Through evangelizing we must commit ourselves to God in trust and we must be familiar with His Word. The more we know about God, the better our ability to answer the questions put before us.

There are many other blessings associated with evangelizing, but the greatest I have experienced is the personal joy of seeing someone come into a relationship with Christ. And of course, one of the most effective methods of evangelizing I know of is the distribution of quality Gospel tracts.

Why Tracts

A tract is any tool that is to the point, relevant, arrests our attention, contains the gospel and takes us closer to Christ.

Tracts are indispensable. I want to encourage you to think about their strategic use as you go out into the world each day. When you make them part of your spiritual repertoire, God will give you many opportunities to share. A tract is so wonderfully crafted that it can go to work if even a child finds one on the floor. Regardless of your spiritual maturity or experience in sharing the gospel, a tract is an indispensable helper.

Why use Bible tracts #2

Reference

Tracts can make an opening for us to share our faith. We can watch people's reaction as we give them a tract, and see if they are open to listen to spiritual things.
They can do the witnessing for us. If we are too timid to speak to someone about the things of God, we can at least give them a tract, or leave it lying around so that someone will pick it up.
They speak to the person when they are ready--i.e. they don't read it until they want to.
They can find their way into people's homes when we can't.
They don't get into argument. They just state their case.
Dr. Oswald J. Smith said, "The only way to carry out the Great Commission will be by the means of the printed page." Billy Graham said, "Nothing surpasses a tract for sowing the seed of the Good News." The Apostle Paul said, "I might by any means save some." I'm sure that if Paul had access to the printed page that we have access to, he would carry his convictions to the full.
Simply because God uses them

Why use Bible tracts #3

Reference

A tract always sticks to the point. I wish every worker did that, but how often we get to talking to some one and he is smart enough to get us off on to a side track.
A tract never loses its temper. Perhaps you sometimes do. I have known Christian workers, even workers of experience, who would sometimes get all stirred up, but you cannot stir up a tract It always remains as calm as a June morning.
Oftentimes people who are too proud to be talked with, will read a tract when no one is looking. There is many a man who would repulse you if you tried to speak to him about his soul, who will read a tract if you leave it on his table, or in some other place where he comes upon it accidentally, and that tract may be used for his salvation.
A tract stays by one. You talk to a man and then he goes away, but the tract stays with him. Some years ago a man came into a mission in New York. One of the workers tried to talk with him, but he would not listen. As he was leaving, a card tract was placed in his hands which read, “ I should die to-night I would go to ______ Please fill out and sign." He put it in his pocket, went to his steamer, for he was a sailor, and slipped it into the edge of his bunk. The steamer started for Liverpool. On his voyage he met with an accident, and was laid aside in his bunk. That card stared him in the face, day and night. Finally he said, “I should die tonight I would go to hell, but I will not go there, I will go to heaven, I will take Christ right here and now." He went to Liverpool, returned to New York, went to the mission, told his story, and had the card, which was still in his pocket, filled out and signed with his name. The conversation he had had in the mission left him, but the card stayed by him.
Tracts lead many to accept Christ. The author of one tract (“What is it to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?") received before his death upwards of sixteen hundred letters from people who had been led to Christ by reading it.
To correct error. This is a very necessary form of work in the day in which we live. The air is full of error. In our personal work we have not always time to lead a man out of his error, but oftentimes we can give him a tract that can do the work better than we can.
To set Christians to work. Our churches are full of members who are doing nothing. A well-chosen tract may set such to work. I know of a young man who was working in a factory in Massachusetts. He was a plain, uneducated sort of fellow, but a little tract on personal work was placed in his hands. He read it and re-read it, and said, “I am not doing what I should for Christ."

Why use Bible tracts #4

Reference

It never gets tired and gives up.
It keeps on working while you are sleeping, even when you are unable to distribute it.
It always catches a person in the right mood, because the Holy Spirit will always speak to the heart as the Word is being read.

Who should use Bible tracts

Reference
Any person can do it. We cannot all preach; we cannot all conduct meetings; but we can all select useful tracts and then hand them out to others. Of course some of us can do it better than others. Even a blind man or a dumb man can do tract work. It is a line of work in which every man, woman and child can engage.

How to use Bible tracts

Reference
Here are my suggestions for developing an effective tract ministry.

Pray. You cannot win anyone to Christ, neither can a tract. Only the Holy Spirit can do that.

Give appropriate tracts. Always carry several different types of tracts with you—so you can match the message to the person.

Engage your audience. This can be done by making eye contact, with a simple smile, asking questions and listening carefully to what is said.

Don’t force tracts on people. I recommend distributing a dozen tracts carefully, prayerfully, and judiciously over handing out a hundred indiscriminately.

Use top-quality tracts. Invest in the best tracts available. You and your Lord will be judged by the equipment you use.

Keep your tracts in good condition. Make sure your tracts are clean and fresh when you hand them out.

Use positive tracts. Our job is not to put others down, but to lift Jesus up by presenting the positive truth of the gospel.

Find new ways to use tracts. Be original. Never leave home without a tract.

Get organized. Place tracts where they will be readily accessible for your use, like in your closet, car, backpack, or purse.

Give out a tract each day. You will be amazed as you see the Lord bless your efforts.

How to use Bible tracts #2

Reference

If you can get them to respond to a warm “Good morning,” or “How are you doing?” that will almost always break the ice and they will take it.

If you want people to accept your tract from you, don't say, "Would you like this?" They will probably say, "What is it?" and then you're in trouble. Instead, say, "Did you get one of these?" That question has a two-fold effect. You stir up curiosity and make them ask "One of what?" That's when you pass it to them. That phrase also makes them feel as though they are missing out on something. And so they are.

