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Evangelistic letter to everyone I know

Discussion in 'Evangelism, Missions & Witnessing' started by milby, Oct 15, 2011.

  1. milby

    milby Member

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    I believe the Lord has laid it upon my heart to send some type of letter to everyone I know to give them the Gospel message. I was thinking of just writing my testimony very briefly and include a gospel tract in it. Something like

    "Dear friend,

    I'm sending you this because you are my friend, I work with you, I have worked with you, or I simply know you and I want to share with you what God has done for me................"

    It would not be personalized to every person but more like a wedding announcement only it would be a "Salvation" announcement.

    I'm not really explaining what I mean very well but I hope you know what I am trying to say.

    Have any of you done this? If so would you share your "letter" as an example? Also what would be a good tract to include in such a letter?

    Thanks
     
  2. Ruiz

    Ruiz New Member

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    While I appreciate the sentiment, I would not do this. To me, I try to tell people about God. A letter communicates to me that you want to tell me something but don't want to spend the time of talking to me personally. In my culture, this would be offensive because the only time we write to tell friends something is for a thank you or when I go on vacation or, in e-mail, an ongoing conversation.
     
  3. milby

    milby Member

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    Thanks Ruiz,

    I appreciate your opinion. What culture are you in that getting an invitation in the mail is offensive?

    I'm talking about sending it to hundreds of people, some I dont have contact with personally anymore.
     
  4. Ruiz

    Ruiz New Member

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    I come from two different cultures and married a woman from another culture.

    First, I have a father who was a country boy, raised on a farm in Kentucky. Here, the men rarely say anything, they are very contemplative. However, if it is worth saying, they take you to the side and talk. Men, especially, deal with people face-to-face. In my life, my dad sent me two letters. One was to send me money when I was extremely sick (and the note was one sentence) and the other was when I was in Basic Training. The entire family says very little, but if it is worth saying he will say it. My dad is a very successful businessman and as a retired man, makes more money a year that I ever have.

    My other culture is the hispanic culture of my mother. We are extremely expressive (I resemble this side of my family better than my dad's). Dancing and partying is more than a weekend event, it is a way of life. People are extremely expressive, especially the women. No one will tell you to your face they don't like you or that you offended them, but they may. The family may fight like cats and dogs, but families are usually much closer than the average American culture. I could hear my late Aunt if she received a letter telling them about your salvation and not coming to her and telling, "What does he want, a gift?"

    What I did when I became a Christian was to sit down with my loved ones and told them what happened to me. I think sending a letter to my Uncle Tommy (Kentucky) or Aunt Cora (Hispanic) I would have not heard their thoughts, my uncle would have shaken his head and moved on. My Aunt would have complained for weeks to others in the family and wondered what I wanted to accomplish. However, when I told Cora I became a Christian she shot back, "Great for you, but you will not get me inside of a church." Hey, she was expressive and nice and till she died we knew where each other stood. Tommy still probably wondered what this Christianity thing was about, but in his own way he showed me respect.
     
  5. Ruiz

    Ruiz New Member

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    BTW, my wife tried to send a letter to people she knew. While some people were receptive, she did cause more problems than it was worth. To this day, someone close to her growing up took that letter and has barely said anything to my wife since. My wife has regretted sending the letter but she still would have talked to her about her faith.
     
  6. Tom Bryant

    Tom Bryant Well-Known Member

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    I do appreciate the desire and motivation of the letter. The Lord can certainly use it because His Word is powerful. But I have only 1 reaction when I get a letter addressing me as "Dear Friend". It goes into the file i have next to my desk.

    Since this is something that is so important to you, taking the time to personalize the letter by the name of the person and a reminder about your prior relationship would be a step in the right direction.
     
  7. milby

    milby Member

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    Well I'm glad I put my idea on here first. I Probably would have sounded like a fool.

    I have been trying to come up with ways to share the Gospel with as many people as I can quickly. I got this letter idea from the days when I was doing different MLM businesses, where you make a list of everyone you have ever known and contact them. If you have ever been involved in an MLM you will know exactly what I am talking about.

    I will continue to share with the people in my immediate circle and support as many missionaries as I can.

    thanks

    I will start another thread about another idea I have
     
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