According to The American Heritage Dictionary, a missionary is one who is sent on a mission; especially a person sent to do religious work in some territory or foreign country.

When the Lord Jesus Christ was on earth, He was the One sent on a mission by the Father "to be the Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14). In His prayer to the Father before returning to the glory from whence He had come, He said, "I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do" (John 17:4). He finished the work that would bring salvation to men by His death on the cross. After His resurrection He said to His disciples, "As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you" (John 20:21). Then before He ascended to the Father, He said, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Since that time, thousands upon thousands have carried out His commission to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Many have given their lives in faithfully carrying out this mission and will receive the crown of the martyr. And many in doing so have used the Silent Missionary since the invention of printing in the 15th century to this present hour.

The Silent Missionary is the gospel tract. Perhaps billions in many languages have been circulated. Only in heaven will it be revealed how God has used the Silent Missionary to bring salvation to many precious souls.

Though one may not be called to leave home and country, yet he can use the Silent Missionary by prayerfully handing it out to individuals at local festivals, parades or street corners; by including it in bills and correspondence; by giving it with a tip at restaurants; by leaving it in telephone booths, restrooms, and motel rooms.

Another way to be a missionary is to give financial support to those who print tracts and supply them freely to many tract distributors who constantly ask for tracts. They are given out in prisons by chaplains and inmates. They are also put in places which allow a tract rack to be placed in the lobbies. Some use them at fairs, race tracks and other public events. Actually, there is no limit to the usages that can be made for the voice of God to be heard in the gospel tract—the Silent Missionary.

Though the tract may be thrown away it may still be used, as we learned from a convert in San Francisco who wrote: "The wind blew your tract 'Think' to my feet this morning. I read it and accepted the Lord Jesus as my Saviour." A prisoner wrote: "Under the bunk in my cell I saw a small piece of torn paper. Upon picking it up, I read the words of John 3:16."

Yes, God uses the Silent Missionary. Let each of us always carry a fresh supply of tracts with us wherever we go. Prayerfully select ones with a clear message and that are attractively printed. Sow as Good Seed and rejoice in God who will give the increase. It is one way we, as believers, can carry out our missionary calling.