Newquay Evangelism: The Return of Open-Air Preaching

“I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields.”  - George Whitefield

I love open-air preaching; and the reason I love it so much is that by going out into the public, we can take the good news of salvation to people who will never darken a church door. There is much talk today over how we can effectively reach people who won’t come to chapels, but there is little thought to the idea of actually taking the gospel to them. Let’s make Christ unavoidable by proclaiming him in the public sphere. 

Today, the sun is shining, and the weather is warm – such a perfect day for proclaiming Jesus in Newquay. At 1pm, a group of nine of us from Newquay Baptist Church gathered at the chapel for prayer, and to kit up for the outreach. Tracts were made ready, Gospels were put into pockets, and apologetic material gathered. Once we were equipped, we walked down into the busy town centre to begin a few hours of ministry. 

Upon arriving in the town, we set up the Gospel Cart and also the Good Person Flipchart. We then began to hand out tracts and chat to people about the gospel. Today, I had decided it would be a good time to recommence the open-air preaching. Throughout the colder months, there aren’t many people around, but now that summer is here the area is crowded. One of the best ways to reach all these people with the gospel is to stand and preach. 

I started off the preaching today by using the flipchart to illustrate the gospel. The purpose of using this tool is so that the preaching goes in through both the ear-gate (hearing) and eye-gate (seeing). As I started off my message, I introduced who I was, and what church I am with. I then began to speak about if people were good enough to merit Heaven. As I went through the chart a small crowd began to gather, including a group of teenage boys sitting on their bikes. As the message progressed, the teenagers engaged and answered the questions. It was encouraging to see them paying such good attention. At one point an older gentleman came up to me yelling that I was disturbing the peace, to which I responded by saying I was actually preaching about peace. One of the team members then engaged him in conversation, and he calmed down. At the end of the message, those listening were called to repent and believe. The response from the teenagers was to clap. It isn’t every day that people clap in appreciation of the message. Please pray those young men would be saved by Christ. You can get a brief insight into the preaching by watching the clip below. 

James was the next preacher up; it was the first time I’ve heard him preach in the open-air, and I must say he did an excellent job in explaining the gospel. He preached the reality of sin and the glories of the cross. Then he called on all those listening to trust in Christ. 

By now the outreach was in full swing. Tracts were being handed out, and people spoken to. It was then I thought it might be good to have a couple of our more inexperienced team members ‘break the sound barrier’ by standing to speak. First up was Marlon, who agreed to read John 3:1-21 aloud. He read very well and emphasised the gospel call. Given time, I suspect he will develop into a fine open-air preacher. I will watch his future with interest! 

Next up was Mark. This was the first time he had joined us for outreach, and I did tell him I wouldn’t throw him in the deep end, yet here he was preparing to read the Scripture aloud. He read from Romans 5:1-11. He too read very well, and he spoke with a clear voice. The good news was proclaimed by him, and people would have heard of the wonderful love of Christ.  I’m looking forward to hearing Mark preach more in the future!

After spending more time handing out tracts, I decided to close out the outreach by preaching one more time. This time I spoke briefly from 1 John 4:10 – “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” From this verse, I spoke about God being the loving Creator and the fact that we don’t love God. After stressing the nature of our sin, I went to how God shows His love in the giving of Jesus on the cross. As the last preacher of the day, I called on those listening to trust in Christ and to visit us at Newquay Baptist Church if they have any further questions. 

It was a real joy to get back into the open air today. Please pray that the Lord would use this ministry to reach many for Jesus. During the summer months, we are a strategic location in reaching the entire UK. May the Lord allow His light to shine forth! 

SDG!

_____

Please partner with us in gospel ministry. Currently, my family and I are serving in Cornwall, UK where I am a Pastor / Missionary. Please consider supporting us in this vital work. Donations can be made via: http://www.joshwilliamson.org/support-us/