Ministry leaders the world over are using ATS tracts to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. May God encourage you in your own tract ministry as you listen to these inspiring testimonies to tract evangelism.

"I can't seem to have enough! The movie theme tracts are the ones that usually spark interest in people of all walks. I especially like your ministry because you keep up with the times. You see I just don't give them out once, so my local bank teller, cashier, mailman, pharmacist, etc, need to see different tract(s). So you can see your ministry was an answer to my prayer for my daily outreach. Keep up the ingenious ideas for the tracts."

Salvation Stories

The test of a tract is the fruit that it bears. Does God still use gospel literature to lead people to Christ? Every year the American Tract Society receives many letters from people who have trusted Christ as their Savior because of a tract--and those people, we are certain, represent many, many more who come to Christ the same way.

Here are a few selected stories about people who encountered the love of God through a gospel tract.

Your Stories

Have tracts been a blessing in your life? Tell us how. We'd like to know about your experiences with tracts. Use the space provided to send us your stories:

Jailhouse Conversion

A man in his 40's told me a story about a simple tract and the impact it had on his life. He was in jail, locked up for crimes he had committed. Angry and violent while in jail he would tear up bibles and curse anyone who would attempt to bring him the message of salvation.

One day while still in the jail he picks up a tract someone had left behind. There is a key on the front of this tract. The key comes alive as God begins to speak to this man and informs him that HE,Jesus is the key. Through that tract this man's life was changed and never was he the same again.

That man was my dad who I was allowed to meet when I was 15 years old. He was a wonderful man full of love and compassion. I never knew the old him. I dont know who left that tract in that jail that day but when I get to heaven I will thank that person for helping to be a vessel that changed my dads life and gave me a father. That is why I pass out tracts everywhere I go. Even if only one person receives Christ from all the tracts that I pass out it will be enough.

A Teacher and a Tract

Mary was in trouble. For years she had left gospel tracts on her desk for the students in the algebra class she taught. A lawyer on the school board had vowed to have her fired because of her overt Christian witness, and when he was elected president of the school board, he made good on his threat.

Fighting her dismissal, Mary finally got her job back after six months. In a strange turn of events, she discovered that the board members who had lobbied for her dismissal were themselves guilty of certain misdeeds, and they were in turn dismissed from the board--including the hostile lawyer. Again he vowed that he would one day ruin her and that his children would never be allowed in her classes.

Months later Mary attended the funeral of a student at the school. She arrived late and was seated next to. . .the irate lawyer! Though uncomfortable, Mary felt compelled to hand the lawyer one of the tracts she always had in her purse. The only one she had was written by a Christian lawyer.

Time passed, and at the beginning of a new semester the lawyer's daughter was assigned to Mary's algebra class. Mary told her that she should be assigned to another teacher, in keeping with her father's wishes. Smiling from ear to ear, the lawyer's daughter said that would not be necessary, for her father had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior because of Mary's faithful witness and because of the tract that she had handed him that day at the funeral! [top]

The Tract That Sent the Gospel to China

"The best thing I can do is enjoy the pleasures of this world, for there's no hope for me beyond the grave."

So thought 16-year-old James. Although he had been raised in a devout Methodist home, he was frustrated by his growing feelings of doubt about God. He tried to make himself a Christian--and he failed. "For some reason," he concluded, "I cannot be saved."

One afternoon, James found a gospel tract on a bookshelf in his home. While reading through the tract he was struck by the phrase "the finished work of Christ." "What does that mean?" he questioned.

In a moment he remembered the answer from his religious training: "The debt was paid for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

Then he said, "If the whole work was finished and the whole debt paid, what is there left for me to do?"

Years later James penned these words about that moment of truth: "With this [thought] dawned the joyful conviction. . .that there was nothing in the world to be done but fall down on one's knees and accept this Savior and His salvation."

It was not long after this eternal decision that James--James Hudson Taylor, now heralded as one of the pioneer missionaries of the 19th century--received his call from God to take this same gospel message to China. [top]

Five New Christians

Michael knew all about religion. He had dabbled in several religions over the years and attended various churches near his home in Liverpool, England. He even hosted a "Christian" youth group at his home. But like so many others, Michael had never really been confronted with the simple facts of the gospel.

A friend of Michael's gave him a tract entitled "How to Be Sure," and after Michael read it, he knew that he wasn't sure about his eternal destiny. A letter from Michael tells the rest of the story:

I thank you sincerely and from the bottom of my heart for printing the tract 'How to be Sure.' I picked it up secondhand from a friend. I then read it at a 'Christian youth group' that met at my house. As a result the whole group of five realized that we had never really understood the Christian message at its most basic, and as a direct result [we all] made a commitment to Christ. It was a most marvelous occasion. Five new, truly committed Christians--myself included. I'd been in and out of all religions for years, and knocking around the local church for about eight years, and now for the first time I can say 'I am saved,' and with full conviction. I thank you so much.

