Library Evangelism

On an average day, we check in roughly 4,000 books at the Longmont Public Library which means the odds of finding something interesting left in the returned books are usually pretty high. Most often we'll find grocery lists or sticky notes with random scribblings on them. One time I found a ten dollar bill which was apparently used as a bookmark (I called the patron and they came to claim their money). Lately I've found a few items that really make me giggle.

Last week I found a note that was obviously written during class and I'm guessing the authors were two middle school girls. They were debating about who was cuter: Toby or Ben. They were unable to come to an agreement which is probably for the best since they won't have to fight over the chosen boy.

Today I stumbled upon something I haven't seen in a while: Christian tracts. If you don't know what a tract is, go to Colorado Springs and walk around Acadia Park in downtown and you're sure to be handed one (especially if you have scraggly facial hair and don't appear to have bathed in a while). These are evangelism tools that some Christians use to spread the Good News. They are usually very basic and tell the story of how to obtain salvation. They have easy to follow guides on how to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and thus avoid eternal damnation in the fiery pits of Hell. In my mind they are the most ridiculous and impersonal method of telling people about Jesus. I was given one on the airplane ride from Denver to Gulfport on my way to interview and tour the coast for the YAV program. I sat next to a woman who was with a group of church folk going to Guatemala for a mission trip. She and I were chatting before takeoff and oddly enough the conversation led to my faith journey and salvation. Apparently she wasn't convinced that I was a "real" Christian and so she handed me a tract to read. I politely took the tract and proceeded to put my headphones on and tune her out for the rest of the flight.

Back to the library books. Smart evangelists wedge the tracts into some obscure page in the middle of the book where the next reader will stumble upon it and possibly come to accept Christ. Not so smart evangelists put the tracts right in the front of the book where we staff members open the book to scan the barcode and then throw away the "debris".