THE USE OF TRACTS
(From How To Work For Christ by R.A. Torrey)
Comparatively few Christians realize the
importance of tract work. I had been a Christian a
good many years, and a minister of the Gospel
several years, before it ever entered my head that
tracts were of much value in Christian work. I had
somehow grown up with the notion that tracts were
all rubbish, and therefore I did not take the
trouble to read them, and far less did I take the
trouble to circulate them, but I found out that I
was entirely wrong. Tract work has some great
advantages over other forms of Christian work.
I. IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES.
1. 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 mute man can do tract work.
It is a line of work in which every man, woman and
child can engage.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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
rebuke 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.
5. 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, "If I
should die tonight 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.
6. 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.
II. PURPOSES FOR WHICH TO USE A TRACT.
1. FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE UNSAVED. A tract will
often succeed in winning a man to Christ where a
sermon or a personal conversation has failed.
There are a great many people who, if you try to
talk with them, will put you off; but if you put a
tract in their hands and ask God to bless it,
after they go away and are alone they will read
the tract and God will carry it home to their
hearts by the power of the Holy Ghost. One of our
students wrote me in great joy of how he had at
last succeeded in winning a whole family for
Christ. He had been working for that family for a
long time but could not touch them. One day he
left a tract with them, and God used that
tract for the conversion of four or five members
of the family. Another student held a cottage
meeting at a home, and by mistake left his Bible
there. There was a tract in the Bible. When he had
gone, the woman of the house saw the Bible, picked
it up, opened it, saw the tract and read it. The
Spirit of God carried it home to her heart, and
when he went back after the Bible she told him she
wanted to find the Lord Jesus Christ. The tract
had note what he could not do in personal work. I
once received a letter from a man saying, "There
is a man in this place whom I tried for a long
time to reach but could not. One day I handed him
a tract, and I think it was to the salvation of
his whole family."
2. TO LEAD CHRISTIANS INTO A DEEPER AND MORE
EARNEST CHRISTIAN LIFE. It is a great mistake to
limit the use of tracts to winning the unsaved to
Christ. A little tract on the Second Coming of
Christ, once sent me in a letter, made a change in
my whole life. I do not think the tract was
altogether correct doctrinally, but it had in it
an important truth, and it did for me just the
work that needed to be done.
There is a special class of people with whom this
form of ministry is particularly helpful, those
who live where they do not enjoy spiritual
advantages. You may know some one who is leading a
very unsatisfactory life, and you long to have
that person know what the Christian life really
means. His pastor may not be a spiritual man, he
may not know the deep things of God. It is the
simplest thing in the world to slip into a letter
a tract that will lead him into an entirely new
Christian life.
3. 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. If you tried to lead him
out of his error by personal work, you might get
into a discussion, but the tract cannot. The one
in error cannot talk back to the tract. For
example, take people that are in error on the
question of seventh day observance. It might take
some time to lead such a one out of the darkness
into the light, but a tract on that
subject can be secured that has been used of God
to lead many out of the bondage of legalism into
the glorious liberty of the Gospel of Christ.
4. 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." He went to work among his companions in
the factory, inviting them to the church, and to
hear his pastor preach. Not satisfied with this,
he went to doing personal work. This was not
sufficient, so he went to work holding meetings
himself. Finally he brought a convention to his
city. Just that one plain factory man was the
means of getting a great convention and blessing
to that place, and all from reading that little
tract. He was also instrumental in organizing a
society which was greatly blessed of God. It would
be possible to fill this country with literature
on Christian work that would stir up the dead and
sleeping professors of religion throughout the
land, and send them out to work for the Lord Jesus
Christ.
III. WHO SHOULD USE TRACTS.
1. MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL SHOULD USE THEM. Many
ministers do make constant use of them in their
pastoral work, leaving well chose tracts where
they make their pastoral calls, handing out tracts
along the line of the sermons that they preach. It
is said of Rev. Edward Judson of New York, that he
seldom makes a call without having in his pocket a
selection of tracts adapted to almost every member
of the family, and especially to the children. "At
the close of the Sunday evening preaching service,
he has often put some good brother in the chair,
and while the meeting proceeds he goes down into
the audience and gives to each person a choice
leaflet, at the same time taking the opportunity
to say a timely word. In this way he comes into
personal touch with the whole audience, gives each
stranger a cordial welcome, and leaves in his
hand some message from God. At least once a
year he selects some one tract that has in it the
very core of the Gospel. On this he prints the
notices of the services, and selecting his church
as a center, he has this tract put in the hands of
every person living within half a mile in each
direction, regardless of creed or condition. He
sometimes uses 10,000 tracts at one distribution,
and finds it very fruitful in results."
2. SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS. Every Sunday School
teacher should be on the lookout for tracts to
give to his scholars. In this way he can do much
to supplement his hour's work on the Lord's Day.
3. TRAVELING MEN. Traveling men have a rare
opportunity for doing tract work. They are
constantly coming in contact with different men,
and finding out their needs. A Christian "drummer"
with a well-assorted selection of tracts can
accomplish immeasurable good.
4. BUSINESS MEN. Business men can use tracts to
good advantage with the very men with whom they
have business engagements. They can also do
excellent work with their own employees. Many a
business man slips well chosen tracts into many of
the letters which he writes, and thus accomplishes
an effective ministry for his Master.
