Newquay Evangelism: Haunted by a Sermon from Last Year

With the COVID restrictions easing, Newquay is abuzz with holidaymakers enjoying the good weather. Last week things were quiet with mostly locals being in the town centre, but this week people from all over the UK were bringing our town back to life. As I looked at all the visitors, I was reminded of just how strategic Newquay is for reaching the entirety of the United Kingdom. Everyone comes to us for a few months, so may we be found faithful in our outreach.

Today, five of us from Newquay Baptist Church headed down to the town centre at 1pm. Upon arrival, a street trader who heard me preach last year, and who since then hasn’t been a fan, came rushing up to me. She said something about not coming near her or preaching, but I didn’t catch all of what she said. What was clear was that she was not happy that we were there. Not being put off from our mission, we set up the literature stand, and then commenced handing out tracts. A couple of our team members wandered off to witness to people in a different location, whereas the rest of us stayed in the main street.

It was interesting to observe the behaviour of people today; most people looked straight ahead without glancing to the left or the right as they walked down the street. The majority were wearing masks, and this seems to have created a different atmosphere. Compared to last week, today was more of a challenge when it came to handing out tracts; still a number of gospel leaflets went out.

While I was handing out tracts, one of the ladies from the church went to chat to the street trader who was clearly not happy with me. The conversation they had was friendly, and it was revealed that the reason she didn’t like me was because last year I preached on the reality of death. That open-air sermon seems to have really shaken her up, where one year later she is still alarmed. My prayer is that she will move from being an alarmed sinner, to being a repentant sinner! The lady from the church invited the street trader to come to a service and ensured her that I am a ‘big softy at heart.’ Later in the day I was able to chat to the street trader, she had just listened to me preach, and this time she was rather friendly. Please pray she will come to the Lord Jesus.

Since today proved a bit more of a challenge in handing out literature, and having one-to-one conversations, I decided to open-air preach. I hadn’t planned on preaching today, but it appeared that this would be the only way to get the gospel to all those who were in town. I started off my sermon by talking about God’s love, and how we have all heard the words, “God loves you.” I affirmed the truthfulness of that statement, then I asked the question, “How does God love us?” From there I was able to expound upon John 3:16 and the love of God shown in the giving of the Lord Jesus to die for sinners and to rise again. As the gospel was proclaimed I called on those listening to repent and believe. I am confident that God’s Word doesn’t return to Him void, so I look forward to seeing what the Lord will do with this message.

One highlight of the open-air came when a boy around eleven came up to heckle me. He was sent across by his parents to ask questions, so I gladly engaged him. His question was, “How do you know God is real?” I used the simple argument of “a building shows there is a builder, and a painting shows there is a painter. I then pointed the complexity of life and demonstrated that creation needs a Creator.” The young boy seemed lost for words, so he listened for a time then headed back to his parents. After the open-air had finished, he came back up to talk. I commended him for asking questions and exhorted him to keep looking for answers. I was able to give him a copy of the Gospel of John, and I urged him to read it if he truly wants answers to the big questions.

While all this was going on, our Church Secretary was engaged in a gospel conversation with a man who lives in a retirement home where we as a church have been sharing the gospel. He has received the different gospel books we have distributed and was open to talking. He revealed that he had been hurt by the church previously, so he had no interest in ever entering a chapel again. The Church Secretary was able to move the conversation away from the damage caused by religion, and instead bring in back to the Lord Jesus. The man willingly took a Gospel of John at the end of the chat. Please pray the Lord would soften his heart.

Overall, we were out for about two hours, and in that time the gospel went out to many people. It was wonderful to see people taking literature from the gospel cart, and to see children gladly taking the free Scripture colouring books from the stand. Our prayer is that God would use His Word to rescue generations. May many come to Newquay for a holiday, and instead encounter the Triune God.  

SDG!

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