An Intense Day in Southampton
Today is my first and last outreach in Southampton for October. Due to ministry commitments elsewhere and annual leave, I won’t be back in the city until next month. Any thoughts I had of a normal, quiet outreach soon went out of the window as today became rather lively and, at times, intense.
From the very beginning, the literature table was busy. People were stopping to browse the material and take various items. Then, a lady we had spoken with previously sought us out to ask for prayer. We always have time to pray, so we gladly brought her needs before the Lord.
The preaching began with Richard speaking on “Life: What’s the Point?” As he preached, people would listen to snippets, then head over to the table for material. One man sitting behind the board had a long chat with Richard afterwards, saying he enjoyed the message.
So far, everything seemed normal… busy but calm… then it changed!
For my open-air preaching, I decided to use my “Why Christianity?” message. At first, nothing much happened. A few listened as I explained our situation and the teachings of the Lord Jesus. But then, when I mentioned that Christ commands us to love each other, a heckler appeared. The man, who had been listening for a few minutes, quickly walked up close to me and asked, “Are you saying I should love my neighbour?” I told him that was exactly what Jesus commands us to do. The man replied, “Well, in that case, Jesus deserves to die and be crucified again!” I tried to reason with him, but he was intent on disrupting the gospel and causing a scene. A homeless lady passed by and said he was a known troublemaker. Team members tried their best to get him away from me, but like a heat-seeking missile, he was locked onto me. Eventually, I managed to get free of him and summarise the gospel. It wasn’t the best open-air session, but still, the truth went out. I thought it was over when the man left, but it wasn’t.
Three 13-year-old girls sat near the preaching to listen. Eventually, they spoke with Richard, who called me over as they were interested in finding details of a local church. As soon as I started speaking to them, the heckler returned. He tried to interrupt, but I told him I was talking to the young girls. In response, he began making all sorts of filthy sexual comments about them. The girls looked scared, so I stepped up to the man and rebuked him for his vileness. I turned on my ‘dad-voice’ and began to dress him down for his perversion and threats towards the girls. The man seemed a bit stunned, but the girls expressed their thanks for protecting them. As a ‘girl-dad’, I hope that if my daughter is ever accosted by a male in public, someone would step in to defend her. Loving our neighbour means protecting those who cannot protect themselves.
This created a dilemma in my mind: here I was, out on the streets trying to spread the good news, but now I was speaking forcefully to a male in public – how would this serve to advance the gospel? The heckler returned once again, but this time he was quiet and polite. He apologised for his behaviour and shared some of his story. I was able to share the gospel with him, and he took a tract. Perhaps he needed to be rebuked so that he would be open to hearing the good news?
On a lighter note, over at the table, a 12-year-old boy stopped by. He told me he came from a non-religious home but had recently become a Christian just by reading the Bible. He said he wanted to go to church but didn’t know of any nearby. When he told me where he lived, I was able to give him details of a local church. He thanked me, saying his parents would happily take him to a service.
While this was happening, the gospel continued to spread. Ben preached on “Whether Warning,” and team members were busy talking to people about Jesus. One of our team members was speaking to two Muslim students, and another was conversing with a man who was very confused about Jesus.
The final preacher of the day was Paul, who I normally work with in Winchester, Andover, and Salisbury. He and his son were in Southampton for a day out, so they stopped by the outreach. It was good to hear him preach on “Lessons from a Criminal.”
As Paul preached, I noticed a man smoking a cigarette and listening to the message. When he walked away, I engaged him in conversation. The man was wearing three crosses and several other religious emblems. I immediately knew this was going to be an ‘interesting’ conversation.
I asked the man what he thought of Paul’s message; he immediately dismissed it as wrong. As we chatted, the man revealed he was involved in New Age practices and the occult, claiming that ‘divine lights’ had instructed him. He asserted that all religions were true, but that the Bible was corrupt and contained a secret code. I asked how Paul could be wrong if all religions were correct, but the man couldn’t answer. Whenever challenged, he would fall back on his claim that a ‘light’ had appeared to him and taught him the truth, which was then confirmed by his heart.
Taking the man to Jeremiah 17:9, I showed him that the heart is not trustworthy. I also referenced 2 Corinthians 11:14, explaining that Satan can appear as an angel of light in order to deceive people. As I said this, the man remarked, “Can you feel those vibrations of light? I’m being directed to leave.” With that, he walked away. I cannot help but think that the darkness was being exposed, causing the man to flee from the true light – Jesus Christ (John 8:12).
It was a lively and intense day in Southampton; yet, despite everything, we must rejoice that the gospel spread. We had a lot of literature taken, and many conversations took place. The truth marches on! Please pray for all those who heard the good news.
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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