Cold Weather; Warm Gospel – Southampton Evangelism
Even though most of the snow from yesterday had melted, the cold was still around. A cool breeze came off the water and blew right through us; even though the weather was cold, we took comfort in the warmth of the gospel.
The Christmas markets and local construction created a few challenges as to where we could set up, but eventually, we were able to put up the open-air board and literature table. As the table was being set up, before the team could put all the material out, people were stopping to chat and request copies of God’s Word.
I had a nice chat with a Christian Chinese couple from Sydney. They were in Southampton on a cruise; we bonded over the gospel and being Australian. They were encouraged and promised to pray for us.
Ben commenced the open-air preaching by speaking on “What’s the Real Reason for this Season?” The cold weather made it challenging for people to stop, but a professing Christian listened for a little while, and others would pause, listen, then take tracts.
In between our open-airs, the team focused on handing out tracts and engaging in one-to-one conversations. Many tracts were given away, with people seeming to be open to literature, but it was hard to get people to stop and talk.
Mike preached next; he spoke on “Where Are They Now?” A couple of people stopped to listen, including a Roman Catholic young man who had questions. Two people took copies of John’s Gospel at the end.
It was now one preacher after another. Jeremy preached on John 3:16, taking the time to explain God’s love towards sinners. As he preached, I spoke with an older lady at the literature table who was struggling. She told me that two years ago on Christmas Day, her husband died. She went on to explain that he was a Christian, and he died confident he’d go to Heaven. The lady then asked if her husband really went to Heaven, and how she could be sure of Heaven too. I explained what it meant to have faith in Jesus and urged her to trust in Him. She took a copy of the New Testament and a booklet.
A few weeks ago, I mentioned meeting an 84-year-old man who had grown up in the church but rejected Christianity. He is now hostile and wanting to argue. Since that time, I know people from all around the world have been praying for him. Today, he returned to listen to Jeremy preach, then spoke with Zoe. He was still looking to argue, but once again he heard the good news. Please pray the Lord would save this man.
When it was my turn to preach, I played off the theme of “Christmas peace” by showing that many of us don’t have peace. A few people stopped to listen, then a Middle Eastern man began to heckle me. At first, I thought he was a Muslim, but it turns out he is an atheist. He told me that I should listen to Stephen Hawking as apparently, Hawking had proven God didn’t exist. I countered by pointing out that this is an appeal to authority, and I could do the same by pointing to other scientists. But I also told the man that Hawking now believes in God, as he has appeared before Him to face judgment.
The man launched into a bunch of wild claims about Jesus and Moses marrying a four-year-old, then once again, he went back to Hawking. It was at this point the man made a big error. He told me to listen to great English scientists, not the Bible, men such as Sir Isaac Newton. I seized upon this statement by pointing out that Newton claimed to believe the Bible, and proclaimed the existence of God (theologically, Newton was a mess, but I wasn’t promoting his theology!). The man left at this point, but a few people remained to listen. One young man took a Gospel of John.
Mike, Ben, and Nigel all spoke with different people who had been listening to the interaction with the atheist. Two of them took church invites, and all took tracts. Hecklers are often used by the Lord to bring others under the sound of the good news.
Richard closed off our outreach by speaking on “Life: What’s the Point?” A couple of people listened, including a lady who stayed to talk further with him.
Despite the cold, it was an enjoyable outreach. The Lord truly blessed our time on the streets, and I’m thankful for each team member who braved the cold to share the good news. Please pray for all those who heard the gospel.
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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