Source/Author: By Rev. W.H. Williams

At the District Conference in Kuala Lumpur, and the Annual Conference in Singapore, Bishop Titus Lowe emphasised the importance of the distribution of religious literature, more especially the Scriptures, and he urged, not only European and Asiatic missionaries, but also the rank and file of the Church to engage in this very important work.

Unfortunately, the majority of the missionaries have so much work in connection with their churches and schools, they have little or no time for colportage, and yet, those who have at odd times given an hour or two to the selling of God’s Word, testify to the opportunities they have had not only of selling Gospel Portions, but to the heart to heart talks they have had with individuals, met on the streets of our towns, or in the villages.

Colportage gives numberless chances for “Sowing the Seed” on ground, which otherwise would never be touched. It is sad to contemplate, that here, in British and Dutch Malaya, with a population of about 50 millions, probably not 5% are touched by direct missionary effort. This is no fault of the missionaries, for their number is all too few even to man the chief cities of Malaya. To give one instance; Java, with a population of over 30 millions, it is estimated has only 4 millions living in the towns, and the only hope for the bulk of the people is the Colporteur, who not only works the cities, but goes out into the villages, and from these small centres, visits rubber, tea, and coffee estates. He not only sells the Scriptures, but preaches and teaches wherever an opportunity presents itself. Unfortunately, his stay in one place is usually a very short one, for he has many other places to visit, but he leaves behind the oral and the written page. The “Seed” thus sown frequently falls on good ground and springs up and bears fruit, of which we have many positive proofs.

If the Pastors of our Chinese and Tamil Churches when visiting, would carry a handful of Gospel Portions, they would find them wonderfully useful, often opening doors which otherwise would be closed. These little books should not be given away, but in ordinary cases should be sold at their proper price, which usually is one or two cents per copy, for we find, if they are not charged for, they are not valued. Of course there are exceptions, such as inmates of hospitals, prisons, etc., and very occasionally the man on the street. If, at the same time as the book is sold, the pastor gives a leaflet which sets forth the location of his Church, and the hours of Service, with an invitation to attend, much useful work can be accomplished. Scores of times when I have been selling Scriptures, people have asked, “Where is your Church, and what time are your meetings?”.

In every Epworth League there should be a band of young men, whose special work should be the distribution of God’s Word. Once or twice a month they should hold open air services, and at these meetings sell the Gospel Portions. They should visit hospitals and attend religious festivals, such as the Thaipusam, and if this work is carried on in the proper spirit, the results will exceed their expectations. In our Churches of Malaya there are many Christian people who have been won for Christ by a testament or Gospel Portion, sold by colporteurs.

The Bible is the best missionary. In this polyglot city of Kuala Lumpur, I have often thought, if we took 50 persons, at random, from the streets, how many of them could we, in an intelligent manner, speak to, of the love of Jesus, and His great Salvation? Out of the fifty, probably the first man would be a Sikh, and I don’t know a Christian Missionary in Malaya, who could talk to him in his own language, and he probably does not know English, and only a few words of Malay. The next man may be a visitor from the Land of the Rising Sun, and who among us can deliver the Gospel Message in Japanese? Then it would be quite within the realm of possibility for the third man to be a Chinese, speaking a dialect of Chinese unknown to any of our Missionary brethren, and outside our Tamil Pastors, how few there are who could talk to the Indians in their mother tongue. Possibly out of the fifty, there are scarcely twenty to whom any of the missionaries or Asiatic pastors could talk with any degree of clarity. But we have silent messengers who can speak to everyone of these men, if he can read, in his own mother tongue, giving a message of love and hope.

You may not be gifted with preaching or teaching abilities, but everyone, with ordinary grace and gumption, can sell a Scripture Portion, and who knows but what that little book may be used by God to the salvation of a man’s soul. Then again, you sell a book on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, or Singapore, and probably the buyer is on a visit from some distant part, carries that book back to places in Pahang, Borneo, Sumatra, or other districts, and often to homes where no missionary has ever been, and where no ray of Gospel light has penetrated the darkness. In such manner we know of instances where whole families have been won for Christ.

During 1926, 194,474 copies of Scripture were circulated throughout Malaya, and probably the figures for last year will be about the same, of which number about 150,000 were sold by colportage. One hundred and fifty thousand silent messengers, proclaiming through the printed page “God so loved the World, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The Malaysia Message
May 1928
Vol. 38 No. 5