A Gospel Ice-Cream – Portsmouth Evangelism
It was a nice day in Portsmouth; it was warm with sunshine. This made the city centre a bit busier, so we had more people to share the good news with. I commenced the preaching by speaking on “Bridging the Gap.” In this talk, I sought to show that by our choices, we have turned away from God, and nothing we can do will bring us back to Him. But God is loving and kind; He reaches out to us. Some people stopped to listen, with several going to the literature table after the message. One lady who listened responded by taking a copy of John’s Gospel from me.
It was great to have Pastor Chris from Eastney Evangelical Church with us today. He preached twice on John 3:16. He did a great job explaining the gospel and engaging with a lady who walked past saying, “God’s peace be upon you!” As she mockingly commented, Chris pointed out that Jesus is needed for peace. The gospel seed was sown!
Throughout the day, team members were constantly engaged in good news conversations. Some people were open, others were closed and hostile. Each person was dealt with biblically and urged to flee to Jesus. At the literature table, we had a constant stream of people stopping to browse and take material.
One lady who was drawn to the literature table picked up a New Testament, then put it down and walked away. A few moments later, she returned, picked up the New Testament again, looked at it, then put it down and left. A couple of minutes later, she was back. This time she asked, “May I have the New Testament?” I had a nice chat with her, and she left with a tract and the New Testament.
Something I’ve learned over the years in evangelism is that you want to be friendly towards the local business owners. If they are onside, they can be a blessing to the ministry, but if they dislike you - you’ll face a bumpy ride. Today, an ice cream van set up behind us. At first, a team member tried to engage the worker, but he was closed and not too friendly. Later in the day, I spoke with him. He had softened and took a tract. To help build goodwill, I bought an ice cream from him. He very kindly gave the team a very generous discount. I encouraged him to read the material I had given him, and he said he would. I guess this could be a new form of evangelism – “Ice-Cream Outreach!”
My final conversation for the day was with an older gentleman who was very interested in the veracity of the Bible. At first, I thought he might have been a Christian as he spoke positively about Christ, but then he revealed he didn’t believe the Bible. This man was interested in archaeology, which he claimed didn’t support the Scripture. Recently, I have been watching a few documentaries on this subject, so I was able to engage his objections. It was an excellent conversation; at the end, he took a booklet and said he would look into the claims of the Bible further.
It was an enjoyable day in Portsmouth. The gospel spread far and wide. 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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