He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
--------- Psalm 126:6SUMMARY: (The P___ Tract Ministry) is now several months old. Almost 5,000 tracts have been distributed, with an effort to at least try to personally engage every single recipient with the Gospel (i.e. a mere mass distribution is not the sole goal, but Gospel Engagement with as many people as possible). Our goal this year is to pass out 50,000 tracts, trying to engage in spiritual conversations with as many as possible.
...After reading of Robert Murray M'Cheyne’s practice of mapping his whole community and systematically praying and visiting every household in his area of living, and led by the examples of Siti and Erni, two females ministering to a very strict M community near B__, and doing the same - with very good results - I feel burdened to canvas this entire region so that no neighbor of mine will fail to receive the Word of God in at least some form.
The Rationale: Just as a sower goes out to sow, and just as the seed is the Word of God, we are to sow widely, generously, in all places, and are not to cease:
• What if we only have 10 minutes with someone who does not yet believe? How can we best use those 10 minutes for the eternal good of that lost soul? Tracts can serve as “paper missionaries” – witnessing to the truth long after I am gone.
• What if my speech evades me (especially when evangelizing in a second-language); an already prepared Gospel tract can give the truth accurately even if I fail in my own words.
• What if folks will not come to church to hear? We must go to them, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” (Luke 14:23)
• What if local church leaders themselves do not clearly know the Gospel, or they fail to tell it consistently? Tracts on a number of subjects can help bless church leaders themselves, grounding them more deeply in the truth. Solid tracts in the hands of church leaders also equips them with an easy-to-use resource to share with their own flock.
• What if I do not know how to start or end a conversation to the glory of God? Tracts are very useful to start a conversation about God, or to help close a conversation upon parting.
Why have I felt burdened to start this ministry: Giving out tracts is so easy to do, especially as a Westerner, since many people already desire to approach and enquire about why I am here. Sometimes the attention can be over-whelming and in many places where there are not many westerners, it is impossible to remain unnoticed in public or have many quiet moments alone. Instead of getting frustrated and resenting the attention and rudely reminding people that I would like to be left alone sometimes, I can now redeem these otherwise frustrating moments and count all this, too, as a God-given tool to spread His Fame. By always having a tract ready, I can direct every conversation in God-glorifying ways and seize every opportunity.
I have been astounded by the reception: The response has been astonishing! Without planning to street preach, I have had groups as large as 50, 70, 100 surround me and ask for more tracts or listen as I explained the purpose of the tracts (a street preacher’s dream). When explaining the tracts I have heard shouts of “Amen” as if I were preaching and many hearty “thank you’s.” I have had people follow me, cross over to the other side of the street in busy traffic, take motorcycle taxis or stop their vehicles to receive these tracts. I have had people beg to take more than one tract in order to go give these to their own families. I have had people join me and walk with me and pass out tracts as well, introducing me to friends, family and community leaders.
On several occasions people have requested that I follow them back to their own neighborhoods to pass out tracts there, too, so that the burdened man or woman’s neighbors, too, could hear the Gospel. I have felt constrained to obey these requests even though these side-trips took me far off my planned path. Yuli and I sometimes jokingly ask ourselves now, “I wonder where we will end up today” and this, too, has proved good training in yielding to Providence and submitting one’s self to gospel opportunities, even when inconvenient. If someone asks for the Word of God, how can we refuse?
On at least two occasions women have broken down in tears as we have spoken and explained the tracts; one older woman weeping at the unbelief of her own children as she begged us to follow her home to give out tracts and talk to her family, and another woman who immediately stated that she needed to repent and then directly prayed for salvation then-and-there after reading a tract and speaking to us about true salvation versus a mere easy-believism.
Also, I have had strict M women in headcoverings ask for tracts and we are currently struggling to formulate a better future plan to bless this demographic as well since we have experienced an unexpected openness in this.
On several occasions, drunk people were offended at our anti-drunkenness tracts. Jimmy and I were both threatened several times, pushed and the tracts knocked out of Jimmy’s hands. And yet, this too added to the crowds and resulted in more people crowding around us to hear. The crowd actually defended us (“leave them alone, they are doing a good thing…you know that you need to repent,” several in the crowd actually pulling the angry drunks away from us) and as a result the listeners asked for more tracts to pass out on their own.
