“I Need to Clean Myself Up, so Jesus can Accept Me” – Reading Evangelism
All eyes were fixed on the heavens, not because we were in prayer—though perhaps we would have been wise to pray more—but because the weather forecast had warned of rain. Despite the warning, we headed out to Reading town centre, expecting to get wet. Thankfully, the light rain showers we encountered didn’t affect us, and they passed quickly.
After setting everything up, the pastor of Argyle Community Church, Jamie, commenced the preaching. He did a good job explaining how God speaks to humanity. As he preached, a man stopped to listen. The man paid close attention, and at times, tears rolled down his cheek. After listening to the sermon, Jamie sent the man over to me for further conversation.
The man told me he had been in a dark place and was struggling, but as he walked past the preacher, he felt compelled to stop and listen. He then began to tell me his life story, explaining how he went from militant atheism to believing the Bible to be true. The issue was that this man hadn’t fully understood or applied the gospel. He said that in his past he had committed so many evil acts, he doubted whether Jesus could ever rescue him. So, I shared the story of the Apostle Paul and how the Lord saved him. The man then said, “I really struggle with pride, so I need to make sure I’m humble, and I need to clean myself up so Jesus can accept me.” I pointed out that this was a prideful statement, and that Jesus doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up; rather, He takes sinful people and transforms them. The man was amazed; he listened to the good news and took a copy of John’s Gospel.
While I was sharing the gospel one-to-one, one of the pastors from Carey Baptist Church, Rich, had begun to preach. He spoke on the topic of “How to Get a Five-Star Review.” Using illustrations based on online reviews about how items are packaged, he tied it into creation, showing how God made everything just right. He then shared how the Creator cares for and loves sinful people.
It seemed to be the day for local pastors to preach, as the next speaker was Trevor the minister from Whitely Wood Reformed Baptist Church. I always find it encouraging when local pastors lead the evangelistic charge. It is great to see them doing the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5). Trevor preached from Amos 4:12 – “Prepare to Meet Your God!” He urged those listening to consider God and to ensure they were ready to meet Him.
Next, it was my turn to preach. Using a new talk, I spoke on the subject of “Why Christianity?” In this message, I seek to reason with people, showing how, when we understand our situation before God, the Christian message makes sense. A few people listened, including one young lady who took a copy of John’s Gospel.
Afterwards, several Christians approached to say they were encouraged by the preaching and wanted to learn how to better share the gospel. We were able to give them resources and direct them towards evangelism training.
As the outreach came to a close, team members were busy sharing the gospel with several people. To finish the preaching, Jack gave a short message on John 3:16. It was a fitting conclusion to the outreach.
Our prayer is that all who heard the good news will come to trust in Jesus. Would you please join us in praying for the lost in Reading?
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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