Three Sample Letters
Jan’s Letter
Dear Marty and Cindy,
Hello! My name is Jan Miller. I am a resident of the Sherman area. I've enjoyed living here with my husband and family for about 10 years. As far as I know we have never met. I'm sure you're wondering why I am writing to you and how I obtained your name and address. Well, I picked your name randomly from the telephone book. The reason for my letter is very special, it's to introduce you to the one who has made such a difference in my life and the lives of my family. His name is Jesus.
It seems I've always known that Jesus is God's Son. We celebrate the miracle of His birth at Christmas and His resurrection from death and the grave at Easter. I was taught about Jesus at an early age. But it was not until later in life I realized I had not actually accepted Christ as my Savior. I had a "head-knowledge" of who He is, but I did not have a "heart-knowledge", big difference! I still remember the day I invited Him into my heart and life. I asked Him to forgive my sins and become my Lord and Savior. He did! Later, I requested to be baptized in the presence of friends and family as a testimony of this marvelous change that happened in my life.
The Bible, which is God's Word, states that this same Jesus will come again to claim all those who believe on Him. I am so glad to know that includes me! My entire family has accepted Christ as their Savior too! I cannot begin to tell you of all the changes we have experienced. Even in the darkest and most hurtful times of our lives, God has intervened with love, guidance and assurance that is beyond words or explanation. He has become our truest friend in every sense of the word.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." In the book of Romans, chapter 10, verses 9-13, He states if we confess with our mouth and believe with our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead we will be saved. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Marty and Cindy, if you know Jesus as your Savior, then you know the joy I have in Him. If you do not know Him, please allow me to encourage you to place your trust in Him and accept Him as your Savior too. He longs for you to invite Him into your heart and life. He loves you. He knows your needs and everything about you. He willingly died on the cross and paid the penalty for your sins so you could be included in His plan of salvation. He promises He will never leave us or forsake us. I know no matter what the situation - ups, downs, sorrows, joys, sickness or health - He shares them all. He will hear your prayer and He will come in. If He would do this for someone like me, He will do this for anyone and everyone.
As I stated before, I donít know you. I just wanted to share about my wonderful friend and Lord....Jesus. Thank you for taking the time and allowing me to do that. It is my sincere desire to be able to meet you one day in heaven, face to face. The choice is yours. I hope you choose Jesus. I will say a prayer for you toward that end. Until then...
From a friend you haven't met,
Jan Miller
Jan’s letter is written by a wife and working mother of two married children. Her letter was developed through many years of writing letters for the Lord. She made several changes in it over the years but has not made any changes in a long time.
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Ray's Letter
Dear Jimmy
You do not know me and to my knowledge we have never met. I obtained your name randomly from the phone book. My name is Ray Miller and I live with my wife in Texas. I own a business and am the owner and editor of a local newspaper. I am writing to you to share something I have discovered that made a huge difference in my life. Something so wonderful and powerful that to not share it with others is unthinkable to me.
As a young man my first job was working for an insurance company who insured fleet carriers such as trucking companies and bus lines. I was single, in my early twenties, and was really enjoying the life San Francisco had to offer. But in the midst of it all, I realized there was something missing in my life but I didn't know what.
I had always believed in God but knew little about Him. I remember driving down Highway One along the coast of Northern California one evening and a beautiful fiery red sunset was just over the ocean. It was amazing. In a moment the thought came to my mind, what if this is the end of the world and the sky is on fire. Looking back now that seems like a strange thought but I knew little about the bible except that the world would end by fire.
That event was powerful enough that I made the decision to find out more and started to attend churches. I went to a bunch of them. In each of the churches I attended, what I heard was the equivalent of 'be good. That seemed like a real dumb thing to say to someone who was enjoying the night life in San Francisco. Although I wasn't a Christian, I knew that wasn't all there was to Christianity. Finally, I did what just about anyone else would do and just quit going to church. I didn't go to church for someone to make me feel more guilty than I already did. But the questions in my mind didn't go away. I somehow knew God was real I just didn't know who He was and somehow I didn't think it was His plan to beat me up every time I tried to find out about Him.
It was sometime later that someone invited me to attend their church. I told them I would and we set a date I would attend. That Sunday morning was not really a good day to go anywhere. The night before was even fuzzy, if you know what I mean. But I had made the commitment and went anyway. The church was small and filled with country people. The preacher was uneducated and slaughtered the English language. I really didn't think there was much this church could help me with but as that country preacher began to preach he told me something God wanted me to hear. He told me God loved me. God loved me no matter where I had been or what I had done. He said God loved me for me, just as I am. That was just what God wanted me to hear and why He arranged for me to attend that particular church. The preacher said that God wanted me to know Him and the way to do that was to open my heart and ask Jesus Christ to come into my heart. I don't know how then, but somehow I knew what he said was true. That morning I did ask Jesus to forgive my sin and come into my heart and He did.
