1. Literature Evangelism
A Pathfinder Honor

2. 1. From the Bible and writings of Ellen G
1. From the Bible and writings of Ellen G. White, write a summary on the importance of the use of literature in leading people to Christ.

3. Acts 20: 18-21
When they arrived, he said to them: "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

4. Click to Read: Testimonies for the Church, Volume 6, Section 5

5. 2. Know what a Colporeur is
2. Know what a Colporeur is. Name five essential qualifications of a colporteur.

6. What is a Colporteur?
Colportage is the distribution of publications, books, religious tracts, etc., by carriers called "colporteurs".
A peddler or religious books
A traveling salesperson of religious books
The term "colporteur" is an alteration of French comporter, "to peddle" as a portmanteau or pun with the word col (Latin collum, "neck"), with the resulting meaning "to carry on one's neck". Porter, is from Latin portare, "to carry." It could also be interpreted to mean "to carry one's neck" which is not far from accurate.

7. Qualifications A calling to the ministry.
Passion for the work of Literature Evangelism.
Perseverance.
Faith.
Courage.

8. 3. How is the colporteur supported?

9. The colporteurs are self-supported, meaning that no money is provided to them by the church. Their income comes from the literature they sell.

10. 4. What four steps are taken in the sale of a book or magazine?

11. Prayer.
Opening - the colporteur introduces himself/herself and tells the recipient (person being evangelized) what they are doing in that area.
Information - the colporteur tells the recipient about the material.
Close - the colporteur tells the recipient the average donation accepted for the books they have been given and where the proceeds would go.

12. 5. Briefly outline how to arouse an interest in purchasing a book or magazine?

13. Know your material - One of the easiest ways to arouse interest is to know what your talking about. A good way of doing this is to read one of the books for your devotion every morning.
Be observant - This is helpful because if you are observant you may notice things such as a small child's toys (indicating they most likely have a small child) or if you smell something cooking it might be a good idea to show them one of your cookbooks. And it doesn't stop there! While you are talking to them always be on the lookout for any hints that would show you which books they would be most interested in.

14. 6. Know how to meet objections to purchasing a book or magazine.

15. The most common objection that you will hear is "I'm not interested"
The most common objection that you will hear is "I'm not interested". Most people have no other reason to be "not interested" except that they want you off their porch! Here are a couple of ways to get around that objection:
Be flexible- For instance, if I handed a potential recipient one of the books and they said that they're "not interested" I can apply that to the book that I handed to them and transition into another book by saying something like, "well maybe you'll be more interested in this book instead".
Ask them why they are not interested. - Be VERY CAREFUL in asking them this, because you DO NOT want to offend them.

16. 7. Do One of the following projects and write a report on what you did and what you learned

17. Maintain a literature rack for four months, keeping a log of which books are the most and least popular.
Engage in selling Seventh-day Adventist books and/or magazines during a period of a least five weeks, or at least 20 hours each.
Do a project of distributing religious books to local government officials. Spend at least ten hours on your project.
Do a project of supplying religious literature to patients in a hospital or nursing home. Spend at least ten hours on your project.
Make a project of supplying a year’s subscription to Liberty magazine to the judges and/or lawyers in your community. Raise the money or get contributions for the gift subscriptions.
Make a project of sending literature and/or Bibles to the mission field. Part of this project is collecting the literature and/or Bibles, determining where to send the material and packaging and sending the material.

18. It’s time for a Quiz

19. Define what a Colporteur is in your own words?
How do Colporteurs get the money they need to support themselves?
Which of the following is NOT a qualification for a colporteur?
Passion for the work of Literature Evangelism.
Perseverance.
A person who is at least age 21
Courage
If you walked up to a house that had a sandbox in the front yard, what kind of books might you try to interest the customer in first?
If a customer says they are not interested in the cookbook you are showing them, what should you do?

20. Check your answers

21. Answers will vary (someone who goes door to door selling religious books)
The colporteurs are self-supported, meaning that no money is provided to them by the church. Their income comes from the literature they sell.
A person who is at least 21 years old
Children’s Books – sandbox suggests that children live in the home
Ask them why they are not interested or offer them a different kind of book.

22. Congratulations
You have completed the Literature Evangelism Honor. Please take your paperwork to your instructor so it can be signed.