Just over 2 years ago we began what I hoped would be a successful evangelistic campaign in our area of Southeastern Samar in the Rep. Philippines using primarily the 50,000 Chick tracts that were given to us from Chick Publications. Bro. Jack Chick went to be with the Lord just prior to our beginning this effort so we called it “Operation Jack”.

From the beginning the results have been astounding.

WOW, WOW, WOW is the only way to describe the results. In our little corner of the island we have reports of 1,073 souls who have professed faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and asked Christ to save them. There are many churches well to the north of us who will not give us numbers but I am sure many more have come to Jesus because of the tracts we gave them. These numbers are from face to face encounters, not raised hands.

One of the surprising results in our area was we found people that had received a tract during our first distribution some 15 years earlier. That was an incredible blessing. Not only do people read them but they remember them. We had one lady who pulled out her ragged old tract to show us. Yes, she is saved now.

Another result was the formation of a “Tract Saturation” group started by one of our local pastors. There is safety in numbers so we get together every month and go to a town or village where we either have a church plant underway or we need to reach. We usually have four or five pastors and a dozen or more workers who go house to house in teams. This has been phenomenally effective.

We know this is working because the kick back from the Roman Catholic organization has been fierce. We have gone from one priest in our town to three. Lay leaders have been appointed in every village so now there are Roman cult services in all the villages around us, curiously at the same time as our services. We have received all the usual threats and we have even been banned from speaking to children and young people in some villages. No worries, the fastest way to get a young person to do something is to forbid it. The fun part is when we get questioned on what the tracts say and then we pull out the “Sword of the Lord” and answer their questions from the Bible. More and more young people are coming to the Lord because of these tracts.

Bottom line is this. Chick Tracts work. They worked when I was in the Navy, when I lived in Japan and they work exceptionally well out here in the remote areas of Samar.

No language can express our gratitude for your wonderful blessing to many different churches and ministries here. I will say thank you for all of us and you should be aware that someday in heaven someone you have never met before is going to walk up to you and say thank you for whatever part you have played in this. Think about this, many of those tracts are still being handed around from person to person. Especially in the high schools and colleges. The effect of this will go on for generations.

• Bro. Jonathan C. Sparks
• Missionary Evangelist
• Director, Word to the Waray Ministries