From Discouraged to Encouraged! – Portsmouth Evangelism
The skies were clear, and it was sunny, yet it was cold as a wind blew in from the Solent. As I wheeled my open-air board into the city centre of Portsmouth, I was feeling a bit discouraged. It looked like it would be a hard day, and I wasn’t sure how many people would be joining the outreach. I knew there would be a time when I’d be by myself, so I prepared for the challenges that brings. Yet, I had no need to be discouraged – the Lord had already planned to bring great encouragement to the work.
For the first thirty minutes, I was by myself. Since the city centre was quiet, I focused on handing out tracts and trying to chat with people. The cold made one-to-one conversations difficult, but one man stopped to talk after he saw the question on the tract I was handing out – “Is Life Worth Living?” The man said, “Of course life is worth living,” so I asked, “Why?” The man wasn’t expecting this response, and he didn’t have an answer. So, I took him to Genesis 1:26 to explain that life has value and worth because of who made us. This allowed me to share a little of the gospel, but the man quickly objected by asking about death and suffering. I answered his questions, then took him back to the gospel. The man listened but wasn’t too open.
Around this time, Margaret arrived to help with the outreach, and soon after, Sarah came along. There were now three of us sharing the good news on a cold winter’s day.
At just after 11:30 am, I commenced the preaching. I decided to speak on John 3:16 and explained that there is hope and love for the people of Portsmouth. I freely admit that, based on how quiet the city was, I wasn’t expecting much of a response. But soon, a few people gathered to listen. Then, at the end, when I offered copies of John’s Gospel to those who wanted to find out more about Jesus, six people responded.
An evangelist from East Africa stopped to listen. He was so excited that he went to buy hot drinks for the team and then gave me a £20 café gift card so that I could ensure I stayed warm during these winter gospel outreaches. The Lord was truly sending much encouragement to us!
Since I was the only preacher for the day, I decided to have a break between messages. During this time, we handed out tracts and engaged with people in conversation. Both Sarah and Margaret managed to have chats with people. Another encouragement then came along as I handed out tracts. As I offered literature to people, a Chinese man came past. At first, I didn’t recognise him, but then he called out, “Josh!” I had spoken to him over a year ago in Southampton; now, here we were in a different city reconnecting. I was amazed he remembered me and the message I had shared with him.
To finish the outreach, I preached once again. This time, I spoke on “Wages or Gift?” from Romans 6:23. An Indian man listened to most of the message, then took a tract from Sarah. Another man who sat nearby listening took a copy of John’s Gospel when I offered them to those who wanted to discover more about Jesus.
I left the outreach feeling quite encouraged; the Lord had been at work, and His truth marched forward. 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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