A Day of Outreach: Kids, Bibles, and Sharing the Good News in Portsmouth

The beautiful spring weather continued as we made our way into Portsmouth city centre. Due to the school break, the city was busier – with more families and young people walking around.

From the start of the outreach, things were busy. As soon as the literature table was set up, people began to stop to chat. Within minutes, people were taking Bibles and discussing the good news.

Throughout the day, we saw many people take tracts, Bibles, New Testaments, and booklets – it was probably the busiest day I’ve seen on a literature front. But interestingly, that interest and desire didn’t show itself during the preaching. I felt the open-air messages I preached ‘fell flat.”

I began the preaching by speaking on “The Big Picture of Easter”. A few people listened, but there was no engagement. Still, people would stop at the table to browse the material and take tracts.

A highlight of the day was seeing a man whom Margaret had witnessed to previously come back. He had been thinking about their conversation, and this time he asked for a copy of the Bible. Jim also spoke with him, and they were able to pray together.

Next to preach was Jim, who spoke on who God is, who we are, and how to be reconciled. He did a great job passionately making known the good news of salvation.

Things were a bit different for me today, as I had my three children with me. Due to a family emergency back in Australia, my wife had to return home for a few days. This has resulted in limited outreach duties for me, but it was good to be able to bring all the kids with me today.

All of them were busy handing out tracts, but at one point, when I looked up, I noticed my eight-year-old son engaged in conversation with two young adult men. He had given them the tract, “Do You Know Why Jesus Died?”, so they asked him, “Why did Jesus die?” My son boldly answered – “Jesus died to pay for all our sins!” Margaret was able to continue the conversation, but as a father, I was happy to see my lad sharing the gospel.

To finish the outreach, I spoke on John 3:16. A local Christian was greatly encouraged, and a few people seemed to listen. At the end, one man took a Gospel of John.

As we packed down, I was amazed at how many tracts had been handed out, and how much literature was taken from the table. May many read their way into the Kingdom!

Please pray for all those who heard or read the good news today.

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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