“I’m Overwhelmed!” – Southampton Outreach
After being unwell for the past few days, I felt much better as I headed to Southampton for our weekly outreach. As I drove along the motorway, the heavens opened, and it began to rain heavily. Knowing that team members were already en route, I thought it best to continue, thinking that at least we could hand out a few tracts and perhaps have a couple of conversations. I never expected what was about to happen!
We knew that at the outreach location, there was one undercover spot. This is on public land, directly opposite the entrance of Southampton’s busiest shopping centres. Usually, a busker will be set up in this location, but today it was empty. We now had a shelter that allowed us the freedom to preach.
I commenced the preaching by speaking about “The Big Picture of Easter.” As I preached, a few people stopped to listen. At the end of the message, two people responded by accepting copies of John’s Gospel.
One of those who listened to me preach was a man from Israel. He spoke with Ben, asking why we served Jesus, instead of the God of Israel. Ben shared the truth with him and pointed the Jewish man to the Messiah.
A man I spoke with told me he enjoyed the preaching as he is spiritual and meditates. I sensed he wasn’t interested in talking too much, so I used Psalm 1 to explain biblical meditation. The man listened as I told him about the need to meditate upon God’s Word and to receive the truth. At the end of our chat, he took a copy of ‘Ultimate Questions.’
Ben preached next; he spoke on “Death: The Elephant in the Room.” A few people listened, with a number taking tracts afterward.
My voice wasn’t 100% after being ill, so I thought I’d preach once more before resting it. This time, I used the “Good Person Test” to explain the gospel. A few people listened, including one man who spoke to Jeremy afterward. This man had many objections, but Jeremy was able to sow the seeds. The man took a tract and went away to think.
As we reached the halfway mark of the outreach, the sun came out, and the weather improved We decided to set up the free literature table, and instantly people stopped. I am so glad we set up the table as for the rest of the outreach, there was a steady stream of people heading over to it.
Jeremy preached next; he spoke on “Warning: Six Deadly Lies.” The Lord blessed his preaching with a good size crowd gathering to listen. At the end, three people took copies of John’s Gospel, while several others went to the literature table.
I spoke with a lady at the literature table who said, “I’m overwhelmed!” Clearly, she was struggling as she went on to talk about her desire to find the truth. We chatted about how truth is knowable and how God is the source of truth. She took a copy of John’s Gospel and a couple of other booklets.
Richard was the final preacher for the day. He preached on “Life: What’s the Point?” People gathered to listen, including a few Muslims who ended up chatting with Ben.
The Lord did more than we could have hoped for today! 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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