Every so often when strolling through downtown Burbank or the Americana in Glendale, I receive a tract from some unknown person trying to spread the Gospel. Most tracts are designed to grab the reader’s attention quickly, tell the truth, and offer the person forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. Most people think of evangelism as something done toward a person we do not know. Cold evangelism is fine and should be done, especially when done to win people not arguments, but it is not the primary way believers evangelize. A few weeks ago I proposed evangelism is primarily done in our daily life with people we interact with habitually.
But there is something missing with almost every tract and most “cold” presentations. The missing element is explainable considering the theology behind most who compile tracts. Some of these groups focus their attention on proving sinfulness, distilling the Gospel down to four points, and have not even considered they are missing something–the heart of the Great Commission!
I just encountered you. I received a Gospel presentation and a tract. I do not respond to you. I go home, I think about it, and I dwell on what you said. I read your tract and then open a dusty Bible or find an e-Bible. I get saved. GREAT!!!! Now what?
What do I do? Where do I go? Who do I tell? I need direction.
Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you . . .”
The main point of this verse is “make disciples.” Every other action (go, baptize, and teach) are subservient to the main idea of “making disciples” and yet they provide further details on how to make disciples. But the point is “make disciples.” Tract evangelism seems to emphasize the “go” and teaches a little of the Gospel. But who is going to help develop me? Who is going to disciple me? Where am I going to see and imitate the faith to grow more like and serve Jesus Christ? Where am I going to practice the one another’s and grow? Who am I going to ask difficult questions?
What did you leave on the tract to point me where to go? Did you leave a church address? Telephone number? Are you trusting the person will have immediate discernment to recognize a biblically based church and immediately get plugged in?
Yes God is sovereign and He will complete what He begins in a believer. But we desire to help the person as much as possible. Is adding a church address or providing a telephone number really that difficult? If our goal is making disciples then we hand out helpful information. Yes the Gospel is helpful. Yes it is even more helpful to provide personal contact information especially if he or she repents!
The missing element in tract evangelism is the church. Before you grab your million dollars and walk out the front door, consider the follow through. How will you direct a person back to a good church? Will you add an address, email, and contact information? How will you make sure the Great Commission is truly about “making disciples”?
Shepherd The Sheep 
Jason, Amen! Thanks for the encouragement!
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Great article, so true! -2Believe.net
My Testimony did not result from a tract, not even from a person sharing the gospel with me clearly, I was at the end of my rope so, I cried out to God for help in September 2007! I moved to Henderson in 2005, and did not know anyone and was not saved. My contract ended at Stanford University in 2007, and that was the start of the job crash and housing crash. No doors opened for me on work.
Jesus not only placed born again Christians in my path, the Holy Spirit discipled me! I began going to Central until He plucked me out of that church into another one teaching line by line verse by verse.
God through His scriptures taught me to wait on Him for provision and totally trust in Him, not man. All I could do was wait! I had no where to go so I just prayed and fasted for provision. I learned through Him and His word that all I needed on this planet was Him and nothing else mattered in the world. He taught me not to be worldly or love the things in this world. He eventually placed a lady in my path to help me she wrote a check for $5000.00 and said pay 3 months in advance on your rent and utilities that there was more if I needed as it was from God. I ended up moving in with her until I could get on my feet and was always helping out at the church, on the worship team and went out witnessing on Fremont St. Everyone was praying for me and a job.
I prayed and told the Lord I was ready for whatever job He wanted me to do, and I would need to share my faith at this job or I would keep getting fired. Sat. Jan. 10 or 11 I went to a woman’s group from the church and stood up after our prayer to say Jesus is going to bring me work, I don’t know what it is but He will! A lady named Linda stood up and said, Oh my! I had been praying for someone to work for me do you need a job? I said yes, and can I share my faith? She said absolutely!
Jesus basically pushed me into sharing my faith no matter how clumsy I was at it in 2008 and handing out tracts. After I moved into my Apt. in May 2010, I prayed for God’s will for a husband that would be tall and on fire to share the gospel using the Way of the Master method my church had taught me. The following month God orchestrated our meeting on June 5, 2010 and God orchestrated Rod to propose three weeks later. He was the tall man and on fire for God that I prayed for. The Holy Spirit discipled me! I’m living proof and we are so blessed to be retired now and work for His kingdom full time!
Jesus showed us both that the Holy Spirit is more than capable of discipling those out in the field, not everyone will be a part of the same church they all will have to go through a sanctification process we all have to go through, and everyone has a different level of Faith and Trust in our Savior, so we give them information on where to attend, a bible and let them know to read the book of John, and we give them our contact information and a DVD. The rest is up to the Lord as we pray for them all!
Had it not been for these tracts passed out to the Thousands upon Thousands of people we have reached from Kauai, to Henderson, witnessing, handing out tracts and open air preaching we would not of heard of stories of people we have run into telling us they have surrendered their lives because we handed them a gospel tract and they are now attending a church and growing in Jesus.
Had no one handed George Whitfield a Gospel Tract in the late 1700’s then he would have not been saved and turned out to be the best example of a Preacher there is today! Here is another story!
A student at Jacksonville University in Florida was given a tract. The student crupled the pamphlet up and tossed it into a trash bin in his dorm. Later his dorm mate picked it out of the trash, read it, and was soundly saved. He is now a pastor of a church in Florida.
Why should a Christian use good gospel Tracts? Simply because God uses them and places people in the path of a tract for them to read! If you don’t believe that Jesus can do this, you have very little faith in our divine Creator! God used a tract to save the great missionary Hudson Taylor as well as innumerable others. That fact alone should be enough incentive for a True Christ Follower to always use tracts to reach the lost, you just never know the amount of Treasure you are storing up in Heaven if you don’t! God commanded us to store up treasures in Heaven not on earth.
If the Pastor of a church does not train the congregation to go out two by two and do this, they won’t do it, and the church itself will not be blessed. Pastor Daniel not only Leads by example, he wants them taught! The rest is up to God!
Thanks for sharing! The Lord used a witness in my life to share the Gospel on a day I needed to hear it. I am forever thankful for the woman who told me Christ offers forgiveness of sins.
Keep doing what you’re doing with the motive that people come to know the Lord! The message from Scripture must get out and the Lord uses us broken people to share the Gospel. The Spirit uses the Word of God and how shall they know unless they hear?
Thanks for the testimony! Keep up the good work.
There are good tracts out there: http://LivingWaters.com; http://TractPlanet.com; and for 30 free cards go to http://www.BezeugenTractClub.org and tell Carl, Rosie and Rod sent you! God Bless!