From the Door to the Streets – Southampton Evangelism
Usually, my outreach reports begin when we arrive on the street, but today, for me, the outreach began much closer to home. I was watching Living Waters TV while preparing lunch when I heard the front doorbell ring. I went to answer it, thinking perhaps the postman had a parcel for me. Instead, I found two smiling Jehovah’s Witnesses wanting to speak with me—one was a lady around my age, and the other was her teenage daughter. After introducing themselves, they began asking about my religious views. I answered their questions, and then they asked, “Do you have any questions for us?”
I smiled and said, “I would really appreciate it if you could tell me, ‘What must I do to be saved?’” The mother did all the talking and replied, “Well, what you need to do is have faith, then you need to learn and grow in education. After that will come baptism, and you’ll slowly progress towards being saved.” I asked if she could clarify, as it sounded like she was saying salvation is something one can never be sure of and that it takes a long period of time. She confirmed that was exactly what she meant.
Expecting this response, I asked, “What would you do if the Bible said something different? In fact, how would you respond if the Apostle Paul said the opposite of what you just told me?” The lady replied, “The Bible doesn’t say anything different; could you show me where it does?”
Taking my Bible, I turned to Acts 16:30–31. As I did, I asked if they could follow along in their own Bible. They didn’t have one, so they quickly pulled out their phones and looked it up online. I told them the story of the Philippian jailer and then showed them Paul’s answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”
As she read those verses, I asked, “Isn’t that different from what you just told me?” At this point, the lady was struggling to find an answer. I followed up by taking her to Romans 4:1–5, Ephesians 2:8–9, and Titus 3:5—all verses that show salvation is not earned by works but is freely given by God. Both of them admitted they couldn’t answer and that they hadn’t heard those verses before. The mother said, “I guess I’ll find out on Judgement Day if I am saved; I won’t know until then.”
Turning to 1 John 5:13, I showed them they could know with certainty that they are saved—but again, I stressed that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, not by works. The lady said she couldn’t answer but asked for my number so she could arrange for others to come and speak with me. I told her the entire Kingdom Hall was welcome to visit, as I’d love to talk about the gospel with them.
As they left, I was thankful for the opportunity to witness to them but saddened that other Christians hadn’t taken the time to explain these key verses. We need to do better as followers of Jesus in clearly sharing the gospel with those trapped in false teachings. If you want to learn how to better share the gospel with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I recommend my friend Tony Brown’s book, ‘Sharing the Gospel with a Jehovah’s Witness’.
After witnessing at my door, I made my way to Southampton to support The Open-Air Mission associate worker Will Goddard. The city centre was busy, and soon after setting up, the ministry began.
Will commenced the preaching by speaking on “Are You Good Enough for Heaven or Bad Enough for Hell?” A few people paused to listen, and some took tracts. I spoke with a young man who had listened to part of the preaching. He told me he was beginning to read the Bible but wanted to learn more about Jesus and science. I was able to give him a few booklets on these topics.
When it was my turn to preach, I used the “Good Person Test” to explain the gospel. A few people paused to listen before moving on. One Romanian family listened and took gospel material in their language.
Will then preached again—this time about the Titanic. This was a rather fitting message, as the Titanic departed from Southampton. Using history and the story of John Harper, Will was able to illustrate the gospel beautifully.
While Will preached, I was at the literature table speaking with two young lads who are Roman Catholics. Both attend church and take their faith seriously. However, both believed the way to Heaven was by being good. Together, we went through the Law of God, and I then explained the gospel. They recognised their sin and understood that salvation comes only through Jesus. Both took a New Testament, saying they wanted to read more.
As soon as that conversation ended, I found myself speaking with two other young men—one a churchgoer, the other not. Just like the previous two, they believed their goodness would earn them salvation. We went through the gospel, and I stressed our sinfulness and how only Jesus can save. Both took copies of John’s Gospel at the end of our chat.
It was now my turn to preach again. This time, I spoke on “How Can You Be Sure You’ll Go to Heaven?” As before, a few people paused to listen but then moved on. However, at the end, four people took copies of John’s Gospel.
Will concluded the outreach with a sermon on “The Unique Jesus.” He did a great job showing the wonder and majesty of Christ.
As I looked around, it was encouraging to see team members engaged in numerous conversations. So many stories could be told, but time won’t allow—eternity will reveal the impact of today’s ministry.
Please take a few moments right now to pray for all those who heard the good news. May the Lord save people—from the door to the streets!
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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