Does Open-Air Evangelism Have an Impact?

It wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, as I preached a man walked by calling out, “Save your breath! No one is listening!” I replied with a cheeky comment about him listening, but his words stung – are people listening?

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard comments like these in the open air. One minute the gospel is being heralded, the next minute a discouragement comes along – am I really having an impact?

Freely, I’ll admit there are times when those heckles make it through the ‘ear-gate’ and into my mind. There they rattle around for a time, and I find myself thinking upon the discouragement - “Am I doing any good by being out here? What is the point – maybe I should just give up!”

On numerous occasions, I’ve returned from outreaches with a sense of heaviness – a feeling of being downcast. But, as I draw away to a quiet place to be alone with the Lord, I am reminded that my role in evangelism is to be faithful; it is His job to save. When I preach the Word, I don’t know what impact I will have, but I am confident that the Lord will use His Gospel in whatever way He sees fit. My job isn’t to hunt around for results – I am merely called to be faithful in my evangelism.

But let me try to encourage you. Perhaps you are just starting out in open-air evangelism, or maybe you’ve been at it for years. As you survey all that has transpired, maybe you are feeling discouraged and wondering where the fruit of your labor has gone. Know this – God is at work! The Lord is doing many things that we don’t know about, but what we do know is that He works everything together according to the purpose of His will (Ephesians 1:11). Eternity will testify to the impact we have had in the open air.

Let me share a story, which I hope will spur you on in evangelism. It is a true story of a young man who was greatly impacted by two open-air preachers; even though he never knew their names, and despite the fact he wasn’t saved at the time, these two men left a massive impact on the young man.

The man in question grew up in a Christian home, but he wasn’t a Believer. He had heard the Bible proclaimed his whole life, and his parents were faithful to teach him the things of God. But he didn’t believe it. From his perspective, Christianity wasn’t true – he was firmly convinced that the church was full of hypocrites.

One summer, along with his family, he went on holiday to regional Victoria in Australia. The first town they visited is located on the beautiful Murray River, in the small tourist town of Echuca. While enjoying the sights, the young man noticed someone put down a box on a street corner, and then stand upon it. That person then began to preach from the Bible. The young man hadn’t a clue what the preacher said and thought he was a fool, but something inside him declared, “That man has courage. He has something worth shouting about!” The raw boldness of that open-air preacher impacted the young man.

A few days later, the young man visited one of those little country towns where if you blink, you’ll miss it. As he headed to a bakery for lunch along the main street in Nathalia, he noticed an old man on crutches. This older gentleman could barely move, but in his hands, he held a small Gideon’s New Testament. The old evangelist, though weak from his many years, faithfully heralded the gospel – though it appeared no one was listening. Once again, the young man thought the preacher was a fool, but again something inside declared, “That man has courage. He has something worth shouting about!”

Until this point in his life, the young man had never seen any open-air preachers, but in the space of a few days in two small country towns, he had seen two faithful heralds. If this young man had been wise, he would have realized the Lord in His providence was allowing him to hear the gospel – but he wasn’t wise. It would still be nearly two years before the young man was converted to Christ.

Eventually, the young man came to Jesus, and soon after he had a desire to tell everyone about the Lord. But he had a problem – how could he share the good news? At first, he would hand out church invites, then gospel tracts, and finally, in November 2004, he stood on a box and began to preach in the open air. The memory of those two preachers in regional Victoria – men he never knew the name of, inspired him to shout about the Lord Jesus.

If I were to guess, I’d say those two open-air preachers in Victoria had no clue of the impact they had. That young man (who isn’t young anymore!) continues to proclaim the good news; in fact, the Lord has taken him around the world to speak to people in different locations, and to write the blog you are currently reading.

I will always be thankful for those two open-air preachers who proclaimed Christ and were faithful even though it appeared no one was listening. Brothers, next time you preach in the open air, remember you may be serving to impact and encourage the next generation of evangelists who will make much of Jesus.