Too Much Information


It’s often been said the gospel is so simple it takes the mind of man to complicate it. While evangelizing with other Christians, I’ve seen some give too much information. One night, I hit the streets with a woman who preached a sermon to everyone she approached. That wasn’t necessary since some of these people were already saved.

Another time before an outreach I led, the pastor’s wife (who didn’t even go out with us) suddenly showed up and insisted we hand out large flyers promoting the church plus “Our Daily Bread” devotionals. Although two people got saved during this outreach, we could have seen more if our focus hadn’t been diverted to handing out all the extra literature. We already had gospel tracts, mini-Bibles, and business cards from the church. I usually give out gospels of John or Bibles only to people who don’t have one. 


Then there was the time a man who I had dinner with showed me booklets he hands out when witnessing. In response, I showed him the “Good News” tracts I use. That was a polite way to point out my tracts are simpler. In our fast-paced Western society, most people are busy and won’t take time to absorb lengthy theological explanations. Gospel tracts should take no more than a minute to two to read.


One exception would be the cartoon tracts put out by Chick Publications. While I don’t agree with some of Jack Chick’s beliefs (such as his “King James Only” stance), I do agree with his website’s assertion that “Chick tracts get read.” I once evangelized at a college fair with a friend who brought an assortment of Chick tracts. Some of the students came back to us asking for more. They were collecting different ones like baseball cards.


Nevertheless, a fisherman wouldn’t put a bunch of lures on a hook to catch one fish. Likewise, “fishing for men” doesn’t require overloading people with information. Unless the Lord leads otherwise, it’s best to find out quickly what a person’s spiritual beliefs are, review the gospel if they aren’t sure about going to heaven, and then lead them to salvation if they are ready. By that time, I’ve usually given them only a gospel tract. Church info is handed out after they get saved or if they are already a Christian but don’t have a fellowship they regularly attend.


Evangelism should be kept as simple as possible.


“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” - 1 Corinthians 2:2

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