About Us
GOD'S CARTOONIST
Fresh out of the U.S. Army in 1948, a young, chain-smoking, hard-swearing cartoonist named Jack Chick became a Christian after hearing a Gospel radio message on his honeymoon. Now, he wanted to tell the world about it, but how? He knew he could not tell everyone personally.
THE FIRST CHICK TRACT IS BORN
He felt convicted when he saw a group of teens hanging out on a curb. Heavily burdened, he stopped the car. What he wanted to tell them started rolling through his head and in just a few minutes he sat and wrote his first soul-winning tract, A Demon's Nightmare. There, the VISION for Chick Publications was born: Share with as many people as possible the wonderful good news that Jesus saves from sin. God had all the factors in a row: Jack's love for drawing cartoons, his dramatic feel for a good story, his gratitude for his own delivery from sin, his growing knowledge of the Bible, a good business environment, and efficient printing technology. 50 years later, frontline soul winners, who shared that vision, have seeded planet earth with hundreds of millions of copies of the no-nonsense Chick gospel tracts. Chick Publications has received testimonies from all over the world. Suicides were stopped in time. Rebel fathers returned to their families. The aimless became dedicated pastors. Bitter, angry prisoners were broken by love. The list is endless.
CHICK TRACTS GET READ!
Some of the most spectacular proofs that Chick tracts get read involve prevention of suicides. One call that came to our office was from a pastor in Alaska. He said, "I have a story for you." He told how he was very despondent as a young man earlier in his life. He walked out onto a cliff overlooking one of the wild rivers in Alaska planning to jump to his death in the frigid, churning water below. But something colorful in the dirt at his feet caught his attention. When he picked it up, it was a Chick tract. The engaging story diverted him from his plan, and the promise of a better way changed his mind. He was now calling as a pastor and wanted to thank someone for rescuing him from certain death ---and hell.
TESTIMONIES
A friend of mine was saved with the help of your tracts. I would give him a tract almost once a week and he would always be eager to take them. He finally came out to church and was saved there. Praise the Lord!"
J.S.
IowaWhen I was a waitress, a man and his wife would leave a tract for me with a tip. Eventually, they asked me to join them on a Sunday for church and the rest is history. Praise the Lord, these people cared for my soul...a complete stranger."
A.B.
FacebookMy dad gave me several Chick tracts to read when I was 17 years old. The images of heaven and hell that I read in Chick tracts stuck with me and are the reason I came to the Lord a short time later."
T.P.
Via EmailTHERE'S NO STOPPING!
Jack Chick went to be with Jesus on October 23rd, 2016, but before he died, he hand-picked leaders that would continue the ministry of publishing the gospel in cartoon format. They are continuing to supply the same gospel by the same method that has led so many to Jesus. Christians who use them today repeatedly confirm that they still work because:
CHICK TRACTS GET READ!
OUR HISTORY - 1960 TO PRESENT
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1960
From Aerospace to Cartoon Strip
Jack Chick was working day and night trying to provide for his family. He had 2 jobs, drawing sales flyers for Astro-Science and cartoons for a local newspaper.
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1961
The start of a ministry
Working from his kitchen table in his "free time", he wrote Why No Revival. It was a large format measuring 10 inches wide. He had not started a publishing company yet so he worked from home as time permitted.
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1962
First story in tract format
A Demon's Nightmare was Jack's first story written in tract form. It measured slightly smaller at 8 inches wide. Jack was inspired to write this when his heart was broken for a group of teenagers who appeared aimless and lost without the Jesus he knew.
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1963
Most popular Chick tract makes it's debut
The Last Call came out in 1963. Jack was running his fledgling company all by himself. He was invited to present the gospel to a group of inmates at a prison camp in the mountains above Azusa, California. Jack presented the gospel in "flip chart" format. Eleven prisoners attended chapel that night. When he finished, nine of them got saved! So, Jack published the story as his fourth book, naming it This Was Your Life. To this day, it is Jack's most popular title and the one most widely translated.
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1966
Two more tracts are added
Jack wrote The Beast and Somebody Goofed.