Jimmy, if I had a thousand years and a world full of paper I could not write all the great things God has brought into my life because of that decision. It was the "starting over with a clean slate" time in my life. The things I had done didn't matter any more, they were wiped away by the Lord. It was not a head decision but a heart decision. People didn't forget the "old me" but it didn't matter, they were amazed by the new me. It was the most powerful event in my life and I never got over it. The good things that flowed into my life were unbelievable. I didn't have to give up anything. There were just things I didn't want to do any more.
I found a good church that preached the Bible just as it's written and they opened their doors and their hearts to me. I fell in love with the prettiest girl in that church and have been married to her for 40 years. We have two children who are very successful in life. Our entire family knows Jesus Christ and we will spend eternity together.
So I'm writing this letter, not knowing you, but hoping that you will consider what God has to offer you. He loves you even though you may not know it as I didn't know it. He doesn't care what you have done and wants you for His own child. He has made it so simple to know Him even a child can understand.
If you are not a Christian by having taken Jesus as your own, would you consider that? I don't know you and you don't know me but I asked God to direct my letters to those He wants to receive it. I believe He does that. I believe you received this letter because God wants you to be in heaven too. I hope you make a decision for Christ and that one day we will meet in heaven.
A Friend You Have Yet to Meet,
Ray Miller
Ray’s letter is written by a man with business and professional experience. He was also a pastor for many years. He wrote his letter and made some tweaks in it one time. It has remained the same since.
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Kerri's Letter
Hi __________
My name is Kerri. I am a wife and mother of 4 young children. I live in North Texas and am a stay-at-home mom. I'm writing you this letter because I want to share with you about someone who has made a big difference in my life. It's Jesus. (I'm sure you've heard of him!!!)
I first heard about Jesus when I was very young. I had grown up in a Christian home and learned a lot about Him and the Bible. I asked Him to forgive me of all my wrong choices and to come live in my heart when I was just 6 years old. He did just that when I asked Him to (I know this because I immediately felt changed), but it wasn't until I got older and made this faith in Him my very own that I could see a real difference in my life.
The difference I'm writing about is true hope and a real meaning to life (not just an existence) . . . And so much more than I could ever write in one letter. The thing is, Jesus can make a change in anyone's life. He's very real and so is His love for you and everyone else.
I invite you to check it out! The Bible says that all who are looking for Him will find Him. It's just this simple: We all mess up big time (in the Bible - - Romans 3:23). The only way to be forgiven for all the times we miss the mark is Jesus (in the Bible - - John 14:6). God loves us so much that He came to earth as Jesus, lived a perfect life and paid the price for our wrong doing by dying on a cross, so that we could know Him (in the Bible - - Romans 5:8, Romans 6:23, 1 John 5:20). This forgiveness is available to everyone, not just a few select people (in the Bible - - 2 Peter 3:9).
All in all, I want you to know that God loves you. He does. And you can know Him. You can find a firm, grounded, unconditional hope for living this life. It's as easy as asking Jesus to forgive you of anything you've done wrong. The Bible says that if you say that Jesus is Lord and believe it with your heart, you will be forgiven . . . you will be changed . . .You will be saved! (In the Bible - - Romans 10:9).
__________, it's so easy to discredit a letter from someone you don't even know, but my hope is that you will not. My hope is that you will consider me as a friend you've just not met yet. And, most of all, that you will consider Jesus.
Sincerely,
Kerri Hamilton
Kerri’s letter was written by a young mother of four children. She is a pastor’s wife, currently working on the mission field in a foreign country. Kerri wrote her letter once and it was just what she wanted.
Each letter is vastly different from others. Your letter will be different than these letters as your personal experiences and manner of telling about the Lord comes out in what you write. The Lord uses each of His children in unique ways and your letter will be able to influence some people more than the sample letters above.
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Letters Which Promote A Church
You will also note that the three letters do not mention nor do they promote a church. That does not mean letters cannot be used to promote your church but there is a reason these do not. Letters which promote a particular church or denomination may lead the recipient to believe the only reason you are writing is so your church may get some benefit from them and therefore they may not read your letter at all. They may see that kind of letter as being self-servant.
If you do write a letter promoting your church, that’s OK. A letter introducing your church to someone needs to have some changes from the general letters above. These letters should be directed to people who have recently reached some milestone in life; new baby, job promotion, death in family, birthday, or some other event. Letters from a specific church are very appropriate and well received at such times and can benefit your church greatly over time. You can get names from the newspaper, from others in the congregation and from among your friends and contacts.