Evangelism and Tracts:

While sipping on a cold pop and reading a good book as my son played in a restaurant's play area, a well-intending lady slipped a gospel tract on my table and quietly walked away. I attempted to engage her in conversation, but she acted as though she wasn't interested. So I let it go (for the time) and resumed my reading.

As we were about to leave, I walked the tract back over to woman and explained why I did not want to keep it. Rather than recount each and every word exchanged between us here, I would like to use this space to give a few helpful hints regarding how to (and how not to) share the gospel of Jesus Christ with someone.  So, in short, our conversation is the springboard for these suggestions.

1) First and foremost, if you are going to use tract as a means of evangelism, do so carefully.  Do not use them as a crutch to do all your work.  Put in some preparation for how you will explain the gospel, as well as formulate some general conversation-starting questions.  Tracts CAN be handy tools -- if used carefully.  Do not simply "slip" one onto someone's table, hoping they will look at it and not you.  If you hope someone will engage the message, then be prepared to engage the person in conversation.

2) Be confident about what you have to share.  You are sharing the most important, life-saving news anyone can ever hear.  So why be bashful about it?  The worst they can say to you is, "Go away, I'm not interested."  So be it.  Leave the seed for someone else to water...but be confident, not sheepish.

3) Do not simply "leave" a tract on a table or bathroom sink, hoping someone will stumble upon it.  It is impersonal, and will likely be consigned to the trash can by many.  If you're lacking courage to engage people (see #2), then maybe you could learn from others who are good at personal interaction.  

4) If you plan to evangelize someone, great!  However, remember to do so when you have time, and be respectful of the other person's time, as well.  If you're in a rush and the other person really wants to engage with you and the gospel message, it looks bad when you say, "Well, I've got to get going now" after 39 seconds of interaction.  First, it appears like you really don't care about the person enough to stick it out with them, and second, it appears that you may actually be afraid of deeper conversation. On the other hand, if the person you hoped to engage does not want to engage, respect their wishes.  Otherwise, it comes off like badgering, and that may shut down any future conversations that person may have been interested in entertaining.

5) If the person you're engaging professes to be a believer, you have a few choices.  First, you can let them have the tract and you can encourage him to share it with someone else in an engaging conversation.  Or, you can keep the tract and encourage him anyway.  Or, you can pray with him to be strong, courageous, faithful, etc.

Conclusion: These are simply my opinions based on observations throughout life.  Have you any thoughts, opinions, or experiences (good or bad) on the matter?  

Now, therefore, go into all the world and preach the good news!