The Mustard Seed PrincipleSample

Ten tracts a day

There is a story of an evangelist who travelled the highways and byways of Chad. He carried a bag of Bibles and other literature. For 50 years, he handed out Bibles and other literature every day. He never saw anybody come to Christ, but after his death, people started to come to Jesus because of his work. He didn't see fruit, but he never stopped.

Then there is the story of Frank Jenner, who came to Christ as a young sailor just before WWII and promised God that he would give out 10 tracts a day to people for the rest of his life. And that is what he did: 10 tracts a day, every day, for the rest of his life. When he was sick, he would do 20 the next day. He became known for his work in Sydney. He would walk up to a person, put a tract in their hands, and simply ask, "If you were to die tonight, where would you be, in heaven or in hell?" and then he would be gone. He must have had this "conversation," or "one-sentence evangelistic sermon," with over 110,000 people in his lifetime. The lives of many hundreds of people were changed, and those people led thousands upon thousands to Christ. There are astonishing stories about people who came to Christ through these tracts and the tens of thousands of people who came to Christ because of them. Many became pastors and missionaries.

At the end of his life, he said he knew only a few people who started following Christ because of his work. Pastors and leaders worldwide began talking about this remarkable story, and many Christians, pastors, and missionaries testified about how that little tract they received in Sydney and how that one-sentence sermon led to their salvation and changed their lives, and eventually the lives of thousands more.

It is not difficult to count the number of seeds in an apple. There are, on average, 6-8 seeds in an apple. But how many apples are in one seed? How many souls are there in one tract? How many mustard trees are there in one mustard seed?