Windy and Cold – Winchester Evangelism
There was a cold and cutting edge in the windy city of Winchester today. As we arrived in the city centre, we saw that our preaching location was fully shaded and right in the middle of a wind tunnel. This would mean a freezing outreach – it also brought along challenges.
Despite the cold conditions, the city was very busy. The weather made it hard to have conversations, but many did take gospel tracts.
While handing out tracts, I noticed a group of Mormon missionaries walking towards us. I always enjoyed chatting with these young men, so I greeted them. They weren’t as friendly as usual. The senior missionary said, “We know who you are from Portsmouth.” They then wouldn’t engage in any further conversation. Later in the day, when I saw them again, they were cold and wouldn’t speak. This is standard cultic behaviour – people are not allowed to think or question. They must follow the leaders blindly.
After handing out tracts, I decided to open-air preach. It was a challenge due to two buskers being nearby, but still, the Lord allowed His Word to go forth. I spoke about God being the Creator and how all have turned our back on Him. As I shared this truth, a well-dressed man walked close to me. He then proceeded to declare that the Bible is merely a bronze-age book. Putting aside the historical inaccuracy of that statement, I asked him to explain why he believed that was true. The man declared that science is truth, but religion is made up. He then stated that the Bible is ignorant of science and makes no scientific or historical statements.
The heckler wasn’t making a case, he was merely making assertions, so I asked him a question about dinosaurs. The man stated that dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago, before the evolution of humans. I mentioned that the term dinosaur did not exist until the early 19th century, as it was only then we discovered fossils and evidence of these ‘terrible lizards.’ He agreed that before the 19th century, the scientific world didn’t know about dinosaurs. This is when I asked him, “So, how do you explain the Bible mentioning them in Job 40?” (See: “Dinosaurs and the Bible” & “Dinosaurs in the Bible”). The man fumbled around, then tried to change the topic. I wasn’t prepared to let him jump to another subject, so I held him to the question. The heckler refused to answer and then walked away.
After I finished preaching, Paul proclaimed God’s Word. He preached on “Forecasting: Can We Get it Right?” In this talk, he points out that people can’t predict what will happen soon, yet the Bible predicted the coming of Jesus. Using prophecy, Paul explained the good news.
One lady was intrigued by the message Paul had on the board. She said that she was a Buddhist but loved Jesus. Paul shared the gospel with her; she then took a copy of John’s Gospel and Ultimate Questions.
An encouraging encounter I had was when a young man came up to chat. He told me that a couple of months ago, he spoke to me in Southampton (click here for the report). He just wanted to say thank you for the conversation. It was clear he was still thinking about what we had previously discussed.
Despite the cold weather, the gospel went forth. Please pray that all those who heard the good news would come to faith in the Lord Jesus.
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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In common with many evangelistic reports, we have changed the names and some of the photographs to protect the anonymity of those mentioned.