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Late 1966
The start of Chick Publications
Jack was writing and paying for the tract publishing himself. While thinking about what to name his company, his printer, John Boewe, showed up with the tracts and said, "Here. I've already printed the tracts. You're Chick Publications!" So, the printer named the company, not Jack!
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1968
From kitchen table to garage
Soon orders were coming in. Jack needed a partner to help —a Christian partner. He was working for Lockheed and heard about another Christian working there named George. Jack gave him a tract and George liked it. That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. They moved the business part from Jack's kitchen table to George's garage, and Jack went back to drawing more tracts.
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1969
Chick tracts as we know them today
Jack's printer, John Boewe, had set up a high speed printing press to print a smaller tract called, The Four Spiritual Laws for another company. John told Jack if he could reformat the tracts to the smaller size and use just 24 pages, they could save a lot of money and make tracts that would easily fit in a shirt pocket. Jack did, and after the first advertisement, sales suddenly exploded!
The start of Fisherman's Club. Soul winners who signed up would receive 100 Chick tracts each month.
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1970
The company moves into a larger building
Right away, they needed a staff to handle all the orders and more space than George's garage. So, they rented a small industrial suite in Pomona, California.
Operation Somebody Cares is launched. Jack's research showed that if a church returned to a neighborhood several times with a different tract each week, more people were willing to listen to the gospel and consider attending the church.
Circa 1973
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1972
Chick Publications adds another artist
Fred Carter joins the Chick family and begins illustrating some of Jack's stories.
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1973
The first Chick Publications poster
Evolution poster first published. Jack recognized early that the lie of evolution was the foundation of many other of Satan's deceptions. One of Fred Carter's first projects was this exposure of Evolution. It was based on the centerfold of the tract, Big Daddy.
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1974
We meet Timothy Clark and Jim Carter
Jack publishes his very first Crusaders comic book, entitled Operation Bucharest. The Crusaders were the result of a desire to give young people godly heroes. It also became a platform to educate on the dangers of the cults, including Roman Catholicism.
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1976
Chick Publications, an independent publisher.
George had been thinking ahead and figured out how they could get their own printing press. So they did and enabled Chick Publications to better control the cost of the tracts as an independent publisher.
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1978
100 million and growing
About 100 million tracts sold since inception. By 2018 this figure had grown to over 900 million.
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1979
Alberto Rivera's Testimony In Comic Format
The first comic book about former Jesuit priest, Alberto Rivera, is published. The ex-Jesuit priest confirmed Jack's belief that Roman Catholicism is not biblical. Jack felt strongly that God wanted Chick Publications to be one of the few voices raised against this age-old idolatry.
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1983
Chick Publication's newsletter is first printed
The first issue of "Battle Cry" is published. It was intended to encourage soul winning and expand on subjects covered briefly in the tracts. This was originally a full-sized newspaper but later was reduced in size. It is still sent free to customers who have placed an order within the last 12 months.
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1989
Chick tracts in 100 languages
Missionaries who learned of the tracts requested translations for their mission fields. Chick Publications agreed to do the art work for free if the missionary would furnish a quality translation and buy the first 10,000-tract press run. This provided an inventory of tracts for other missionaries working in that field as well as for immigrants to the US and other countries.
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1995
Chick Publications joins the World Wide Web
The company's website, www.chick.com, is launched. God provided a top-notch technical staff able to utilize the efficiencies of the digital world. This helped keep the booklet tracts affordable.
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1999
500 million sold
Chick Publications sells its 500 millionth tract.
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2000
David W. Daniels joins the staff
Jack had been praying about someone who could help him research topics for the tracts. In August, 2000, Jack hired David W. Daniels to be his tract writing partner. David learned Jack's style of using an engaging story to drive home the truth of the gospel.
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2001
150th title published
Jack publishes his 150th tract entitled, The Big Deal.
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2003
"The Light of the World" premier
Jack releases his first gospel film, The Light of the World, made from over 360 oil paintings done by Fred Carter. As video technology grew, Jack longed to use it for the gospel. This 78-minute film fulfilled his dream. He used his own money to pay for the soundtrack, composed by John Campbell.
