What About Tracts?

A tract is a pamphlet, usually of a religious nature or sometimes political. Someone could hand out a tract advocating the gospel, or the pro-life movement, or support for Gaza. Christians have passed out tracts for generations.

Some people call them “tracks,” but the actual word is tract with a T at the end. Tract is a shortened form of the word tractate which is a formal and often more lengthy version of a tract. Both words derive from the Latin tractatus which is a discussion or treatise about some topic. A treatise is a detailed and organized written document about a topic. In common usage, a treatise is usually quite long. A tract is always very short, usually no more than four or six small pages folded as a booklet or tri-fold.

People have been saved by reading Christian tracts. It would be good for you to carry a few with you in a pocket or purse so that you can give one to someone you meet at a store or restaurant or wherever. We have a couple nearby our front door so that if a salesperson comes and we think it is appropriate, we can give him or her a tract. We like using the so-called Bridge tract but there are others as well.

Finally, consider studying a good tract so that you can store its contents in your mind. You never know when you may need to share the good news verbally with someone and you can draw on your memory and adapt it to the circumstance at hand.