5. SCHOOL TEACHERS. It is very difficult for
school teachers in some cities and towns to talk
very much with their pupils in school. Oftentimes
the rules of the school board prevent it entirely,
but a wise teacher can learn all about her
scholars and their home surroundings, and can give
them tracts just adapted to their needs.
6. HOUSEKEEPERS. Every Christian housekeeper
should have a collection of well assorted tracts.
She can hand these out to the servant girls, the
grocery men, the market men, the butcher, to the
tramps that come to the door. They can be left
upon the table in the parlor and in bedrooms. Only
eternity will disclose the good that is
accomplished in these ways.
IV. HOW TO USE TRACTS.
1. 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. After the tract has been
read, a conversation naturally follows. I was once
riding in a crowded car. I asked God for an
opportunity to lead some one to Christ. I was
watching for the opportunity for which I had
asked, when two young ladies entered. I thought I
knew one of them as the daughter of a minister.
She went through the car looking for a seat, and
then came back. As she came back and sat down in
the seat in front of me, she bowed, and of course
I knew I was right as to who she was. I took out a
little bundle of tracts, and selecting one that
seemed best adapted to her case, I handed it to
her, having first asked God to bless it. She at
once began to read and I began to pray. When she
had read the tract, I asked her what she thought
about it. She almost burst into tears right there
in the car, and in a very few moments that
minister's daughter was rejoicing in the Lord
Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. As she
afterwards passed out of the car, she said, "I
want to thank you for what you have done for me in
leading me to Christ."
2. 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.
3. USE TRACTS WHERE A CONVERSATION IS IMPOSSIBLE.
For example, one night at the close of a tent
meeting in Chicago, as I went down one of the
aisles a man beckoned to me, and intimated that
his wife was interested. She was in tears, and I
tried to talk with her, but she stammered
out in a broken way, "We don't talk English." She
had not understood a word of the sermon, I
suppose, but God had carried something home to her
heart. They were Norwegians, and I could not find
a Norwegian in the whole tent to act as
interpreter, but I could put a Norwegian tract in
her hand, and that could do the work. Time and
time again I have met with men deeply interested
about their soul's salvation, but with whom I
could not deal because I did not talk the language
that they understood.
One day as I came from dinner, I found a Swede
waiting for me, and he said he had a man outside
with whom he wished me to talk. I went outside and
found an uncouth looking specimen, a Norwegian.
The Swede had found him drunk in an alley and
dragged him down to the Institute to talk with me.
He was still full of whisky, and spit tobacco
juice over me as I tried to talk with him. I found
he could not talk English, and I talked English to
the Swede, and the Swede talked Swedish to the
Norwegian, and the Norwegian got a little bit of
it. I made it as clear as I could to our Swede
interpreter, and he in his turn made it as clear
as he could to the Norwegian. Then I put a
Norwegian tract in his hands, and that could talk
to him so that he understood perfectly.
Oftentimes a conversation is impossible because of
the place where you meet people. For example, you
may be on the street cars and wish to speak to a
man, but in many instances it would not be wise if
it were possible, but you can take the man's
measure and then give him a tract that will fit
him. You may be able to say just a few words to
him and then put the tract in his hands and ask
God to bless it.
4. 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.
Especially use them to send to people who live in
out of the way places where there is no preaching.
There are thousands of people living in different
sections of this country where they do not hear
preaching from one year's end to another. It would
be impossible to send an evangelical preacher to
them, but you can send a tract and it will do the
preaching for you.
V. SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE USE OF TRACTS.
1. ALWAYS READ THE TRACTS YOURSELF BEFORE GIVING
THEM TO OTHERS. This is very necessary. Bad tracts
abound today, tracts that contain absolutely
pernicious doctrine. They are being circulated
free by the million, and one needs to be on his
guard, lest he be doing harm rather than good in
distributing tracts. Of course we cannot read all
the tracts in other languages, but we can have
them interpreted to us, and it is wise to do so.
Besides positively bad tracts, there are many
tracts that are worthless.
2. SUIT YOUR TRACT TO THE PERSON TO WHOM YOU GIVE
IT. What is good for one person may not be good
for another.
3. CARRY A SELECTION OF TRACTS WITH YOU. I do not
say a COLLECTION, but a SELECTION. Tracts are
countless in number, and a large share of them are
worthless. Select the best, and arrange them for
the different classes of people with whom you come
in contact.
4. SEEK THE GUIDANCE OF GOD. This is of the very
highest importance. If there is any place where we
need wisdom from above, it is in the selection of
tracts, and in their distribution after their
selection.
5. SEEK GOD'S BLESSING UPON THE TRACT AFTER YOU
HAVE GIVEN IT OUT. Do not merely give out the
tract and there let the matter rest, but whenever
you give out a tract ask God to bless it.
6. OFTENTIMES GIVE A MAN A TRACT WITH WORDS AND
SENTENCES UNDERSCORED. Men are curious, and they
will take particular notice of the underscoring.
It is oftentimes a good thing to have a tract put
up in your office. Men who come in will read it. I
know a man who had a few words put upon his paper
weight. A great many who came into his office saw
it, and it made a deep impression upon them.
7. NEVER BE ASHAMED OF DISTRIBUTING TRACTS. Many
people hand out tracts to others as if they were
ashamed of what they were doing. People are not
likely to read tracts if you hand them to them
as if you were ashamed to do it; but if you
act as though you were conferring a favor 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."