My Life Has Been Changed – Southampton Evangelism

One of the challenges with open-air evangelism is wondering if we are having an impact. The people we meet come from all walks of life and from all over the world. They stop, listen to the gospel, and then go on. We never quite know what God is doing; but occasionally, the Lord allows us to see how He is working. Today, we saw that God has been at work in the life of a man I spoke with two months ago.

But before we look at what the Lord has been doing with that gentleman, let me tell you what else happened. The city centre of Southampton was heaving with people. What made today even more busy was there was a famous YouTuber in the area (I have no idea who he is). One challenge we faced came in the form of a children’s maritime band. They were very good, but also very loud! This made preaching difficult, but still, the gospel spread.

Nigel and I focused on handing out tracts for the first part of the outreach. Due to the busyness of the city, many tracts were handed out. During this time, we also had short conversations with several people.

After a while, I decided to preach. As the maritime played, I attempted to explain the good news. Today, I decided to use the “Good Person Test” to see if I could get any interaction from the people. No one engaged, but a few did pause to listen. After the open-air, two people took copies of John’s Gospel. One of those who took a Gospel then sat down on the bench to read it. It is always encouraging to see people take an interest in God’s Word.

Then, I saw fruit from my previous ministry. As I was handing out tracts, a man approached. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. When he started to speak, his Irish accent reminded me. Two months previous, I had spoken to him in that same location (read about that encounter here). When we last spoke, he said he was involved in illegal activity and was worried he could never get away. Today, he said his life has been changed. He has walked away from crime and is now looking for legal work. He is attending church and reading the Gospel of John that I gave him. He went on to say that he trusts in Jesus and knows that God will take care of his employment needs; then he said he wants to raise his boys rightly, so they can know Jesus. 

This time, I was able to give him a full Bible and other literature to help him grow. Before he left, he asked, “Have you changed anyone’s life today?” I replied, “I can’t change anyone, but the Lord can.” He shook my hand and said, “You changed my life. My life has been changed.” I assured him that it wasn’t me but Jesus. Please continue to pray for this gentleman.

We go out and sow the seed of the gospel, but we never know what the Lord will do. If you are sharing the gospel but not seeing fruit, I would encourage you to keep making much of Jesus. You don’t know how the Lord is working. Stay faithful!

SDG!