Why not begin today? Then each night as you shut your eyes to go to sleep, you will have something very special to pray about...that God will use the tract you put somewhere. You will also have a deep sense of satisfaction, that you played a small part in carrying out the Great Commission...to reach this dying world with the gospel of everlasting life. Don't waste your life. Do something for the Kingdom of God while you are able to. Finally, always remember--treat every day as though it were your last...one day you will be right, so do something for God while you are able.

How to use Bible tracts #3

Reference

Always read the tracts yourself before giving them to others. This is very necessary. Bad tracts abound today.
Use tracts to begin a conversation. One of the difficulties in Christian work is to begin. You see a person with whom you wish to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ. The great difficulty is in starting. It is easy enough to talk after you have started, but how are you going to start a conversation naturally and easily? One of the simplest and easiest ways is by slipping a tract into the person's hand.
Use a tract to close a conversation. As a rule when you have finished talking with some one, you should not leave him without something definite to take home to read. If the person has accepted Christ, put some tract in his hands that will show him how to succeed in the Christian life. If the person has not accepted Christ, some other tract that is especially adapted to his need should be left with him.
Use tracts where a conversation is impossible. For reasons such as: Language differences, Volume of traffic…, Dangerous situation
Use tracts to send to people at a distance. It does not cost a tract much to travel. You can send them to the ends of the earth for a few cents.
Suit your tract to the person to whom you give it. There are topical tracts, children tracts, ones for unsaved, or for Christians. Carry a selection of tracts with you.
Oftentimes give a man a tract with words and sentences underscored. Men are curious, and they will take particular notice of the underscoring.
Act as though you were conferring a favour upon them, and giving them something worth reading, they will read your tract. It is often well to say to a person, “Here is a little leaflet out of which I have gotten a good deal of good. I would like to have you read it."

How to use Bible tracts #4

Reference

You eat out. Leave a tract when you leave a tip. Be generous--your behavior can turn people off to the Gospel too.
You pay your bills by mail. You don't know the person who opens the mail, but God does-and He has a plan for that person too. Enclose a tract in every piece of mail you send out.
You encounter people going through hard times. Hand them a tract that speaks about suffering. Are you sending a card? Enclose an appropriate tract.
When the store clerk wishes you a good day, thank her warmly and hand her a tract, wishing her a good day too.
Every time you use a tract you give the Holy Spirit new opportunities to work: a tract left on a gasoline pump, in a waiting room, in a Thanksgiving basket or a grocery cart . . . You will be amazed at how God has even used a tract rescued from the trash.
Not sure about using tracts? Try it for a month. Give out one tract a day for 30 days. Add it to your prayer list: "God use me to get this message into the right hands today," and then go about your normal activities tuned to the needs of the people you meet. At the end of the day, pray: "God I pray that the message I gave out today will accomplish Your will." Then rejoice that God gave you this day to serve Him.

How to use Bible tracts #5

Reference

While visiting a relative put in kitchen and bathroom drawers. (never open their personal drawers)
Put inside the cover of rented videos when returning to the store.
Put mail: utility bills, credit card payments, b-day & holiday cards, letters to family and friends etc.
Leave in restrooms both public and those of your family & friends.
Leave in phone booths.
Leave on benches at shopping malls, shopping carts.
Leave at wafting room at doctor / hospital offices.
Leave at tables and phone booths while visiting at hospitals.
Pin to bulletin boards.
Put in pockets of used clothing at thrift stores.
Leave in dressing rooms of clothing stores.
Pass out at parades, festivals, and special events.
Whole punch a tract, then tie with a ribbon on to a helium-filled balloon.
Leave at funeral homes.
Leave in newspaper machines, newspaper racks, magazine racks
Hand out at sporting events.
Leave in Laundromats.
Give to attendants at parking garages, etc.
Leave in motel rooms (in the drawers, telephone book, etc.)
Pass out to fellow campers.
Put in magazines in waiting rooms.
Leave with a good tip in restaurants.
Leave on seats: public transportation, lobbies, entertainment complexes
Leave in lockers at health clubs.
Pass out on busy street corners.
Leave in cafeteria at work & school.
Put in bags at yard sales

Start your own tract ministry by praying first, then going to hospitals, sporting events, theatres or wherever the Holy Spirit leads. We will supply them to you as long as you are willing to "step into the gap for Jesus" . Please keep us posted with any praise reports and prayer requests that you have. And remember, always pray before sharing your faith.

How to use Bible tracts #6

Reference

In clothes pockets in stores
With fast-food employees, cashiers, flight attendants, cab drivers, and gas station workers.
At rest areas
In diaper changing stations
On ATM machines and bank counters
In elevators
On hotel dressers for the maid and in the dressers
Inside magazines / newspapers / library books
Mail tracts to families that have just lost loved ones look through your papers obituaries.
You can also mail them to people convicted of DUI or other crimes
Put some in a plastic brochure holder by your door to give to anyone who comes to your door, and as a reminder to bring some with you when you leave the house.
In open car windows
To people you see waiting in their cars at parking lots.

Basically anywhere you go. Just pray that God will prepare peoples heart and open doors before you leave for the day and trust God to do the rest. Remember it is God who does the saving not us. We are merely planters and waterers.

If God is speaking to you about your lack of evangelistic concern, pray something like this now:
Father, please forgive me for my lack of love for this dying world. From this day forward I will strive to be a “true and faithful witness.” Please give me the wisdom to know what to say to reach the lost. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Bible verses that encourage us to spread God’s word

Isaiah 55:10-11. 10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

1 Peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear"

Heb 13: 5b, 6 …For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

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