Constant Gospel Conversations – Portsmouth Evangelism
How does one begin to tell of all the wonderous deeds that the Lord performed today in Portsmouth? From arrival, until we packed down, the five of us on the team were constantly engaged in gospel conversations.
My first conversation was with a man named John. He told me that he formerly attended church and hoped that by being nice, God would let him into Heaven. John openly admitted that he had sinned, which is why he was trying extra hard to be nice. So, I asked him, “John, if I robbed a bank but then gave away all the money to do nice things for people, do you think that would remove my guilt of being a criminal?” John replied that my deeds wouldn’t help me as I had broken the law. John listened as I explained the gospel, then took an in-depth tract and said he would start reading his Bible.
As my conversation finished, Roger began to preach about “How Can I Know if God is Real?” As he preached, a few people paused to listen. One lady listened to the whole message, and then at the end, she said it was interesting and made her think. She took a copy of John’s Gospel.
Another man who listened was Muhammad from Egypt. This older gentleman struggled to understand all that was being said, as English wasn’t his main language. As we chatted, he told me that he was visiting England and he was saddened to see the state of the society. He could see different actions taking place that would eventually destroy society, all of which he said were a result of rejecting God. We had a common ground lamenting over the sin in the culture, but where we differed was over the solution. Muhammad was very friendly and said he appreciated the conversation. He took a copy of John’s Gospel in Arabic and shook my hand.
Around this time, I noticed a team member at the Free Bible table praying for a man who needed help. I was invited to join the conversation with a man named Michael, who openly admits he is a drug addict. Michael told us his story and lamented that he couldn’t get clean. I suggested that his drug addiction was the fruit of something bigger. Drugs were just Michael’s attempt to satisfy himself, which is ultimately idolatry. Michael agreed, so we shared the gospel with him, prayed for him, and then gave him the details of a local church. Michael seemed very thankful that people took the time to care for him and to tell him the truth. This encounter reminded me once again of the importance of biblical counselling and the needs that are common to all people.
As I walked back towards the open-air board, I noticed a young man reading Roger’s message, so I engaged him in conversation. This young man was with a group of Muslim students. Most of them were very friendly and open to talking. I shared with two of them about the gospel. One of the young men said he has good English, so he took a Gospel of John. The other man said he could only read Arabic, so I offered him a John’s Gospel in his language. He gladly took the Arabic gospel, but then one from the group snatched it away. They handed it back to me saying, “We are Muslims!” I smiled and said, “I know, but this book is for everyone. Also, doesn’t the Quran commend the reading of the Injil?” The Muslims agreed that the Quran supports reading the Injil, so I pointed out that is what I was giving them and that if they are good Muslims, they should read it. Upon hearing this, they took back the John’s Gospel and thanked me for the gift. Several of them then also took tracts.
It was now my turn to preach, so I decided to speak on God’s Love from John 3:16. As I explained the verse, people began to listen. One man named Vern decided to heckle, but more in a friendly way. He started speaking about how we all need life (I agreed), so I asked him, “Why do we need life?” He wasn’t sure how to answer that question, so I opened up the Ten Commandments to show that because of our sins, we all deserved death. Vern admitted he was guilty before God, so I explained the gospel to him from John 3:16. As I did this, I noticed others were listening, so, at the end of the message, I offered a copy of John’s Gospel to anyone who wanted to find out more about Jesus. Vern took a gospel, as did three others.
One of those who took a Gospel of John after the message was a man named Akeem. Akeem is a Muslim from Nigeria. He was friendly and had many questions, especially relating to Jesus being the Son of God. Like many Muslims, Akeem thought that this meant God was married to Mary, and they naturally produced a son. I explained that no Christian believes this as that is not what we mean when we say the Son of God. We then chatted through the differences between Islam and Christianity; I explained to him the gospel and challenged him to trust in Christ. At the end of our chat, he asked if we could have a photo taken together in front of the open-air board. He then asked if I could post it on my website.
By now, the outreach time had finished, so we began to pack down. As we did, two young people stopped to chat. The young man had questions relating to other religions, textual criticism, and why God doesn’t get rid of sin. The young lady with him said she was a Muslim, so we also explored the differences between our beliefs. At the end of our conversation, they took a booklet explaining how we got the Bible and thanked us for taking the time to answer their questions.
All in the team reported similar experiences. Today was one of those days where we didn’t stop – God was at work! Please pray for all those who heard the good news in Portsmouth.
SDG!