A Long and Fruitful Day in Southampton
We had a tremendous afternoon in Southampton. From the time we arrived, until we finally packed up, we were in constant gospel conversations. The majority of those we spoke with were open to hearing the gospel, and several were keen to connect with local churches.
The free literature table proved to be a magnet for people once again. Before it was fully set up, people were stopping to ask questions. One of our team members, Billy, found himself going from one conversation to another as people stopped throughout the day.
As team members handed out tracts or spoke with people, I had Richard commence the open-air preaching. He preached a message on “Life” and asked those passing by if they realised they were made for more than this life offers. A few people paused to listen, with some making their way over to the literature table and others chatting with team members afterward.
One man who listened to Richard preach spoke with me. He told me that he appreciated us being out there and that he was heading home to find his Bible to read. He seemed touched by the message and was thinking deeply about what had been said. We chatted briefly, and he took a tract. Later in the day, he came back to listen to more of the preaching.
A mother and her adult son also listened to the preaching. After hearing Richard proclaim the Word, they went to the literature table, where they spoke with Billy and me. They shared some of their story about the pain and heartbreak they’ve been through, but then they said these life events had caused them to start thinking about the Bible and attending church. The problem they faced was they didn’t know which church to go to! We were able to recommend a couple of good churches near them and give them a copy of the Bible. Both were excited at the possibility of visiting church this coming Sunday.
When it was my time to preach, I spoke on “God and Humanity.” In this talk, I seek to show that God exists and He is the Creator. Then, I share how all have turned away from God, but in love, He comes to rescue us. As I spoke, one man walked by and squirted me with water from a bottle. I thanked him as it was warm standing in the sun. Others listened, and at the end, two people took copies of John’s Gospel.
Next to preach was Ben, who spoke on “Whether Warning” (the Bible is true, whether you believe it or not!). I didn’t get to hear his message, as I found myself talking with two new Christian teenagers who were very excited by the outreach. Both couldn’t help but share their love for Christ and His Word. They then indicated they wanted to know how to share the gospel. We gave them some material and pointed them toward good evangelism training. May the Lord raise up more labourers!
The next person I spoke with was a young man who at first was hostile and angry. Richard offered him a tract, but the young man rejected it, saying, “Christianity is a con!” Since I was standing there, I asked, “Why do you believe that?” The conversation was now underway. The angry outburst was a fruit of deep hurt; the young man had tragically seen his girlfriend die recently. This pain caused him to be angry, and like many people, he blamed God. The young man had numerous objections to Christianity, but we gently answered him and got to the root of the issue. As we did this, the heat was removed. The young man became polite and friendly. At the end of the conversation, we assured him we’d be praying for him. He took a copy of John’s Gospel and the booklet “Why All the Suffering?” Please pray for him.
The usual time to finish the outreach had now arrived, but the Lord still had work for us to do. As I packed down the board, a militant vegan activist approached me with several TV screens showing images of animals and said, “Christians believe in love, compassion, and kindness. So why aren’t you vegan?” I noticed the man and the person with him had positioned themselves in a way that would have prevented me from leaving, plus they were filming. It was clear they wanted engagement. I quickly shot up an ’arrow prayer’ asking the Lord for wisdom then replied by referencing 1 Timothy 4:1-3, showing that it was a sign of false teaching to demand abstinence from certain foods. The angry vegan didn’t seem prepared for that answer, so he began to ask forcefully about kindness, compassion, and love, then applied it to animals.
I don’t know how long we went back and forth, but during that time, a crowd gathered, so I made sure they heard the gospel. Surprisingly, the crowd was on my side. I guess people like Christians a bit more than they like militant vegans. The man arguing kept trying to quote the Bible, but he did so out of context; then he objected whenever I quoted the Bible. I pointed out to the crowd that what we have on display are two religions: the religion of veganism and Christianity. The vegan man objected and declared I couldn’t be a real Christian if I ate meat, so I asked him, “What is a Christian?” He wasn’t prepared for that question, so he replied by saying - “Love, compassion, and kindness.” I pointed out that a Christian is a follower of Jesus, and then I asked, “What did Jesus eat?” The vegan didn’t want to engage with this point, so I referenced Luke 24:41-43 to show Jesus ate fish. I also demonstrated from the Old Testament that God commanded the killing of certain animals for the sacrifices, and that the priests were then told to eat the meat. The militant vegan tried to explain these verses away, first by engaging in the Marcion heresy of saying God in the Old Testament is different from the New Testament, and then by saying Jesus had to eat fish for His survival. The crowd didn’t buy his argument, and neither did I.
The vegan eventually read out Genesis 1:29, but he ignored the fact it was explaining the conditions pre-Fall, although he did show his legalism and works righteousness when he declared we can make the world perfect again if we stop eating animals. I answered his claims, then took him to Genesis 9:1-3. As soon as I referenced that passage, he tried to stop me from quoting it. He ranted, cursed, and insulted, but people in the crowd (including a couple of vegetarians) insisted I be allowed to read the passage.
As soon as I read the passage to the crowd, the vegan militant lost interest in me; instead, he started to harass and chase a young girl (aged about 12) because she was eating a sausage roll. The crowd was very much against him for this bullying. At this stage, I was able to walk away, but the outreach wasn’t finished!
Sarah (a team member) asked me to speak with a man from the USA who had been listening to the back and forth with the vegan. The man was from Tampa and was in Southampton on a cruise ship. He was friendly and admitted he knew nothing of Christianity. Just as a side note, it is interesting to note that many British evangelicals seem to think the US is awash with gospel preaching and that most have heard the gospel, but this man proves that many in the US (even though they live near good churches) are still without the gospel.
I started my gospel message by talking about who God is and how He cares about right and wrong. I then made my way into the Law to show that all of us have sinned and need the Saviour. Once that was established, I went to the gospel and called on this man to trust in Jesus.
The man confessed to a particular sin and said that was stopping him from trusting in Jesus. We chatted about the need for repentance and how no sin is worth it. The man was very open and promised to think deeply about what he heard. He took a New Testament and an in-depth gospel booklet to read while onboard the ship.
By now, the outreach had gone an hour longer than we had planned, but it had gone for just the right length of time that the Lord had planned. 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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