London Outreach – Day 6 (Leicester Square)

It was the final day of the London Team Event. Over the past few days, we have covered many miles and spoken to numerous people about the Lord Jesus. Our bodies were tired, but there was still work to do. We pressed on and shared the good news once more in the heart of this great city.

After several team members had preached, I was called upon to speak. For my only open-air message of the day, I preached on 'Hope for a Broken World.' A few people listened as I explained our need for Jesus and His work on the cross. At the end of the message, two people took copies of John’s Gospel.

Throughout the day, we had many encounters with Muslims. London is increasingly becoming Islamic, and the aggression from many of them is concerning. Every day in Leicester Square, the Muslims would set up their stand next to ours and play Arabic music and quotes from the Quran. They are well-equipped and well-funded. The only way to stop the advance of Islam is for the Church to take the gospel to the Muslims. We must lovingly and directly share the good news with those enslaved to the darkness.

Dave and I had a great chat with two Muslim men visiting from Saudi Arabia. They boldly asserted the Quran is perfect and that all editions are the same. They weren’t sure how to respond when I showed them variants between the different Qurans. This was the first time they had heard such claims, so they discounted what I said, but they did take note of a website link that details many of the differences. We were able to share the gospel with these two men and give them a couple of booklets dealing with the trustworthiness of the Bible.

If you have been to London, you know the city is very international. As the outreach progressed, we found we could reach the nations from the centre of London. The foreign language gospel cards we were using proved to be popular. This card provided a link to access the good news in over 60 languages. Personally, I used the card today to reach those who spoke Czech, Spanish, German, and Arabic.

Continuing with the international theme, I spoke with a group of five Czech students who had listened to one of the team members preach. Their English was limited but good enough for a basic conversation. I wanted them to see that the gospel was for their people, so I asked if they had heard of Jan Hus. All of them told me they learned about him in school, and then they shared about the reformation work he did in their land. This allowed me to present the gospel in a culturally relevant manner. I wanted them to see that the gospel was for the Czech people. The language barrier did provide a few hurdles, however, the Evangecube helped overcome those hurdles by allowing me to share the good news via pictures. All the students took copies of the New Testament.

I then spoke with a Muslim man from London who told me he was confused about religion. He confessed he wasn’t a good Muslim as he likes bacon. The man went on to share how he is doubting Islam and wants to know the truth. He was very open to hearing about Jesus. He listened to the gospel, then took a tract.

I had one more good conversation with a Muslim today, who was also from Saudi Arabia. As with many Muslims, he declared the Bible had been corrupted and that Muhammad is mentioned in the Bible. I answered his questions and then shared the gospel. He took booklets answering his questions and a gospel tract.

The final conversation I had for the evening was with a confused man from Romania. He was confused as he declared himself a Christian but didn’t believe in Jesus. I pointed out that he wasn’t a Christian, so he said, “You’re right. I’m a God-believer.” The man stated the reason he didn’t believe in Jesus was that he believed there was no evidence for Christ's existence. I asked him, “If I can answer all your questions, will you believe the Bible?” The man said he would. I then asked, “If I can answer all your questions, and you believe the Bible, will you become a true Christian?” He nodded his head saying he would.

We had a long conversation about the evidence of the historical Jesus and how the Bible was formed. After listening, he declared that I had convinced him that Jesus existed. I then asked, “Do you believe the Bible is true?” He said he was certain the Bible was correct. So, I followed up, “Will you keep your promise; shall we pray and ask God to make you a Christian?” The man quickly objected and changed his mind, stating boldly, “NO!” The issue with this man wasn’t intellectual, rather it was moral. He didn’t want to believe in Jesus because he loved his sin. I addressed his conscience and proclaimed the gospel to him. He took a tract, shook my hand, and thanked me for the conversation.

As the London outreach finishes, I am thankful for all the Lord has done. The seed of the gospel has been sown; now we look forward with faith to the harvest that will come. 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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