God Speaks Through His Word

By Tom Elam, Sr.

I am continually amazed at the wonderful freedom Raceway Ministries has to share Christian literature with the multitudes that come to the spring race, the fall race and to the drag races. In 1996, I was privileged to begin this ministry at the spring race. At that time, we had a ministry tent [church in a campground] at the All American Campground. We have worked diligently to seek out excellent Christian materials as our opportunities expanded into other campgrounds, inside the track and at the NHRA drags. For these wonderful years of serving prior to every race the challenge has been the same - what are the most affective materials to reach the heart of the multitudes we minster to? First and foremost, I began to scrape up every type of Bible I could get my hands on to place in the campgrounds and inside the track. When the NASCAR Bible came out, we began purchasing [through the support of churches, individuals and companies] 100's and later 1000's of New Testaments to hand out to everyone who would receive the Bible. I am sure you are aware there are many people who will not accept God's Word; however, we have been very successful using the NASCAR cover theme to place God's Word in the hands of race fans, workers, management and many others. I know of testimonies where people have opened the Word and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit asked the Lord Jesus to come into their hearts. The foundation of our faith is based on God's Word. John begins his book by saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." John 1:1 (NKJV) Paul writing to the Romans wrote, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." Romans 1:16 (NKJV) Of course, in all of our Bible School themes resounds the beautiful verse found in Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (NKJV) In Psalm 119:11 we read, "Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (NKJV)

Every day that I live I am more convinced that God is seeking to get our attention and to confirm to us the importance of our calling as ambassadors for Christ. We are both privileged and challenged to have the ministry of reconciling the unsaved world to the Lord Jesus. The great winds, hail, rain and tornadoes have wreaked devastation almost beyond belief. I have been drawn to God's Word in 2 Cor. 5:20-21 and 6:1-2, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain - for He says, "at the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you"; behold, now is ‘THE ACCEPTABLE TIME.’ Behold, now is ‘THE DAY OF SALVATION.’" (NASB)

The question I face is the same for you. Are we ready for the task ahead? God's commission to all of us is not a request; it is a command. The greatest blessing we can receive as ambassadors is to lead those without Christ Jesus to his marvelous saving grace. The greatest potential to reach the unsaved is through God's Word.

Bristol Raceway Ministries is in the process of developing a special edition New Testament that will feature Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragstrip. Because this is the 50th anniversary of BMS, we know that every race fan will want a copy. We will begin with 40,000 copies which will cost approximately $40,000. Our ministry team is hard at work reaching out to people who would be interested in investing in the souls of 1000s of individuals. I personally think that it has the potential to begin a spiritual revival/awakening. This is really a call to Christians, who understand the importance of working together, to make the Great Commission come to life in our time.

Please ask God to direct your heart concerning a personal financial investment to reach people with the Gospel. Think of your gift as one soul reached for each dollar donated! Thank you for your support of this most important project! To assist with this project, please contact Tony Kilgore, Bristol Raceway Ministries Bible Committee Chairman by emailing him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , calling 423.360.1565, writing to Bristol Raceway Ministries, P.O. Box 7255, Kingsport, TN 37664 or by going online at www.bristolracewayministries.org/donate.html to Donate Now. (And before you ask, yes, this is the same Tony Kilgore, who has worked diligently to bring great Christian literature through the Common Ground Herald to our region.)