A Worldwide Outreach – Southampton Evangelism
We started off 2025 in the best possible way – by sharing the good news. However, today’s outreach began with a bit of a challenge. Over the Christmas/New Year period, I moved house, so my place is currently full of boxes. Amid the chaos of moving, I forgot something very important for today’s outreach – the wheels for my very heavy open-air board. But not to worry, God gave us muscles! Jeremy and I took turns carrying the board from the car park all the way to the preaching location.
Today’s outreach was very international. Over the course of a couple of hours, we were able to share the good news with people from Romania, Georgia, Bulgaria, Hungary, China, the Philippines, Ghana, and Britain. Thankfully, the gospel is not bound to a particular culture or language. Since God loves the world (John 3:16), we could share the good news of Jesus with everyone who stopped to listen.
The preaching began with Mike Mellor speaking on “Where Are They Now?” Using the deaths of famous people as a springboard, he was able to share the good news. While Mike was preaching, I spoke with a young man who had stopped at the literature table. He was in Southampton for one day, as he works on the cruise ships. The man was encouraged by the preaching, as he evangelises his fellow crew members onboard (he even uses some of the same tracts we do!). He told me that he’s started a Bible study for the crew, where they listen to a sermon from John MacArthur and then discuss it. It was wonderful to hear how, even in the middle of the ocean, the good news is spreading.
As soon as this conversation ended, I found myself speaking with a lady from Ghana who had recently moved to London. She has been looking for a church and is interested in Christianity. I was able to share the good news with her and give her a card directing her to the FIEC church search.
Ben was the next to preach; he spoke on “Are You Really Sure?” I didn’t hear much of his message, as once again I was at the table chatting with someone who had stopped. This time, I spoke with a ‘spiritual’ person from Hungary. She was interested in the New Testament, so we talked about the good news, and she took a copy of the Scripture.
The international outreach continued as the next man I spoke with was from Bulgaria. He had listened to Ben preach and then headed over to the literature table. He told me he was a cultural Christian but had been thinking about the Bible. I was able to share the gospel with him and give him a copy of God’s Word.
By now, it was my turn to preach, so I spoke on “How Can You Be Sure You’ll Go to Heaven?” A young man stopped and engaged. He told me that, on the goodness scale, he’d be 8 out of 10. As we went through the Law of God, he realised he wasn’t as good as he thought, but then he declared that God would just forgive him because God supposedly forgives everyone. I addressed that argument and then presented the gospel. A few people stopped to listen, and the young man, along with his girlfriend, both received copies of John’s Gospel.
Next to preach was Richard, who spoke on “Life: What’s the Point?” He was followed by Jeremy, who preached on John 3:16. It is always a blessing to have so many preachers on the team. We all preach the same gospel, but we do so in different ways – ways that connect with different types of people.
One man who heard Richard preach came to the table. He was a Chinese student who had been reading the Bible but hadn’t grasped the gospel. His English wasn’t the best, so I gave him a gospel card that links to the good news in Chinese.
A local pastor also listened to Richard preach. He was greatly encouraged and wants to get involved with the outreach. Please pray that the Lord would raise up more labourers!
My final conversation of the day was with an older lady who told me she is a committed Roman Catholic and doesn’t like us ‘born again’ types. I explained to her that being ‘born again’ is a phrase from Jesus in John 3. However, like many Roman Catholics, she hadn’t read the Bible. I quickly explained the gospel to her, but she was closed. She left reaffirming her commitment to Rome.
Mike finished the outreach by preaching on “Heaven” from John 14:6. Three young people engaged – two were interested, but one wasn’t keen. Nevertheless, all three heard the gospel.
Please pray for all those who heard the good news today. May the Lord save them all.
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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