A major facet of this ministry is mentoring: Though I value tract distribution as a good ministry in and of itself, I have also felt burdened to use this activity as a means of teaching local bible students about the principles of personal evangelism. The church here is a mile wide and an inch deep. There is a Christian identity for many tribes here. However, though many people are Christian in identity, they are mostly unsaved and lack true Gospel knowledge and merely identify with the Christian religion because others in their tribe did the same. Public sin and drunkenness, HIV, shattered families, violence, are all on the rise. Also, those solid churches that do, in fact, know the Gospel have largely begun to think of “ministry” as something that is chiefly done within the confines of the church building on Sunday and “doing church” has become a formality. There is not a lot of “outside-the-church building evangelism” going on in the cities.
Therefore, every time I go out to distribute tracts, I take others with me. Yulianus A and Jimmy W are my two most frequent tract-buddies, as well as Jimmy’s wife Perin. But, we also make it a point to take along Bible students and younger Christians so that they, too, may also learn personal evangelism on the ground with us and so we go out together and engage our community and then discuss the results afterward together in sort of an after-action-review.
A tract about tracts: One special tract that we pass out to Church leaders is a tract about tract distribution itself. This tract explains the concept, and how best to engage in this type of ministry. Many pastors have shown a great deal of gratitude and are now photocopying these tracts themselves in order to give to others.
Even as I wrote this report I received a call thanking me for the tracts from a pastor who has just photocopied many tracts himself and has now started his own ministry of distributing them himself.
How this ministry began: Up until this year I would print occasional tracts and give them to people at opportune times. This year, however, I began to see that there are many thousands of opportune times that I was ignoring. EVERY TIME and EVERY PLACE is an opportune time and place here.
After having rocks thrown at our shared mission vehicle by a drunk man in the middle of the road (not the first time), I decided that, instead of being mad, I would create anti-drunkenness tracts and pass them out to the families near this community. The tracts were enthusiastically taken and the people asked for more, following me up the hill with their requests. The family of the drunk man thanked me and he and all of his friends heard the Gospel. The drunk man himself (now more clear-headed) apologized and asked for additional tracts to give to his drinking buddies.
Why did I wait so long: Why did I wait so long to start this tract ministry?
• First: Missionaries usually have a distinct focus, a distinct village or people-group – and sometimes we forget that we are missionaries wherever we go, even when we return to the coast to resupply. This focused mindset is a necessity at times, lest we burn out. However, sometimes we can have blinders on to other needs.
• Second: There are so many bad examples of street evangelism in the West, and so many self-appointed street preachers not accountable to the wider body of Christ or any local church, that I believe many pastors and missionaries do not consider street evangelism and tract ministry as an effective method. All the more reason for sent-out missionaries who have the full approval of their home churches to vigorously engage in such ministries!
• Third: There are so many very bad Gospel tracts. Many are just plain tacky at best, and heretical at worst. All the more reason to put out solid materials ourselves.
• Fourth: Some street preachers are rude and seem to revel in giving offense. Some offence cannot be helped, of course. However, here in Papua we have enjoyed wide acceptance of our tract distribution, we have made strong efforts to never be anything except for friendly and polite, we only give to those who ask, and we do not corner people. We also include follow-up information for future discipleship, and our evangelistic efforts aim to disciple deeply and long-term.
What kind of tracts are you currently using? Most tracts deal with simple Gospel truths and especially target false assurance. Several tracts differentiate an outward Christian identity from an inward heart that has been renewed by the new birth. Pastor Jim Elliff has a number of very readable, simple tracts in English that we have translated and these have proved to be very useful.
What are the future plans: Jimmy Weyato may be living in S. Town part-time starting next year for further education, and he will take over this ministry and expand the number of tracts and train others in evangelism through this means. Yulianus A. will also be a partner in this endeavor. At some point we may invest in a printing press, which could become a sustainable means of income for a local pastor.
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We need street preachers here!: I know groups of street-preachers in the US/UK, and so many times their efforts are met by opposition, indifference or anger. I am praying that many young men who are being called to engage in street evangelism would consider not becoming street preachers in the West, but engage these open rceptive cities, which are fast filling with M transmigrants from other regions. Within 5 years this region will become an M-majority region, if this has not already happened.
Have you ever considered using Gospel Tracts? If we are truly burdened for those around us, then we will look for ways to reach them for Christ. It is important to be ready to share the gospel any time we are in contact with people. Christians who are not preachers can pass out tracts. It is easy to do. If a person were to lack a tongue entirely they could still spread the Gospel by means of tracts.
May God open our eyes to the hundreds of opportunities every day that we have to give the Word of God to others.
