God is Faithful – Andover Evangelism
Honestly, I didn’t want to be in Andover today. Everything seemed to be going wrong; on the drive to the town, my car had mechanical issues. Then, when I did get to Andover, my open-air board wasn’t working as it should. Plus, on top of all that – it was cold! It was one of those days where I would have been happy to stay in the comfort of home. Yet, here I was, standing in the town centre trying to motivate myself to share the gospel. Thankfully, the Lord is faithful, even when I wasn’t feeling overly faithful. What He did today was truly amazing - I am thankful I was in Andover.
The outreach started quickly. While setting up the free Bible table, a man came past and asked for a copy of the New Testament. We happily gave him a copy and then continued to set up. Soon, a lady stopped at the table, so I went to speak with her. She told me that she was a Methodist, which immediately set off alarm bells in my head. Methodism in the UK, for the most part, is liberal and apostate, so when this lady appealed to Methodism, I was concerned. I asked her, “How do you think someone can be forgiven?” She answered by beautifully explaining the gospel of grace. She was an old-school Methodist, the type that would have John Wesley beam with pride. May the Lord raise up more Methodists like that lady!
Paul commenced the preaching by speaking from 1 Timothy 1:15. As he proclaimed the good news, a lady stopped to listen and then went to the literature table. When I spoke with her, she told me that she was intrigued by the preaching. The lady shared some of her story and explained how she is from France. She looked at the Bibles on the table and expressed her disappointment that they were all in English. When I told her that we had copies of John’s Gospel in French, she was excited. She readily took a copy and two cards that linked to the good news in French.
Next, it was my turn to preach. Since it is the Christmas season, I spoke about “Christmas Signs.” In this message, I appeal to different prophecies about the coming of Jesus. A young man stopped to listen and then engaged with the preaching. He had some biblical knowledge, but not much. Like most people, this young man hoped his good deeds would remove his sin. I explained the good news to him, and then at the end, he took a copy of John’s Gospel. Afterwards, Paul spoke with him further; the young man took a copy of Ultimate Questions and other literature.
After preaching, I spoke to a young man who had stopped at the table. He told me he hoped his good works would get him to Heaven. We had a quick gospel chat, and he took a copy of John’s Gospel.
Between the open-air messages, the team would hand out tracts. I offered one to an older gentleman who was walking past. He looked at me, then said, “I’m Jewish!” I replied, “That’s OK, this is about a Jewish bloke who was born 2000 years ago.” The man laughed and began to chat. He told us that he liked that we shared the Bible, as that is what the nation needs. He then shared that he struggles to accept the divinity of Jesus and that he has many questions for God. I encouraged him to read John’s Gospel and to ask God questions, as the Lord will provide answers. The man took a tract and expressed his thanks for the chat.
As the outreach progressed, Paul preached again, this time on “Forecasting: Can We Get It Right?” In this message, he seeks to use prophecy to show the uniqueness of the Bible and explain the coming of Jesus.
When Paul finished, I preached for the final time. I spoke on “Name that Carol.” In this message, I use the lyrics of well-known Christmas carols to present the gospel. A group of young men engaged the message and tried to guess the source of the carol quotes. I began to ask them questions from the lyrics, then swung the conversation around to the gospel. All listened as we spoke about the need for Jesus and the wonderful message of God’s grace. In the end, seven came forward to take copies of John’s Gospel. All shook hands and thanked us for speaking with them.
A young lady also listened to me preach and then spoke with Paul. She told him she has a Sunday School background but isn’t sure what to believe. She took a copy of John’s Gospel and Ultimate Questions.
During the outreach, a lady selling the “Big Issue” magazine listened to the preaching, so I spoke with her. She took a copy of John’s Gospel and told me she was from Romania. I gave her a booklet in Romanian, which she seemed very glad to receive.
The outreach started with me not wanting to be there but ended with me being so thankful that the Lord was faithful despite my feelings. Today was the most productive outreach we’ve had in Andover. Please pray for all those who heard the good news.
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.