Encouragement: An Open-Air Testimony
We all need encouragement—especially those who labour in open-air evangelism. The nature of our ministry means we may meet people only once, and then never see them again. In that brief window of time, we seek to share the good news with them and pray that the Lord saves that person. We may never know what happens next, nor whether the gospel seed took root, but sometimes the Lord graciously allows us a glimpse of the work He is doing behind the scenes.
Recently, I heard the testimony of a man who was saved through the ministry of a preacher from The Open-Air Mission. The preacher never knew about it, but the Lord had taken the message proclaimed and used it to rescue a young man.
One Friday afternoon in Southampton, just as we were setting up for an outreach, a man—now in his mid-thirties—approached us excitedly. He had recognised our open-air board, which helped him realise that we were the same group he had been seeking for the past decade.
Ten years earlier, this gentleman had been in Basingstoke when he encountered two open-air preachers. They had an open-air board and were preaching about eternity and where people will go after they die. At first, the young man walked past, scoffing, believing that good people would go to Heaven. But something niggled at him, so he returned to listen to the preaching. After hearing the message, he spoke with one of the preachers, who shared the good news with him and gave him a copy of John's Gospel.
The man went away and read the Gospel. As he did so, he realised he was a sinner in need of the Saviour, so he repented and trusted in Christ. He then rushed back to Basingstoke to see if he could find the preachers, but they were gone. Every time he was in the area, he looked for them, but they were never seen again. He joined a local church and became active in evangelism, yet for ten years he wondered who the preachers were—until he bumped into us in Southampton.
Upon hearing his story, we were able to identify the two Open-Air Mission preachers from all those years ago in Basingstoke. One of them is now with the Lord, but the other is still faithfully sharing the good news. We put the man in touch with the preacher, and both were greatly encouraged.
This testimony serves as a reminder that we never quite know what the Lord is doing. We may labour in the open air and never see the results. Yet there may be people who are saved, but we won’t know about it until eternity. Brothers, keep sharing the good news in public—your labour is not in vain. I believe many will be in Heaven as a result of your faithful witness for the Lord Jesus.
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Josh receives his salary from The Open-Air Mission. Any financial contributions made through this website will be allocated towards supplying evangelistic resources and addressing requirements associated with gospel-related activities.