Pastor Steven Anderson Is Wrong About Gospel Tracts

Psalms 126:6, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

For many years, Pastor Steven Anderson has taught from his pulpit that gospel tracts don't work, so Faithful Word Baptist Church don't bother to use them. There church has been very successful through hard work soulwinning to build a strong church without gospel tracts. Bravo!

That being said, gospel tracts DO work. I have met numerous Christians in my lifetime, including my soulwinning Bible teacher at Hyles-Anderson College, Brother George Godfrey, who was saved when a Christian lady in a subway handed him a gospel tract to read. Why limit our outreach for Christ? Why ignore a tool that plants seeds of the gospel?

“There is power in this Gospel message. Most people just don't know how to present it... The clarity of the Gospel is what makes it easy for them to believe.”—Pastor Yankee Arnold, “WHY GRACE CAN SAVE THE WORST MAN!”

Psalms 126:6, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Pastor Jack Hyles said this Bible verse could be translated, “He that goeth forth with a leaky seed basket,” shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. I like that. That's what gospel tracts do, leaving the seed of the Word of God everywhere we go, the seed by which we are born again, that is, the gospel. Why not use every tool available? I agree that personal person-to-person confrontational soulwinning is most effective, but why not also utilize other soulwinning tools that are helpful?

Gospel Tracts Are Effective

Now, I have heard Pastor Steven Anderson claim that less than 1% of people are saved by gospel tracts. I truly have no idea what the true statistic is, but I doubt if it's that low. There is no reliable worldwide statistic for how many people have been "saved" or "born again" specifically from reading a gospel tract. No church, ministry, or organization can accurately measure that because:

1. Many people read a tract privately and never tell anyone.
2. A tract may be only one influence among many (a sermon, a friend, a Bible reading).
3. Different Christian groups define "saved" differently.
4. Most tract-based conversions are self-reported rather than independently verified.

What we do have are countless testimonies. Organizations that distribute tracts regularly publish accounts from people who say they came to faith after reading one. For example, Evangelism ministries and tract distributors have collected testimonies from former Hindus, prisoners, pastors, and others who credit a gospel tract as a key factor in their conversion.

Historically, several well-known Christians are reported to have been influenced by gospel literature. The missionary Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) is often cited as having come to faith after reading a tract, and many modern Christians give similar testimonies.

Some ministries have tried to measure results. Modern digital tract ministries can count things like downloads, reads and responses, but even they acknowledge that a click or response is not the same thing as a verified salvation conversion.

From a practical standpoint, most evangelistic ministries view tracts less as a way to produce immediate conversions and more as a way to "plant seeds" that God may use later. Many testimonies describe a tract being read months or years before the person eventually trusted Christ. God works in mysterious ways behind the scenes!

Gospel tracts have several strengths:

• They can reach people you may never have a chance to speak with.
• A person can read them privately without feeling pressured.
• The message remains after the conversation ends.
• They can cross barriers of shyness, distance, and time.

On the other hand, personal witnessing has strengths that a tract cannot match:

• You can answer questions and objections.
• People can see your sincerity and character.
• You can tailor the presentation to the individual.
• A relationship often gives the message more credibility.

Many pastors and evangelists; therefore, view gospel tracts and personal witnessing as complementary rather than competing methods. A tract can start a conversation, reinforce a conversation, or continue speaking after a conversation has ended. I definitely think we should use gospel tracts, and not exclude them from our soulwinning efforts.

1st Corinthians 3:6, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

Even if a tract does not produce an immediate response, it may plant a seed that someone else later waters. Christians often underestimate how many tracts are actually read. Even tracts that are discarded may be picked up by someone else. There are numerous testimonies of people finding a gospel tract on a bus seat, in a waiting room, in a trash bin, or tucked inside a book and reading it out of curiosity. Why limit our soulwinning efforts?

So, while there is no hard statistic proving how many people have been born again through gospel tracts, there is enough historical evidence and testimony that most evangelical tract ministries regard them as a worthwhile tool—especially when combined with personal witnessing and personal follow-up. I say we should use gospel tracts in any ministry.