“I Want to Trust in Jesus!” – Portsmouth Evangelism
Walking into Portsmouth, I noticed a few things that concerned me. First, there was a flower seller in one of our preaching locations. Second, there were workmen in another location where we preach. Third, in our regular spot, a business had set up a stall. This created a bit of a dilemma—where were we going to set up to preach?
We quickly offered up a short prayer, asking the Lord for guidance, and then began to search along Commercial Road. Thankfully, the God of the Bible is completely sovereign over the affairs of humanity, and He had ordained all of this to occur to place us exactly where He wanted us to preach.
We set up our literature table and open-air board, and before too long, conversations were taking place, and tracts were being distributed. Team members commented that many people today were open to receiving literature. It was encouraging to look around and see people sitting on benches, reading tracts. God uses the printed page!
After a time of tract work, I decided to preach on “The Big Picture of Easter.” Rather than explaining how I preached from 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 and detailing what I said, I thought it might be more interesting for you to listen to the audio of the message. Below, you’ll be able to hear the gospel being preached—perhaps this is something you can share on social media this Easter season. A few people listened to the preaching, and one lady took a Gospel of John at the end.
Of particular encouragement was seeing a lady we had spoken with previously return to listen again. Back in February, we first met this lady when she was amazed to hear the truth that Jesus had risen from the dead (read the report here). Since then, she has listened to the preaching a few times and has been reading John’s Gospel.
After preaching, I spoke with her, and she told me about the journey she has been on. She recalled speaking to team members previously and was able to articulate the gospel. She then said, “I want to trust in Jesus!” This was wonderful news to hear! Over the past few weeks, she has gone from not knowing that Jesus died and rose again to wanting to put her trust in Him. The only problem was that she thought a person had to go to church to be saved.
I explained that Jesus can rescue her no matter where she is and that today is the day of salvation. We went over the gospel again, and I urged her not to wait until Sunday but to get right with God this very day. She said she would. We then prayed together, and she headed off into the city.
Part of the work of an evangelist is not just to reach out to the lost but also to equip Christians. A local Christian whom we had met before passed by with questions on how to evangelise a particular people group. It was good to answer his questions and help better equip him for gospel ministry. I love seeing Christians better prepared to share the good news, so if you or your church would like training in evangelism, please contact me.
Next to preach was Jim, who presented the gospel in one of the most joyous ways I’ve ever seen. He preached on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12), but as he did so, he became more and more excited. Jim later told me he “preached himself happy!” As he explained the good news of the Saviour, Jim was full of joy. Anyone passing by could have clearly seen that this man loves the Lord.
But today’s outreach wasn’t just about preaching—there was also personal evangelism taking place. Winston had some good conversations at the literature table, and Nigel spoke with people who had listened to the preaching. Thomas was busy handing out tracts, with numerous people taking literature from him. Rose was also kept busy sharing the good news.
Before the outreach concluded, I preached once more, this time on “Hope for a Broken World.” A couple of people paused to listen, including one man who said, “I have plenty of hope for life!” So I asked, “What hope do you have in death, and after that?” The man quickly turned and disappeared up the street without answering. At the end of the message, two people took copies of John’s Gospel.
It was an encouraging day in Portsmouth. Please take a few moments to 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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