Thai Gospel Tracts
In his research on conversion growth in Protestant churches in Thailand, Marten Visser discovered that 60% of Thai Christians say that literature of some form played a role in them coming to Christ. That is an impressive statistic, especially considering the fact that most Thai people are not big readers. So even though books are by no means the key to evangelism in Thailand, getting good books (and booklets) into people’s hands is still significant to evangelism and discipleship among Thai people.
There are lots of tracts available in Thai but they are not all of equal quality. In this post, I want to highlight some of the better Thai Gospel tracts that I have come across. So whether you are looking for something to hand out en masse or (even better) looking for something to share with someone in conjunction with personal conversation, the following tracts would be suitable for many Thai people.
Shows that we need a Savior to help us not just good religious teaching, illustrated by an easy-to-understand story about a boat accident. This is one of my favorites. I wrote a blog post about it here
Shows that external teaching and discipline are ineffective in changing us because we need a heart change
Nice Thai style illustrations, retelling story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15
A fairly standard bridge illustration tract. Man on one side of a ravine, separated from God/heaven on the other side
Good News Made Visible (Poster Preach Flipbook)
This is not a tract but is great for open air preaching or small groups. I have even used it one on one. Nice simple straight forward Bible stories, and other analogies. It contains large format pictures for an oral presentation of all the tracts mentioned above (Boat, Village Pump, Prodigal Son, Gulf Bridged, and more)
Escape from the Shadow of Death
Rearranged summary of the Gospel using pictures from the larger poster preach flipbook mentioned above. This small booklet is more expensive than a regular tract but still reasonably priced for giving out
All of the above tracts are published by Kanok Bannasan (OMF Publishers Thailand), though I think a few of them are currently being reprinted. Contact Kanok to order, for shipment both within Thailand and overseas. If you are outside of Thailand, keep in mind that shipping will be much more expensive than in country.
Tracts that Draw from Thai Culture
Besides the above tracts from Kanok, I want to make special mention of three tracts that make specific effort to draw upon elements of Thai culture in order to relate the Gospel message to Thai people.
What Does Jesus Teach About Honoring Parents?
This gospel tract seeks to answer a common objection to Christianity by some Folk Buddhists. They assume that Christians do not believe in honoring their parents since they do not do “merit-making” ceremonies for their parents before or after they die. Also addressed in this tract is the importance of not only honoring one's parents while they are alive, but also the importance of honoring the one true God who created our parents. FREE DOWNLOAD (PDF)
Invitation from the Great King
This tract was produced by missionary John Lambert and team, drawing upon Thai understanding of the importance and value of kingship, a concept that is especially important to the Thai but would be lost many Western audiences. To read more about this tract and to explore options for ordering or self-printing the tract, please visit John Lambert's website.
Suriyothai tract
This tract uses the well known story of Queen Suriyothai as a bridge to explain the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. The story of Suriyothai is well known among many Thai, especially since the release of an epic movie of the same name several years ago. This tract is available free online for you to download and copy.
Online Thai Tracts and Bible Study
At www.kwamjing.net, Thai people can click through a few different interactive tracts and start online Bible study that will walk them through major stories of the Old Testament and New Testament. Answers are checked by a mentor who will correspond with the interested person via email. If you are living outside of Thailand and can’t get any printed tracts, Kwamjing.net is a great website to share with a Thai friend who is open to learning about Christianity.
Other good places online to send Thai speakers who may be interested in the Gospel include the Prakhampee Facebook page and https://knowgod.in.th/
What Do You Use?
I am always on the look out for good materials, and the Internet is a great place for sharing resources. If you have found any evangelistic materials that are particularly useful in Thailand, please share about them in the comments section below. Tell me and other readers where to find them (including a link, if you have it). Thanks!
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