General Information
Thank you very much for your commitment to distributing our literature. To ensure that this continues to be successful and does not become an inconvenience to yourself or others, here are some important guidelines.
Planning a Distribution
A distribution should be planned:
- Consider your motivation for the distribution: Is the goal to win people for Jesus Christ?
- Pray in advance that God will open doors and hearts for the distribution, ideally with support from the church congregation or like-minded friends. This also makes sense when individual tracts are given away spontaneously;
- A distribution can lead to conversations: Many people are open to this. You should be willing and well-prepared to answer their questions;
- Others, however, may react negatively. We must be able to respond to them with love and kindness. There is always hope that God will offer them another opportunity, but at the very least, the encounter has given them food for thought;
- Our literature must only be distributed free of charge in its unmodified original form.
Legal Information
First and foremost: Please respect local laws and customs. The following information is provided for guidance only and cannot cover all requirements. In Western countries, it is generally permitted to publicly express one’s personal beliefs, and printed materials such as our literature may be distributed free of charge in public places.
However, there are also restrictions (this list is not exhaustive):
- In public or private facilities such as public transportation systems, stadiums, parking garages, preschools, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, shopping centers, churches, etc., prior approval from the relevant authority is always required;
- For book tables set up on public property in a residential community, written permission from the local municipal government or the police is often required;
- Vehicles such as cars, bicycles, etc., are protected private property, and no leaflets may simply be left on them;
- Literature should only be distributed to children in the presence of and with the consent of their legal guardians;
- Notices such as “No Advertising” on mailboxes are legally binding and also apply to our (unaddressed) literature. Alternatively, one could, for example, try to speak with the resident in person at the front door.
Concluding Remarks
Reaching people with the Good news is a blessed task and part of the great commission, however those who share the gospel also bear a responsibility to ensure that those who receive its message do not reject it because of how it was delivered or forced upon them. We therefore encourage you to proceed mindfully and truly take these suggestions to heart.
May you find joy and blessings as you sow the good seed!
