“I can’t escape the Bible!” – Southampton Outreach

Sunny. Rain. Sunny. Rain. Sunny. Rain. This was the pattern of today’s outreach. Even though the weather apps promised a low chance of rain, the reality was quite different. Despite the bipolar weather, three of us were out in the city centre sharing the gospel.

Shortly after setting up, an Indian man with a Roman Catholic and Hindu background stopped to talk with Nigel. From the parts of the conversation I overheard, the man was confused in belief. Nigel told me afterwards that the man rejected the authority of Scripture was a mixture of religious beliefs. Nigel did well in answering his questions by pointing to Jesus.

During this time, I spoke to a man who told me he was trying to be a ‘good Christian,’ so I asked, “Are you succeeding?” The man admitted he wasn’t and that there were many struggles he faced. As he spoke, it was clear that this man was trying to be righteous by his own efforts and works. In many ways, he was like the Judaizers in Philippians 3, who boasted in all their religious efforts but were lost. Paul states in that passage that those ‘good deeds’ aren’t good at all; rather, they are rubbish that needs to be let go of if someone is going to be made righteous by Jesus through faith (Philippians 3:1-9). I stressed the gospel of grace to this man and pointed him to Jesus. He listened, then took a tract on true and false repentance. 

By now, the rain had begun to fall, so we quickly covered the Free Bible table and were taking shelter. But then a young man and his girlfriend stopped at the table. Standing in the rain, he told me he wanted to read the Bible but didn’t know where to start. As he spoke, it was clear that he was genuinely seeking answers. He took a copy of John’s Gospel and a booklet. Later in the day, he came back to talk again. He was amazed to learn that church attendance and religion couldn’t help him be right with God. We told him only Jesus could rescue him, so we pointed him to the Saviour.

When a break in the rain came, I decided to preach about “The Way to Heaven.” This would be the only open-air message of the day. The Lord very kindly caused people to stop and listen. At the end of the message, a French lady took a copy of John’s Gospel. She spoke with Nigel afterwards, sharing that she came from a Roman Catholic background and had made a ‘decision.’ Sadly, she had no fruits keeping with repentance, so Nigel shared the gospel. She took lots of literature after the conversation.

Another person who listened to me preach was Mark. He is a man in his 70’s, who, when offered a copy of John’s Gospel, said, “What a load of rubbish!” This is always a good opening to a conversation, so I asked, “Why do you believe that?” He then began to share how for 67 years, he had prayed, “God, if you are there, speak to me!” In that time, he claimed that God had never once spoken. It was clear he was a man who wanted to argue, so I readily engaged his questions. We covered topics relating to the historicity of Jesus and the Bible, evolution, suffering, and the gospel. As I answered his arguments, he became more reasonable and calmer – he also kept saying. “You have a point.” When I offered him literature, he was very keen. He took several in-depth apologetic booklets. Then, as he went to leave, he said, “I keep trying to get away from the Bible, but every time I resolve to do it, someone quotes a verse to me. I can’t escape the Bible! Today, I decided I was done with the Bible, but then I heard you preach.” I had to ask, “Do you think that God may be answering your prayer by speaking to you, but you aren’t listening?” He said, “I think you may be right. I need to listen more.” He shook my hand and went on his way.

While all this was happening, Sarah was speaking with a Roman Catholic lady who was suffering from leukaemia. This lady was convinced that no one cared, so Sarah told her of the God who loves and cares. The lady seemed to light up when she heard about God’s love for her. Sarah shared the good news with her, with the lady taking a copy of John’s Gospel and literature.

As the rain fell for the final time on the outreach, we packed up and headed home. It was a wet but blessed day.

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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