Newquay Evangelism: “I wish we were here on Sunday!”

Ministry can be hard; there are many instances where there are times when you feel like giving it all up, but then there are days like today when you are reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. It was really encouraging to be with seven other people from Newquay Baptist Church this afternoon as we hit the streets to share the gospel.

As Spring unfolds, the crowds of people enjoying a Cornish holiday increase, this means we can reach much of the UK without leaving our town. People from all over the nation come to Newquay to enjoy the sand, sun and surf (and pasties), our prayer is that while they are here they’ll encounter the Lord Jesus.

At 2pm, we all gathered at the chapel for prayer, and then we headed down to the town. The high street was busy with people, so soon many tracts were being handed out (the mayor even took one!), and conversations were underway. I set up the open-air board, but before I could preach, Tim stood up to proclaim the gospel. He took John 3 as his text, and he preached the gospel clearly from that passage. An older lady who attends a liberal and apostate church stood to listen; I was able to chat with her afterwards. She told me that she was greatly moved by the preaching and that she enjoyed hearing the gospel. I was able to give her some material, and a book by John MacArthur. She left us seeming quite encouraged and challenged.

When it was my turn to preach, I used the message, “The Way to Heaven.” This message is quite basic, but it challenges the common misconceptions people have about salvation. As I preached a handful of people listened, including a family that sat down on a bench and paid very close attention. At the end of the message, the family all took copies of John’s Gospel, and the kids took age-appropriate tracts. The family were on holiday from Wigan but are leaving Newquay on Friday. They said they wished they were still here on Sunday, as they would have loved to attend the Baptist Church.

Another encouragement today was chatting to two young men from other churches; both are very keen to get involved with evangelism, so I was able to offer a few pointers, and we agreed to meet for coffee on Friday. I am reminded that one of the roles of an evangelist isn’t just to preach the gospel but to stir up others for the work of the ministry. I truly pray that the Lord would raise up many faithful Christians who will take Christ to the lost.

All seven of us returned to the chapel joyous in Christ. The Lord was at work today. Even amid hardship, the gospel will continue to advance.

SDG!