“I’m returning to Christ!” – Southampton Outreach

It was a bit damp and windy for today’s outreach in Southampton, yet people were very open to hearing the good news about Jesus. Throughout the day, there was a constant demand for God’s Word to the point where we ran out of New Testaments and were running low on John’s Gospel!

Surprisingly, we met several Roman Catholics today who were interested in talking. Nigel found himself speaking to one man for quite some time. This man was confused in his beliefs but was quite traditional in Roman views. He listened to the gospel, but he didn’t believe it. He doubted the authority of God’s Word and elevated Mary.

The next Roman Catholic that spoke with us was much more open. He was Irish also, but he engaged with what was said. He first spoke with me by the Free Bible table, but then he went to chat with Tony. After speaking with both of us, he took tracts designed to address Roman Catholics.

We were blessed to have five preachers today. Mike Mellor started the preaching by speaking on “Jesus – Radical Extremist.” In this message, Mike shows that Jesus had a radical teaching of love. Two men listened, and then they chatted with Mike afterwards.

Next to preach was Tony. He opened his Bible to John 3:16 and explained the verse. One man told Tony that Jesus came to show us how to live life; Tony replied by showing him the biblical gospel. At the end of the message, one man took a copy of John’s Gospel.

It was then my turn to preach. Since there is much in the news about war, I decided to preach on “How can I have peace?” After the message, I was encouraged to see five people take John’s Gospel. One man who listened told me he was in Southampton on holiday from Portugal. He took a copy of John’s Gospel and a card that links the gospel in his own language.

The next two preachers were Ben followed by Richard. Ben preached on “What becomes of a broken heart?” And Richard spoke about life. Both did a great job of explaining the gospel, although I missed some of their preaching as I was chatting with a man who told me he was returning to Christ.

This man had been sitting behind the preachers listening to everything we had been saying. He had heard each preacher, and something was stirring inside of him. He told me he was a professing Christian but had wandered away from the Lord. As he listened, he said the Holy Spirit began to convict him of idolatry, as he was living for the pleasure of the world and not Jesus. He went on to say that after hearing the gospel, “I’m returning to Christ.”

I was the final preacher for the day; to close the outreach I preached on “Are You Good Enough for Heaven?” A German man named Jango stopped to engage. Together we went through the good person test as a crowd gathered to listen. At the end of the message, three people took John’s Gospels. Jango told us he was only in Southampton for one day, as he was on a cruise, but was thankful that he came by to talk. He also took a card with a link to the gospel in German.

Almost as soon as the outreach finished, the Lord opened the heavens, and the rain began to fall. We all went home wet but rejoicing in all the Lord had done!

SDG!

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Josh Williamson is a full-time evangelist with The Open-Air Mission. Since 1853, OAM has been sharing the good news on the streets of the United Kingdom. To stay updated about the work of the Mission, please sign up for the free quarterly magazine and monthly prayer notes.

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