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You are Here: BibleSanity.org >> The Gospel >> The Wordless Book

The Wordless Book

A traditional way to share the gospel, especially with children

The History of the Wordless Book

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) introduced the Wordless Book in 1866. At the time it only had black, red, and white pages.

D. L. Moody (1837-1899) added the gold page and used the book of colors at a children's service where an estimated 12,000 were present to hear his message on "a book with four leaves - black, red, white and gold."

Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), the famous hymn writer, would often take from her purse a little Wordless Book and tell the children, whom she dearly loved, the story of the Savior.

Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) began using the book in 1924. It is now a mainstay of CEF. A great amount of information and supplies are available online at www.letthelittlechildrencome.com/child-evangelism-resources/wordless-book-share-the-gospel.

Other Physical Forms - The wordless book has taken other forms, including flags, arm bands, and necklace beads. The simple color-based theme also lends itself to t-shirts, coffee mugs, nail polish, and many other formats.

My Own History with CEF and the Wordless Book

My home church where I grew up (in Fort Worth, TX) supported CEF and ran a Good News Club. As a teen, I used the Wordless Book to share the gospel in our church's "Story Barn" booth at the city's annual Fat Stock Show and Rodeo. I also briefly worked vocationally for John Pierce, who was director of CEF during my twenties, renewing my engagement with the organization. Since then, I have been a member of two other churches running Good News Clubs.

I have always appreciated the simplistic format of the Wordless Book which makes it very easy for a Christian to share the gospel. It provides a ready path for the evangelistic conversation. It also helps Christians identify a set of Bible verses to memorize for evangalistic purposes, in that they need just a small set of good verses to go through the pages.

How to Use the Wordless Book

The Wordless Book is introduced as a book with no words or pictures, only colors and is used to explain the Good News of Jesus Christ.

What is actually said, and which Bible verses are used, can vary with the preferences (and verses known) of the presenter. Besides the instructions provided at the CEF link above, I have provided a table showing the colors, the key ideas, and some suggested Bible verses. It is vital to include verses of Scripture in the explanation of the Wordless Book because God promises us that HIS Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11).