Point of View

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)—I was in Nashville recently, and at the end of a long day of meetings I stopped at a convenience store for a late-night snack. I stood in line, paid for my ice cream, and passed a Gospel tract to the clerk who politely smiled and stuffed it into a pocket. I smiled and left. As I was opening my car door, a man yelled my way. "Great," I thought, without turning around. "I'm exhausted and this guy's going to want money. God, please help me talk to this man." I turned around to face this young man who had a desperate look on his face.

"That booklet you gave," he said. "I need that."

"Really!"

It turns out the guy had been standing behind me in line watching my transaction.

I pulled another booklet out of a pocket and handed it to him. Then I said something I hadn't said all week, though I'd been passing out tracts and sharing the Gospel with people at my hotel. I said "You want me to tell you how you can have peace in your life?"

The man immediately said "Yes! That's exactly what I need."

So I told him my story and shared the Gospel.

Our conversation ended with his salvation and his head bobbing on my shoulder as he wept.

This isn't always the way my tract conversations end, but it does show what a tool we have in those little booklets that have grown out of style in recent years. While handing someone a Gospel tract or leaving one with your waiter's tip couldn't replace our call to share our personal relationship with Christ, those little booklets of truth still work.

Here are some practical ways you might share your faith with this tiny tool as you're out and about or with your loved ones:

Where to share

nAt the restaurant. A tract is a perfect way to share with someone on the run. Waiters make their livelihood by volume so you don't want to get in their way in a busy restaurant. Instead, simply ask them if there's anything you can pray for them and then pass them a tract. The key is to plant the seed, leave the door open and allow them to approach you. If you miss earlier opportunities, you might also leave a tract on the table with your tip or bill inside. Be sure to leave a healthy tip. Don't stifle the Gospel by stiffing the wait staff.

•On the go. Keep a couple of tracts in your purse or pocket. If you sense God is moving you, ask "Can I share some information that gave my life purpose?" Depending on how they receive it and if they have time, you can share your story.

•With your gifts (birthdays, wedding, Christmas). Instead of typical gift labels, use Gospel tracts. Most tracts have a place on the back where you can write To/From notes.

How to share

•Focus. Any time of the year is a great time to share the Gospel, but Christmas and Easter provide unique opportunities. As an on-mission Christian these are great opportunities to remind people of God's free gift through His son Jesus. That gift is not meant to be kept to ourselves. It's meant to be given away.

•Pray. Before you head out to go shopping or run errands, see God in prayer. Ask Him to bring to mind any sin in your life. Confess your sins and ask forgiveness. Ask God to give you the words to say. Finally, pray that He would send people into your life who are ready to hear a word about Jesus.

•Share. How you share the Gospel with a tract depends on the circumstances. As I share in urban communities, I typically say "I'm with such and such a church. Can I share a book of wisdom about how much God loves you." I use tracts that talk about the consequences of sin. (This isn't to scare people into salvation, but if sin and its consequences aren't shared, then you've not shared the Gospel.) Whatever tract you choose, you'll want to read through it several times and become familiar with it.