“I need faith!” – Reading Outreach
I was running late for the Reading outreach, as I didn’t have enough fuel in the car to make it. After being delayed at the petrol station, I was reminded that God is sovereign – I will get to Reading when He wanted me there - in the end, I was only a few minutes late. Arriving in the town, I was encouraged to see a large team assembled to share the gospel, including several new people. Over the past year, we have seen the Lord build up this team – the more workers the better!
Since Bill had been working on a sermon for a few days, I had him preach first. He did well, speaking on “The King’s Great Invitation.” In the time I’ve known Bill, I’ve seen him improve and grow as a preacher. I look forward to seeing how the Lord uses him in the future.
After Bill finished preaching, I spoke with a man who had listened. He told me about a crisis he is currently facing and said, “I need faith!” As we chatted, he revealed that he had done many wrong things but hoped God would let him into Heaven. We spoke about the gospel and how Jesus is the only way of rescue. At the end of our chat, he took a copy of John’s Gospel, and I connected him with a local pastor.
It was now my turn to preach, so I used one of the new messages I had developed – “The Big Picture of Easter.” In this talk, I look at ‘Who?’ ‘Why?’ and ‘What?’ of the gospel message. A couple of people listened, and it was great to see team members engage them afterward. One who listened ended up having a long conversation with Trevor at the literature table.
Rich was the next preacher; he spoke on “What’s Your Favourite Song?” He then proceeded to use Psalm 23 to explain the gospel. A few people, including some builders, stopped to listen. Afterward, a couple of them took copies of John’s Gospel.
Throughout the day, there was a constant stream of people at the free literature table. Trevor told me afterward that he went from one conversation to another. It was tremendous to see people stopping to engage with the biblical gospel.
To finish the outreach, I preached once more, this time I used the “Good Person Test.” A few people listened, and team members spoke to them afterward. It was great to see the team actively engaging all those who listened. Open-air preaching should always lead to personal witness conversations.
As I packed down the board at the end of the day, I was amazed to see how much literature was taken. The Lord was at work! 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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