Does Anyone Listen? – Southampton Evangelism
Spring is gone! It is back to being cold and grey. Yet, despite the freezing conditions, six of us were out sharing the good news of Jesus. Due to the weather, the city centre was quieter than normal, but still, there were more than enough people to hear the gospel.
After everything was set up, Mike Mellor commenced the preaching by speaking on “Where Are They Now?” As he shared, two young ladies listened, and they took copies of John’s Gospel.
While Mike preached, I spoke with two Roman Catholic ladies who had stopped at the Bible table. They were confused, as they had been studying with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. We had a good discussion about the gospel, and both took booklets on the topic of the Trinity and the deity of Jesus.
It was now my turn to preach, so I spoke on “The Origins of Evil.” As I proclaimed the gospel, I found myself wondering, “Does anyone listen?” Standing in front of me were team members who had heard me preach many times before, but where were the unsaved? Was I just speaking into the air? Sometimes, in open-air evangelism, it can feel like no one is listening, but we don’t know what the Lord is doing.
At the end of my message, I offered copies of John’s Gospel to anyone who wanted to find out more about Jesus. To my surprise (and despite my lack of faith!), five people responded. A family of four had been sitting to my right, just out of my view; they listened and all took Gospels. Another man was standing near the bank, listening—he took a Gospel too. People were listening; I just couldn’t see it!
Next to preach was Ben, who spoke on “Who Can You Trust?” He did a great job showing that Jesus is the source of truth and the One who cannot lie. Ben was followed by Richard, who preached on “The Power of Words.” At the end of Richard’s message, one man took a Gospel of John.
While others were preaching, I found myself talking to a man who hadn’t been long out of prison. He shared his tale of woe, detailing his life of crime and speaking about his most recent armed robbery. He told me that while in prison, he had read the Bible several times, but he didn’t believe it.
When I asked why he rejected Christ, he said, “Because of all the evil in the world!” He then went on to rant about evil people doing things that harm others—ironic, considering his criminal record, which he had just bragged about!
Taking him to Mark 7:21-23, I showed him that evil doesn’t come from God; rather, it flows from our hearts. I spoke straight with the man, stressing his need to repent and believe. The man was friendly but rejected the message—he quite simply loved his sin. We parted on good terms; I just pray the Lord uses the gospel seed that was sown.
The final two preachers for the day were Jeremy, who spoke on John 3:16. I noticed he had engagement with one man who listened, but I didn’t hear what happened as I was speaking to someone else. Then Mike brought the outreach to an end by preaching on Heaven.
The final person I spoke to was a Malaysian student, who came from a Buddhist background. He told me that recently, he felt compelled to read the Bible, so he started to read it. As he shared, he told me that the Bible is all about Jesus (correct!), that humanity is made in God’s image (correct again!), but that we have all turned from God (still correct!).
This man had a better grasp of the Bible than many church attendees; his problem was that he hadn’t moved to apply the truth of the gospel to himself. We had a good gospel chat, and he took material and an invite to a local church.
Throughout the day, team members spoke to numerous people, many of whom wanted to be connected to local churches. God willing, those we spoke to will attend local fellowships and once again come under the sound of God’s Word.
Please pray for all those who heard the good news in Southampton.
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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