Tracts - Some Amazing Numbers!

How important is it to distribute Gospel tracts as we go about our daily tasks around town? Many people are unsure if the results are worth the effort. We seldom hear of someone being saved from a tract we hand out and rarely hear of someone coming to church because a Gospel tract was given to them. Maybe we should take a closer look at what happens when we regularly and faithfully hand out tracts.

When we give someone a Gospel tract, we never know what they are going through or how God will use it in their life. Several years ago, I was flying from Atlanta to Detroit and seated beside me was a former football star for the University of Connecticut. We began talking, and I gave him a Gospel tract. He was going to Detroit to attend his grandmother’s funeral. He was thinking about eternity, and I had the opportunity to lead him to Christ. When you give someone a Gospel tract, it may be just the answer to a troubled heart or soul. We must keep that in mind when we go through our daily routines around town.

Distributing tracts, especially with your church information on them, makes your church better known. Dr. Bobby Roberson said, “Don’t just be the pastor of your church, but be the pastor of your community.” When an unchurched person has a spiritual problem and needs a pastor, the pastor of your church should be the first name that comes to his mind. This is more likely to happen if your church members pass out tracts everywhere they go.

If each of your church members consistently distributed tracts, your town could be completely saturated very quickly. If 100 people distributed only 5 Gospel tracts each day, then 182,500 Gospel tracts would be distributed in one year! All we need to do is consistently give a person a Gospel tract each time we pull out our wallet to pay for something.

The problem isn’t that we have no opportunities; the problem is that we are not making a conscious effort to distribute tracts on a regular basis. May we all make a commitment to this simple task as we live for Christ each day.

By Earl Jessup (published by permission)

IFBKJV.com has these resources listed where you can obtain free tracts: Free Resources

Door Knocking Doesn't Work Anymore

Do you remember when preachers all preached about going on door-to-door visitation? By that, I mean cold calls, city surveys, house to house. You walk up to a door picked randomly, knock on it, introduce your church, and inquire about the spiritual state of the soul who lives there. Then, based on the reply, give the gospel and invite that person to accept Jesus as Savior. You leave a little while later with a smile, a hearty handshake, and a promise from them to come visit your church soon.

Does this ever happen anymore? Or are you more likely to have the dogs set on you? Maybe have someone pull a gun in your face? Is this a familiar scenario instead: you knock on the door and all the lights go off. You wait. And wait. And wait. You leave a church tract or information booklet that you know is going to get thrown away in a few minutes, unread.

In the past few years, I have sat across the table from nameless independent, fundamental pastors who have told me, personally, that door knocking doesn't work anymore. Sure, they have a door to door campaign sometime during the nicest weather of the year, when it's not too uncomfortable for their church members. Maybe in conjunction with VBS, which has become the largest evangelical outreach program of the year in many churches!

Does it sadden you when you hear of a pastor who "just doesn't visit anymore"? Maybe he's too old, maybe it's too risky, or maybe his wife tells you, "No one comes when he visits them. He goes to visit newcomers and they stop coming." Soon it's not just contacts he's not visiting, it's cold calls as well. I have recently heard a pastor say that when he is in the hospital with one of his church members awaiting serious surgery, he is often the only preacher in town who shows up for his people, and that he would estimate that three out of four pastors don't even visit their congregation when hospitalized. Does a pastor who does not visit excuse a congregation that does not visit? Of course not, yet we all know the old truism, "You never rise higher than your leadership".

I don't mean for this article to be a critical article. I do want to point out what I am beginning to see as a growing problem and cancer in independent, fundamental baptist churches. I also want to confess my own faithlessness. My pastor started a new campaign at the beginning of this year. "Instead of trying to get a certain number here on Big Day in March, " he said,"I am going to set a goal we need to reach every week. A goal we can make sure we reach, and is dependent on us going out, not on them coming in. The Lord has led me to set 500 doors a week as our goal."

"500 doors a week! Is he insane?! That's crazy! That's unreachable! This is going to be more discouraging when we don't reach it!" my brain said. I didn't openly criticize his leading, but I sure did question it in my head! I didn't say a word to anyone, and I tried to keep my face neutral, but for the next few weeks, every time I heard the goal, I shook my head, mentally.

All the Faces

Acts of Compassion

One of my joys in ministry is teaching the fourth grade girls Sunday school class at Lancaster Baptist Church. I enjoy incorporating many different teaching methods in our Sunday school class, and for a lesson on the Good Samaritan, I decided to use the element of surprise. On my way to the front of the classroom to begin the lesson, I would trip and fall to the ground. I expected my fourth grade girls to be sympathetic and helpful, then I could explain the definition of compassion and compare it to the Good Samaritan.

My act was flawless. I walked to the front of my classroom and fell, dropping all of my handouts, lesson notes, and visuals. But to my surprise, the girls just sat there. They were shocked and embarrassed for me. Instead of jumping to my aid, they froze in awkward silence. Needless to say, my great class introduction did not go as planned.

As I thought about compassion that day, the Lord taught me that sometimes we as adults respond the same way to others during their time of need or trial. When we see those in need of compassion, we do what my fourth grade girls did—we look on in awkward silence. We love the person, we feel bad, and we want to help. But because we don’t know what to do, we do nothing at all.

True compassion goes beyond a sympathetic feeling in my heart. True compassion involves action. We see this demonstrated by Jesus. He was moved with compassion (Matthew 9:36)—He did something about it! He healed those with disease and saved those who were lost.

How is compassion being displayed in your life today?

In Your Home
Often, it is hardest to be compassionate toward the people closest to us. Ephesians 5:33 commands husbands and wives, “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” We don’t always treat our families like we should, but our homes should be a picture of compassion. Does your daughter need help with her math homework? Does your husband need a clean house and a quiet evening at home? Ask God to give you a compassionate heart, and then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, seek for ways to demonstrate that compassion to your family.

In Your Church
Isn’t it easy to get into a routine when we go to church? We drop our Bibles off at our pew, drop our kids off in the nursery, line up for choir, listen to the sermon, and coordinate various details for church related events following the service. Have you recently stopped to notice the person sitting by himself in need of a friend? Do you display true, biblical compassion to those you serve at church, or are you just going through the motions? Galatians 6:10 tells us, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” The Lord can increase your burden and give you wisdom to know how to be a blessing to those around you. Don’t limit what God can do through you. If you stop to look, God will show you someone whom He can encourage through you.

Toward the Lost
We all know John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave….” We find the ultimate picture of compassion in this one phrase. God’s burden for us was displayed through action—He gave His Son. If Jesus felt that type of compassion for each of us as sinners, we should also live to show that compassion to those who don’t know Him. If you’re like me, God renews your heart for the lost during Missions Conferences or other outreach-related events. The missionary testimonies and displays remind us of the desperate need for Jesus in our world today. Sadly, though, my heart loses some of that fervor throughout the year. I have to pray to God for a compassionate heart that will actively share the Gospel with other people. Godly compassion is more than an emotion that comes and goes. It is a God-given burden that compels us to action.

When faced with someone who is hurting, do you respond like one of the fourth grade girls? Do you see a need, but tentatively look on in awkward silence? If so, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and guide you as you seek to demonstrate compassion to those around you. After all, it is because of the Lord’s compassion that you and I are able to show it to others! Lamentations 3:22 says, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.” I thank the Lord for our compassionate Saviour and pray that as we enter the fall season, you will be a vessel through which His compassion can flow to those around you!

Article by: Terrie Chappell
Ladies Ministry Director, Lancaster Baptist Church