Brian Kelly, a pastor and missionary in New York City, was saved in 1996 after hearing the gospel from a street preacher on a Brooklyn street corner and reading a Fellowship Tract League tract titled “You Have God’s Word on It.”

Soon after, a close friend handed Brian a Chick tract, “Somebody Loves Me.” Struck by its powerful simplicity, Brian immediately sensed God’s call to reach the nearly nine million people of New York City—representing over 700 languages—with gospel tracts.

This burden birthed what has now become a nearly 30-year street ministry in all five boroughs of New York. Brian tested different Chick tracts to find the best titles for each people group. At one point, his ministry spent six years in the subway system along the 7 train line with nine tables set up 24/7.

Today, Brian and his team are focused on going door-to-door to every neighborhood in every borough in NYC with tracts, the Bible, and their street-preaching Jesus Bus. The strategy is simple: have the right materials on hand, meet people where they are, and faithfully proclaim the gospel.

Brian developed a method of placing strategically designed tables fitted with 21-pocket Chick tract racks, each holding 525 tracts, at high-traffic intersections all throughout NYC. In 2022, God provided a Manhattan storefront church—King James Bible Baptist Church—allowing him to expand the ministry with greater organization. Inside, he stores and categorizes tracts and King James Bibles in hundreds of languages. His goal is to have tracts on hand for every neighborhood, language, people group, and religion in the boroughs of NYC.

The space also functions as a kind of “armory” for soul winners—part library, part supply depot—designed to equip Christians with the right tools for evangelism in any neighborhood or to confront any false teaching.

Each summer, Brian organizes a major outreach event: the Annual Tract Blast and Street Preaching Blitz. In June, a donation of 150,000 “This Was Your Life” tracts contributed directly to the second annual event. In addition to the donated tracts, the group gave out tens of thousands of other English, Spanish, and foreign language tracts. Three souls were saved on the spot and countless others received the gospel in tract form.

Brian’s vision for this event is to have one hundred street preachers on one hundred corners—each with Chick tract racks, gospel signs, and bullhorns proclaiming truth. Volunteers already come from across the U.S. and Canada.

King James Bible Baptist Church continues to grow as a gospel hub. Each tract they pass out includes a “Jesus Saves from Hell Fire” sticker, the church’s email, and Pastor Kelly’s phone number. He answers every call personally, ready to share Christ with anyone who wants to be saved.

Brian also faithfully mentors a group of “preacher boys” and has plans to help raise these young men up. His plans include launching a Bible school, establishing a library of King James Bibles and witnessing materials, and continuing to reach the lost in one of America’s most diverse cities.

Anyone wanting to fund tracts for this ministry can call Pastor Kelly at 646-267-1338 or email kingjamesbiblebaptistchurch@gmail.com. His mailing address is King James Bible Baptist Church, 1026 6th Ave., Suite 201, New York, NY, 10018. The church website is kingjamesbiblebaptistchurch.com.