Positive Responses to the Gospel in Southampton
We watched the weather closely as we headed into the city for the outreach. Some forecasts promised heavy rain, others said light rain, and another said it wouldn’t rain. With grey clouds hanging low, we thought it best to use the open-air board and not set up the literature table. This meant our outreach was a bit smaller than usual, but still, we could operate.
With five people on the team, we kept ourselves busy handing out tracts and sharing the good news. I was the first to preach, as I have done all week, using my ‘new’ message – “Steps to Peace with God.” A few people paused to listen, with three people responding to the free offer of John’s Gospel.
As we shared the good news, several Christians from local churches stopped to encourage us. It is always nice when our brothers and sisters are excited about evangelism. We were able to give them resources to help them better share the gospel. We pray the Lord will raise up many more workers!
Next to preach was Andy. This is the first time he has worked with us, but his parents have helped in Southampton previously, and he has done some ministry alongside Living Waters Europe. He did a good job preaching on “The Good Person Test.”
When Andy finished preaching, we focused on handing out tracts. It was great to see so many people taking leaflets from us. These little gospel seeds have been used by the Lord many times to save the lost, so we hand them out with confidence that He’ll bless the work.
After a period of tract work, I decided to preach once more; this time I spoke on “Are You Sure You’ll Go to Heaven?” As I preached, a few people stopped to listen. One lady paused, walked away, then came back. Eventually, she sat down to listen to the rest of the message. Others stood listening to the sermon from start to finish. At the end of the message, I called on those listening to turn to Christ and trust only in Him. When we offered John’s Gospels to anyone who wanted to discover more about Jesus, four people responded.
One of the blessings of working with a team is that immediately those four people who responded were spoken to by team members. One lady has been referred to a local church, and others were given booklets or follow-up material. It is always wonderful to see the Lord at work on the streets.
Please pray for everyone who heard the good news!
Below you can listen to the audio of my two open-air messages.
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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