Return to the Streets – Southampton Outreach
For the past two weeks, I have been laid low with a nasty chest infection and coughing fits. As I worked from home and tried to rest, I found that my feet were itchy to return to open-air evangelism. But the Lord ordained this stop, so I rest in Him. Today, He allowed me to get back on the streets, even though I’m not running at 100%. It was wonderful to be out amongst the lost proclaiming the good news of salvation.
A tendency of mine is that I push myself too hard, too quickly. So, I wanted to be careful. Since my voice wasn’t as strong as normal, I thought it best to take it easy on the streets. For the first part of the outreach, I handed out tracts, but I didn’t pursue any one-to-one conversations as my voice didn’t feel ready. The city was quiet, so only a handful of tracts were distributed, but still, people took leaflets proclaiming God’s love.
Even though the city was not as busy as usual, there was a steady stream of people making their way to the free literature table. Jeremy did a great job engaging people with the gospel as they stopped to chat.
The open-air preaching commenced with Ben speaking on “No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.” Using this saying, he showed that the gospel is free and then majored on Romans 8:32. I really enjoyed this straightforward message; no doubt I will work on something similar in the future (Thanks Ben!!).
By 2pm, my voice was feeling better, so I decided to preach. After two weeks of silence, I wondered if my voice would hold up; by God’s grace, I was able to speak on Romans 6:23. I was encouraged at the end of the message to see a lady who listened make her way to the literature table for a New Testament.
Jeremy was the final preacher for the day. He spoke clearly from John 3:16. As he expounded the gospel, a Roman Catholic lady took a copy of John’s Gospel.
I am so thankful to get back out on the streets. Please pray for all those who heard the good news, and please also pray for me as I prepare for a busy time of outreach in Yorkshire next week.
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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