In conversational evangelization, often times tracts, pamphlets and books are helpful tools. If you’ve gained someone’s trust and opened them up to the possibility that Jesus Christ is Lord, or that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus, or that repentance is necessary for salvation, then a good tract or book may be just the thing to lead them to the next step.
Sometimes, a tract or book does all the work for you. One of our street evangelization teams was out sharing the gospel one day, when a young man approached them. Unfortunately, everyone on the team was already engaged in conversation with other people. The young man waited for a while, and then he caught sight of the good news pamphlet in a pile on the table. He took the pamphlet, walked over to the curb, sat down and started reading. He read it from start to finish. And in those minutes reading the pamphlet, he was convicted in the heart and made a decision to explore the truth of the Catholic faith. When he was ready, he walked back to the evangelist and asked “Where’s the nearest Catholic church?”
Another time, a fallen away Catholic involved in New Age spirituality was walking down the street. He caught sight of a Protestant street evangelist passing out tracts, and promptly crossed the street to avoid encountering him. He continued walking, but then he stopped. The evangelist was all of a sudden right there next to him offering him the tract. He accepted the tract and started to read it. What he read that day put him on a journey, that first brought him back to Jesus Christ, and eventually back to the Catholic church as well. This man just happens to be famous radio personality Al Kresta.
Why are tracts and books so helpful? Well, St. Peter said “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” As adult Catholics, we ought to strive to have an informed, mature understanding of our faith according to our abilities. First and foremost in this, we should seek a mature understanding of the gospel itself, and of our own discipleship walk in Jesus. This will enable us to preach the gospel more effectively. Secondarily, however, we should seek a mature understanding of the controversial issues that commonly create obstacles to conversion. Some of these controversial issues come from the so-called New Atheists. They might ask about the church, the bible and science, the existence of God, the impact of Christianity on the world around us. And other issues come from Protestants…praying to the saints, the church teaching on the Virgin Mary, Purgatory, the Sacraments, etc.
Other issues come from society at large. You’ll get questions about sexual morality, gay marriage, abortion, how to treat illegal immigrants. All of this can seem very overwhelming. However, we’re not alone in this task. When we don’t know how to offer a defence on a particular matter very well, we can refer people to others who can. Maybe it’s a fellow evangelist, a priest, or a knowledgeable Catholic friend. More often, however, you’ll be able to share that particular book, pamphlet or tract that addresses the issue at hand. Even when you are well educated on a topic, these can sometimes be helpful supplements or complements to what you are able to share during the conversation.
So where do we find tracts, books and other resources on the faith to hand out? St. Paul Street Evangelization has many resources available for use in evangelization. Some of these resources include printable tracts. These pamphlets may be printed and freely distributed by our SPSE partners. Written by qualified friends of St. Paul Street Evangelization, these pamphlets are an excellent way to inform yourself and an easy way to share the gospel with others. You can also turn to Catholic audio. You don’t have to pay royalties on these talks. Permission has been secured for you to burn these talks to CDs, and hand them out in your work of evangelization. You can’t post them publicly online, sell them, or use them for anything else.
We also have free books. Over 800 Catholic books to keep you well-informed. We also have a page on our website called the Team Development Center. This page is filled with all kinds of ideas and resources that you can use with your team in street evangelization. Finally, we have seeker small groups. This is a way to follow up and invite people into a relationship in a laid back, non-confrontational way to invite someone to go beyond the street and come into friendship so we can build them up as disciples.