First Time Hearing the Gospel – Portsmouth Evangelism

The weather has been terrible for the past few days; we have been lashed with wind and storms, making the whole vibe of the place unpleasant. As I headed into Portsmouth today, I expected the weather to continue in this horrid pattern. Thankfully, even though it was cold, windy, and wet, we were able to have numerous good gospel conversations.

Over the past couple of months, the Portsmouth team has sadly declined in numbers. This has made the work more challenging, but the Lord still works with a few! Today, there were three of us on the team, and later in the day, we were encouraged by a group of local Christians who were also out witnessing. Due to the weather, we decided to focus on handing out tracts and engaging people in conversation. There was a high uptake of gospel literature, and before too long, conversations were underway.

I spoke with a young man from India who had only recently moved to England to study. He told me he was a Hindu from birth and that he has always existed in some form. I asked him to explain his beliefs, and he told me a little about the millions of ‘gods’ and his belief in reincarnation. It was interesting to hear his story and about his religion, but I wanted this young man to know the truth, so I asked, “If people are reincarnated based on what they do, who determines what is good or bad, and who judges what a person comes back as?” The young man couldn’t answer, so I followed up: “Have you ever heard what Christians believe happens after we die?” The man told me that in the part of India he is from, there are no Christians, so he had never heard the message of the Bible or spoken with a Christian. I asked the man if he would be interested in hearing the Christian message – he said he would.

Starting with Genesis, I explained who God is and what God has done. From there, we walked through the Law, seeing how all of us have turned away from God, before arriving in the New Testament to see the life and work of Jesus. The man listened to the gospel and said he had never heard anything like it before. It was his first time hearing the good news. He took a tract and a copy of John’s Gospel.

As I looked around, I noticed the other two team members were also in conversations with people – the Lord was at work!

I went back to handing out tracts, and as I did so, an older lady walking by was gripped by the title, “What is Your Hope in Crisis?” She stopped, took a tract, and said, “I need hope.” She then began to share about a great trauma she had recently been through and how it feels like everything has crumbled around her. I was able to share the good news with her and point her to the God of hope (Romans 15:13).

It was now just after midday, so the city was getting busier with the lunchtime crowds. It was gently raining, but not enough to stop the outreach. I decided it would be a good time to preach, so I spoke on “Lessons from the Boomerang.” There was very little engagement, but two Mormon missionaries stood behind me, listening. As they listened, I made sure to stress that salvation is all by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Not long after this, I noticed a group of young people sharing the gospel. It turns out they are from the local university Christian Union, and they have been stirred to take the good news to the streets. It was really encouraging to see others out making much of Jesus. I was able to give them resources to help their evangelism and pray for them. Hopefully, we will see them again soon!

My final conversation of the day was with another man who had never heard the gospel. He is a student from Bhutan who stressed to me that he trusted in himself and that he controlled his life, future, and death. He also wanted me to know he was a very good person. I was able to explain the good news to him, starting with Genesis and building my way through to Jesus. The man listened and then asked questions. He told me that he had many more questions to ask and wanted to stay in touch. I happily gave him a tract with my contact details.

Today reminded me that there are many people in our cities who are devoid of any understanding of Christian truth. If we want to reach this nation for Christ, then we need to take the gospel to those who will never come to the Church. Please pray for all those who heard of Jesus today.

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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