“You’ve made me think!” – Reading Evangelism
It was good to finally get back to Reading. We'd planned to share the gospel there on Monday, but due to the weather, we decided to postpone until today. Looking at all the gospel conversations we had, it was clearly the Lord’s plan that we were in Reading today.
It was sunny and hot, but our preaching location was in the shade. This was helpful as it allowed us to preach in comfort and provided somewhere cooler for people to stop to listen. Trevor was the first preacher for the day. As he opened up God’s Word, he challenged people to consider the Lord Jesus Christ.
While he was speaking, two Indian ladies stopped at the free Bible table. The younger of the two told me she had just started reading the Bible and had many questions. The older lady also said she was beginning to wonder about Christian teaching. Both took “Why Christianity” booklets, and other material. Rich connected them to the church, where he is one of the pastors.
When it came to my turn to preach, I spoke on “Who is Jesus?” As I explained from Colossians 1 who Christ is, things got interesting! First, a man came along who told me that I needed to read the Book of Job as he was Jesus Christ. This man was loud, so he had the potential to be a good heckler. He claimed that Jesus was in him, so he was Jesus. He said everything Christ did, he could do. Since I had just said that Jesus is the Creator, I asked the man to create a table and chair out of nothing. The man refused. He then stormed off and began to rant at Trevor. He later calmed down and apologised to me.
Then, my second heckler arrived on the scene. This young man was a Muslim, who wanted to pull down the biblical teaching of Jesus and the authority of the Scripture. His argument was that Jesus was not divine, and he also wanted to know where the body of Christ was located. I engaged him in apologetics while explaining the gospel. But this young man wasn’t interested in listening. Whenever I referenced my Bible, he would say, “NO! That is a new Bible, you can only use the old Bible.” I asked him to clarify what he meant, but he couldn’t explain, all he could say was that the old Bible was in France somewhere. I pointed out the Scripture hasn’t changed, but he wouldn’t believe it. His ranting did bring a few people along to listen, including a Muslim man who filmed everything. Eventually, I passed the heckler on to Rich (sorry mate!) so that I could preach to those listening. I explained the gospel once again and offered a copy of John’s Gospel to anyone who wanted more information. Two men, including the Muslim man who was filming, asked for a copy.
After the open air, the Muslim man who was filming came over to chat. His first words were, “I am a Muslim, but you’ve made me think!” He went on to thank me for engaging the questions that had been asked, and for actually believing what I preached. He told me that he wanted to understand Christianity more, but he didn’t understand the doctrine of the Trinity, nor how Jesus is God. I gave him a couple of booklets that addressed that topic, and he took other gospel material too.
The other man who took a Gospel of John also wanted to chat. He was questioning if the Bible was true due to a few articles he had read online. We engaged in an apologetic discussion relating to the genealogy of Jesus, and also the question of if Christianity stole its teaching from other religions. The man was very friendly and open to chatting. He told me that he would read John’s Gospel so he can better understand the teaching of Christ.
After these discussions, I made my way over to the free Bible table. As soon as I got there, a lady named Julia came in like a hurricane. She was not happy. At first, she tried to argue against Christianity by claiming the New Testament was not trustworthy or needed, so Trevor and I spent time explaining to her how the Old Testament builds into the New Testament, with Jesus being the central focus. But this objection was just a cover for the hurt she was feeling; for Julia, the big issue was one of suffering, as her husband died recently. We listened as she began to pour out all her pain, anguish, and questions. After she finished explaining everything, we were able to offer care and comfort. Julia’s attitude completely changed. She became very friendly and was thankful for someone to talk with; she apologised for her aggression and was quite open to hearing what we had to say. She took the contact details for a local pastor and a tract. In the end, she said she wanted to hug us, but due to the heat, she wouldn’t as she was too sweaty.
It was around this time that I noticed one of our quieter team members had been cornered by an older lady who is a Jehovah’s Witness. I joined the discussion. This older lady was friendly until she heard that I affirmed the deity of Christ. From that moment on she wouldn’t engage in discussion, nor discuss the Scripture. I was able to share the gospel with her, but she proudly boasted of her good deeds. It was sad to see an older lady so deceived by a cult.
At around 1:30pm, I preached for the second time; this time, I spoke from John 3:16. As I explained the verse, a lady stood to listen. She paid attention to all that was said, then at the end, she came up to take a copy of John’s Gospel and to chat. She isn’t a Christian, but she has been feeling the urge to go to church. We shared the gospel with her and encouraged her to attend a good evangelical church.
By this stage, it was time to end the outreach, so we began to pack everything down. As we did so a middle-aged lady stopped to talk. She had seen the free Bible table and wondered if we had anything we could give her. She told us that her grandfather was a preacher, but she was a Buddhist. Then she said, “My grandfather died two days ago. My grandmother told me to start reading the Bible.” We happily gave her a New Testament and other gospel material. She was very friendly and listened as we explained the truth.
It was a tremendous day in Reading. Please pray for all those we encountered.
SDG!