Sharing the Gospel with the Ones and Twos – Portsmouth Evangelism
It was a beautiful day in Portsmouth. Due to the holiday break, the city centre was a little quiet, but still, there were plenty of people to speak to about the Lord Jesus. Almost from the very start of the outreach, people were stopping to chat or take literature.
I was the first preacher for the day. I took Colossians 1 as my text and preached on “Who is Jesus Christ?” A few people listened, but not many stopped for long. Although, one man stood to listen to the entire message. Afterwards, I was able to chat with him about what he believed. He told me that he was a Roman Catholic from birth and he goes to Mass. This older gentleman said he hoped to make it to Heaven, yet he wasn’t too sure. I was able to share with him from 1 John that we can know with certainty as our hope is built upon Jesus Christ. I encouraged him to trust in Jesus alone, as salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Roger was the next to preach. He spoke on “How Can I Know if God is Real?” A few people stopped to listen, including two Polish ladies that I spoke with. Both struggled with English, however, we had two copies of John’s Gospel in Polish. They were happy to receive the Scripture. Shortly after, a big lad declared to Roger that he was an atheist. Roger and he had a good discussion, with the atheist leaving with a booklet aimed at those who don’t believe in God.
After handing out tracts for a while, it was my turn to preach again. Like before, a few people paused to listen, but no crowd gathered. Two young boys did stop; they spoke to Roger before going to sit next to Val. Val was able to share with them further. Even though both lads said they were Christians, they didn’t know the Lord. After talking with Val, they each took a copy of the New Testament and said they would consider what they’d been told.
As the outreach headed towards the close, I was able to have a good conversation with a young man named Dave. Dave told me he was an atheist because religion doesn’t feel right and his intellect won’t allow him to believe in God. We chatted about how our feelings aren’t good judges of truth; I then began to engage the mind with apologetic arguments. Dave was very friendly and open to chatting. Somehow, we ended up talking about dinosaurs and evolution. As I made further apologetic arguments, Dave said, “These are good questions. I’m not sure how to answer.” The ground was now clear for the gospel. At the end of our chat, Dave took two booklets, one about dinosaurs and the other about atheism. Please pray that he will consider what he has been told.
Today’s outreach wasn’t about the crowds of people stopping to listen to the preaching, rather, the preaching created conversations with the ones and twos. Our evangelism today seemed to be on a personal level – talking to individuals about the good news. Please pray that all those who heard the gospel would come to love Jesus.
SDG!