Michael went on to say that the area he is living in is dying for evangelism, and now he is using copies of this tract "How to Be Sure" to share the gospel with those in his neighborhood. [top]

Her Father's Salvation

Kaye was faced with a decision that no young person should have to face. She had just become a Christian; she had been born again and for the first time in her life she knew real forgiveness of sins.

So what was the problem? Kaye's parents had raised her in a church that was part of a mainline denomination, and she had been taught to trust tradition, not Christ, for her eternal salvation. Now her parents gave her an ultimatum: come back to the church and forget this born-again nonsense, or leave home. Kaye was forced to leave home.

For years she had little communication with her parents, and she carried a heavy burden for their salvation as well. And even as time somewhat broke down the barriers between her and her parents, they still remained hardened against the gospel message.

Kaye's father had always been sensitive about keeping out of debt, and when Kaye saw a gospel tract entitled "Paid in Full" at a church in Rhode Island during her summer vacation, she saved one for her dad.

With much prayer, Kaye gave the copy of "Paid in Full" to her father, and she kept praying as her father considered the claims of the gospel as he read them in the tract. After weeks of anticipation, Kaye's father trusted in Christ alone for his salvation. The barrier between Kaye and her dad was finally gone, and so was the barrier of sin between her dad and God. [top]

Tracts for the Cults

Sometimes cult members are so caught up in their deception that it takes the power of God through the written word to free them.

James is a former fifth-generation Mormon who now heads a national ministry to the cults. He and his staff often travel to cities where Mormon temples are opening to distribute gospel literature and talk with Mormons who have come for the dedication of the temple.

At a temple opening in Denver, James met Judy, who was the head of public relations for a Mormon stake in Colorado, and he handed her a gospel tract. After a couple of unfruitful conversations with her, James gave up.

Nine months later Judy called him saying that she had trusted Christ as her Savior. Even though James' words had not been persuasive, the tract had provided an ongoing witness that had been instrumental in revealing the truth to her. And because the tracts James uses have his ministry's phone number on the back, those involved in Mormonism have called him hundreds of times in the last few years.

Gloria had studied with the Jehovah's Witnesses since she was eight years old. One day she had gone to a local Christian bookstore to buy a King James Bible when, on her way out she saw a couple of gospel tracts about the Jehovah's Witnesses. After reading these tracts, in her words, "The truth jumped up and hit me between the eyes. . . .As of March 6th, 1990, I opened my heart and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior." [top]

Light in the Night

Sam knew it was no use. He had persistently shared the gospel with Liz, a woman he knew, but she would not accept Christ, and she gave no real reason why. This conversation with her had a ring of finality to it, so he gave up, but he left her with a good gospel tract as they parted.

The next morning at 6 a.m., Sam's phone rang. Sam wasn't an early riser, so he sleepily answered the phone. It was Liz.

"I hope I didn't wake you up," she said, "and I'm sorry to call you at this hour of the morning, but I couldn't wait any longer. I woke up at four a.m. this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and read the tract that you gave me--three times. God opened my eyes and I got on my knees and prayed to receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. I got saved this morning, and I almost called at four a.m. to tell you! I am so happy I don't know what to do!"

What a wonderful way to be awakened from a good night's sleep! Liz came to church the next Sunday and confessed Christ openly, and since then she has grown greatly in the Lord.

Later Liz told Tom, "I want to thank you for being patient with me, and for not trying to push me into being saved." Sometimes a gospel tract, considered in private by itself, can say far more than our words can ever say. [top]

Tracts That Travel

Min-chu Cho is a 22-year-old man who recently wrote to the American Tract Society saying that he had read one of our tracts and had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. Every year we receive hundreds of letters from those who want to tell us that they have been saved by a tract, but Min-chu's letter stood out among them. You see, Min-chu sent the good news of his salvation in a letter from his home land--Taiwan.

When we say that tracts can often do what we cannot do in witnessing for Christ, part of that reality is that tracts can travel where we have never been--and sometimes cannot go. Min-chu's letter is not unique. Another letter from Chester in Australia read, "I recently had the privilege of reading your tract 'How to Become a Christian,' and because of it. . .I have finally received Christ as my personal Lord and Savior." How did a tract printed in Dallas, Texas make its way to Australia? We may never know, but we can be sure that the Lord's hand was on it as it made its way to someone who needed to understand that Jesus Christ died for him or her.

We've received similar letters from Karim in Jakarta, Indonesia, Henry in the Netherlands, Imelda in the tiny Islamic state of Qatar in the Middle East, Zaneta in Poland, Amos in Hamburg, Germany, Sheradine in Jamaica. . . and on and on it goes. Chances are that in just about any country you can name around the world, a tract is there, faithfully proclaiming forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus Christ. [top]

Twenty-four of these Salvation Stories are available on cassette audio tape in two-minute radio spots. To contact the American Tract Society about receiving these spots free of charge, please email us at:
ats@atstracts.org.