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2004
Started Chick Mission Fund
Many of those who use Chick tracts have sent money asking us to provide tracts to missionaries. So, we started a Mission Fund in 2004 to provide tracts, free of charge, to missionaries all over the world. As of 2018, Christians like you have provided over 20 million tracts for missionaries in 60+ countries through the Chick Mission Fund.
If you'd like to learn more about how you can help, please visit our Mission Fund information page.
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2006
The Start of the Black Tract Series
Some of the most popular tracts are drawn with black characters. The series starts with It's Your Life. Fred Carter's art style and knowledge of the black culture was applied to this adaption of some of the most popular tracts.
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2006
Chick YouTube Channel Launched
At first, we were skeptical about creating our own YouTube channel because we weren't sure what content to upload and if anyone would care enough to watch! Well, more than a decade later, we've been able to reach thousands of people with messages on soul-winning, Bible versions, false religions, Halloween witnessing ideas, even information about our founder, Jack Chick. As of 2018, we've reached over 2 million views and 12k subscribers to our channel.
Many have written to tell how this series has strengthened their faith. They are beginning to see that they can hold a Bible in their hands in which they have absolute confidence that they have the words of God. No more contradictions or uncertainty. This has been faith-building for many!
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2009
"Look What's Missing!"
Author David W. Daniels had a passion to alert Christians to the changes that were being made by Bible publishers. So he wrote Look What's Missing to highlight some of the most important verses that have been removed by modern Bible publishers.
Have you checked to see what's missing from YOUR Bible?
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2010
Endorsement of the Reina-Valera Gómez Spanish Bible
For years, we westled with which Spanish Bible version we should use in our tracts for Spanish-speaking people because we found problems with all of them.
Until 2010, no Spanish Bible was free from corrupted Alexandrian texts. But that all changed with the release of the Reina Valera Gómez 2010 Bible... the only Spanish Bible that follows the Received Text in every single verse.
After years of work, the Reina Valera Gómez (RVG) Bible is finally available. A true, "Textus Receptus" Bible, the RVG has been proofread and refined by Spanish-speaking Christians in 13 countries.
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2011
First Animation Released on DVD
In 2007, Steve West called Chick Publications with an idea, and a vision. He asked for permission to make video animations of Chick tracts, using software currently available. His vision was to deliver these gospel messages to a generation that is reading less and less. He hoped to have them translated and make something that would help missionaries spread the Gospel.
We gave him permission, and he formed Littleshots Productions. He produced two animations based on Jack Chick's stories, The Sissy and Tiny Shoes.
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2012
John/Romans Scripture Portions
Our customers know that cartoon gospel tracts are the best way to introduce a non-believer to the Gospel. Likewise, the Gospel of John and Romans is the best way to introduce a non-believer to the Bible.
We created pocket-sized John and Romans booklets to make sharing God's Word so easy!
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2016
"Absent from the body, present with the Lord"
On October 23rd, 2016, Jack T. Chick is called home. "Well done, good and faithful servant...enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
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2017
The ministry continues... same vision, same gospel message!
David W. Daniels, after 16 years of working with and being trained by Jack Chick, continued to write new tracts with the help of Jack’s long-time friend and illustrator, Fred Carter, until Fred went to be with the Lord in 2022. Now, David both writes and draws Chick tracts.
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2021
ONE BILLION Chick Tracts Sold —and counting!
Jack Chick was one person and in 1961 he wrote one tract.
He was able to get it printed and handed out his first Chick tract —a tiny beginning.
It started with one. Now it continues with ONE BILLION —and counting!
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2022
A World Famous Illustrator for Chick Publications Passes Away
On May 9th 2022, one of Jack Chick's closest friends in the ministry passes away. Fred was the illustrator of over 90 tracts and the Crusader comic books. He also created hundreds of oil paintings that Jack used in various projects, like the gospel film, "The Light of the World"
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Today...
The Ministry Continues, Just As Jack Chick Wanted
In the early 2000s, Jack Chick made an important decision about who would continue the ministry of Chick Publications long after his passing. Jack chose David W. Daniels and said he would be the one God would use to continue the ministry. David now writes both the story and draws the cartoon artwork for Chick tracts.
Read the first one here: "No Way In?"