The Changes in the “Wordless Book”

I must admit that I had not been keeping up with Child Evangelism Fellowship and its premier way of sharing the gospel with children—the Wordless Book.

The Wordless Book uses simple colors as a framework for sharing the gospel. My mother trained with CEF before she was married and considered joining the organization as a missionary. I was first introduced to the Wordless Book before I could even speak the colors of its pages. She and my father continued to participate in Good News Clubs in public schools well into their 80’s. The Wordless Book was always part of their gospel presentation.

However, the presentation changed over the years. When I began working with children in my high school years, the order of colors was first black, then red, white, gold, and finally green. I still remember the song I learned from my mother.

My heart was black with sin, until the Savior came in,

His precious blood, I know, has washed it white as snow

And in God’s word I’m told, I’ll walk the streets of gold

To grow in Christ each day, I read my Bible and pray

The History of the Wordless Book

According to CEF, the Wordless Book was introduced by Charles Haddon Spurgeon in a sermon he preached in 1866 entitled, “The Wordless Book.”^[i] Here is the short history recounted by CEF.

Originally it was designed with only 3 pages – black, red, and white – when introduced by Charles Spurgeon in 1866 in his sermon titled “The Wordless Book.” It is not known when the gold page was added but 9 years later D.L. Moody 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, 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.

In 1895 the book was taken to India with Amy Carmichael. Amy and her helper made a satin flag of gold, black, red, and white, raised it in her ox cart and traveled village by village sharing the Gospel.

Ruth Overholtzer, wife of CEF founder J. Irvin, discovered the book in 1924. She found it in a bookstore operated by Dr. Harry Ironside, who became pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago. When CEF began to print the little book 15 years later they added the final color to represent Christian growth. Spurgeon said, “A child of 5, if properly instructed can as truly believe and be regenerated as an adult.” The Lord used this statement in Mr. O’s life to begin Child Evangelism Fellowship when he was 60 years old. The ministry has grown to be the largest evangelistic outreach in the world to children.[ii]

Throughout the last century some of the most revered missionaries, like Hudson Taylor[iii] and Lilias Trotter[iv], used the Wordless Book to share the gospel to children and adults alike.

Moving the Gold Page to the Front

At some point, the gold page moved from after the white page to the beginning. And with that change, the gold page has been infused with new meaning. Originally, the gold page represented the blessing of heaven now the hope of a believer who has be purified by the blood of Christ.

In the new Wordless Book, the gold page starts with an introduction to who God is and then where He lives.[v] 100 years ago, most children not only had some understanding of God, but also believed He existed. Today, the idea of God is foreign to most unchurched children. So, a gospel presentation has to start with a different premise than going right to sin. These kids are growing up in a society where right is portrayed as wrong and wrong as right, and it is often portrayed this way by every human authority they know.

The Importance of Knowing the Audience

The new order of the Wordless Book reminds us that we must remember our audience in presenting the gospel. When Matthew presents the gospel in the Book of Matthew, he starts by proving from the Old Testament scriptures Jesus is the Messiah. That is what the people were looking for. The gospel of Matthew would go something like this.

Jesus is who He says He is. He is the Messiah.

If he is the Messiah, you are what He says you are. You are sinners in need of a Savior.

And you must do what He says you must do. Believe on Jesus Christ for salvation.

When Paul addresses the polytheists on Mars Hill, he starts by presenting the God of the Bible as the Unknown God that they ignorantly worship. He then claims that this is the only Creator God and the Only God to whom they will answer.

Presenting God First

The common denominator with these presentations is that they do not start with the person being addressed. They start with God or with Jesus Christ Himself. We do need to rethink gospel presentations that start with the sinner—either telling her how wonderful her life could be in Christ or even telling him what horrible a lawbreaker he is. You cannot understand sin until you understand who God is first.

Any presentation of the gospel must start with a presentation of the nature and glory of God, and His Son Jesus Christ. Everything else flows from that.

I thank God for the Wordless Book and the simple way Christian workers have been able to used it in sharing the gospel for 160 years.

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Audio version of this post: The Changes in the “Wordless Book”

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[i] C. H. Spurgeon, “The Wordless Book,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 57 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1911), 565.

[ii] New-Wordless-Book-NOTES-2025.pdf, page 1.

[iii] Hudson Taylor, ed., China’s Millions (London: Morgan and Scott, 1892), 7

[iv] Blanche A. F. Piggott, Lilias Trotter: Founder of the Algiers Mission Band (London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1930), 23, 43

[v] New-Wordless-Book-NOTES-2025.pdf, page 2.