Open-Air Mission Outreach: Day 1 – St Austell
Today, the Open-Air Mission commenced its Cornwall outreach with ministry in St Austell. Even though I only live about 30 minutes from the town centre of St Austell, I have never actually shared the gospel there, so today was a first for me.
We had been told that the town centre wouldn't be busy, so there was a concern that Christians may outnumber the lost. However, the outreach proceeded, and I'm glad it did. We arrived at 10am, and while some set up the open-air board, others of us began to hand out tracts. I found that most people were receptive to taking gospel literature, and those who refused were generally polite.
The open-air preaching began with Andy Little; then over the next three hours, one preacher after another took their turn to proclaim Christ in public.
As the gospel was proclaimed people stopped to listen. One man who halted to hear the gospel was Paul. He listened to the preaching, then he went across to the literature table to take a few booklets. As he was about to walk away, I engaged him in conversation. He told me that he is a Christian and that the question of eternity is something he thinks about every day. Paul’s views were confused with human philosophy; it was very clear that he didn’t have a biblical worldview that would allow him to address the issue of eternity. As we chatted, Paul told me that he was hopeful of going to Heaven since he wasn’t as bad as Hitler. We chatted about the reality that all of us have sinned, and how every person rightly deserves the judgement of God. Unfortunately, before I could get to the gospel, Paul had to rush off for a job interview. I was able to hand him an in-depth tract as he shook my hand in thanks.
After this, I went back to handing out tracts, and soon I was chatting to an 88-year-old lady named Joyce. Joyce was lovely, and I felt like I should call her grandma. She was warm, friendly, and self-righteous. As we chatted, she told me that the world today is terrible, and she can’t understand why this generation is so evil. I asked her if there were problems with society when she was younger; she paused for a few moments and then said, “You know what, you are absolutely correct. People in my day were just as bad!” Of course, Joyce made sure to tell me that she was good and that she enjoyed helping people. As we talked about spiritual issues, Joyce told me that she was certain she was going to Heaven as she is a very good person, so I pointed out to her that God demands perfection. When she heard this, she admitted that she was in trouble as she isn’t perfect. This then created a perfect opportunity to share the good news of the perfect Saviour. Joyce listened as I told her about the Lord Jesus coming to rescue sinners, and then she very willingly took an in-depth gospel tract. As she placed the tract in her pocket, she said, “I now have something to read with my cup of tea when I get home.” We parted on very good terms as she passed on her thanks to all the team.
While all this was taking place the preaching continued; always in the background of these conversations, an open-air preacher was proclaiming Christ. This constant declaration of good news made it so much easier to get into conversations with people as the ice was already broken. One man who was listening to the preaching was Darren. As he went to walk away, I was able to engage him in conversation. He told me that he was a Jew and that he didn’t believe in our God. I smiled and answered, “I am out here talking about a Jew – Jesus the Messiah.” Darren laughed and said, “Ok, I should probably talk to you then.”
Darren told me that he had grown up learning the Hebrew scriptures and that he was very well versed in the teaching of Judaism. Upon hearing this I asked for his thoughts on Isaiah 53. Darren didn’t seem keen to discuss that passage, so I gently pressed. I pointed out that Isaiah 53 is about the suffering Messiah who dies for sinners. I asked Darren when and how this prophecy was fulfilled? Darren didn’t want to discuss that passage, so he deflected by saying, “We Jews believe that everyone will be saved, so we don’t need a Saviour.” As I thought about his statement, I began to talk to him about the first Passover while the Hebrews were in Egypt. I asked him, “In the last plague on Egypt, what did God require your forefathers to do?” Darren answered by talking about the sacrifice and the need for the blood to be put around the door. I followed this up by asking what happened to those who didn’t do that. Darren smiled and said, “Well, I guess not everyone will be saved!” With that Darren darted to another topic, this time he wanted to talk about Abraham.
As we chatted about Abraham, I moved the conversation to Genesis 22 and the account of Abraham being willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Darren was familiar with this story, so I asked him to explain Genesis 22:8 which declared that God would provide for Himself a lamb sacrifice. Darren couldn’t explain that verse, so we began to look at the sacrificial system in the Law. We chatted about how all these sacrifices merely covered sins temporarily, but none of the lambs people offered seemed to be the one Abraham said God would provide. With that, I took Darren to John 1:29 when John the Baptist declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Darren listened carefully as I explained the work of Jesus. After hearing the good news, he shook my hand, thanked me for the conversation, and said he had much to think about. With that, he went on his way. May he no longer be a wandering Jew, but may he come to know the Messiah.
Today, it seemed like we were just having one conversation after another. As I looked around, all the team members were talking to people while the preaching continued. During a message, one of the preachers used an illustration of a soldier, which caught the attention of a young man named Pete. Pete had just enlisted in the British Army, so he was quite certain that God would accept him as he was doing a good deed. Pete believed that even though he had done wrong in this life, God would consider the good he had done and that somehow that would balance the scales. I reasoned with him about the justice and holiness of God, and how God says He will not clear the guilty. This sobered Pete, he seemed genuinely concerned that his system of works righteousness would not deliver him from the hands of the Holy God. It was at this point I told him of the Lord Jesus, and for the first time (according to Pete), he heard the message of Jesus dying for sinners and rising again. I urged Pete to repent and believe; I then gave him an in-depth tract, which he said he would read during his lunch break.
By this time, it was nearly my turn to preach, but the Lord didn’t want me to do that just yet. As I prepared, one of the team members brought across a man to talk to me. This man, named Mike, said he is from Newquay but is now living in St Austell; he also told me that he was a recovering heroin addict. We chatted for quite some time, and it was clear he had a Christian background. He told me that he didn’t trust the church, but for some reason he liked us. I was able to introduce him to an elder of a local church in St Austell, and then I went back to preparing to preach. I thought that would be the end of this interaction, but the Lord had other plans.
It was now my time to preach, so I began to speak about “Is it a good or bad world?” I used Joyce, whom I met earlier, as an illustration. From there I spoke about God creating the world good, but then humanity plunged the creation into sin. While I was preaching, Mike was on the phone, and he seemed to be quite excited. I didn’t think much of this, so I focused on proclaiming the gospel and calling on people to trust in Jesus. When I finished my message, Mike came rushing up to me saying, “I can’t believe it. You actually sent me a Bible during lockdown!” Now it was my turn to be shocked, so I asked Mike to explain. He said that his parents are Christians, so after talking to me he called his mother to tell her about our chat. He then said his mother asked who the preacher was that he had spoken to, but Mike couldn’t remember. By now I was preaching in the open air so he couldn’t ask, but as he spoke to his mum, she heard the preaching via the phone, and she was able to identify who I was. It turns out that Mike’s parents attend Newquay Baptist Church, and a few months earlier I was able to give a Bible to his father to pass onto him. Mike had been through a rough patch with the untimely death of his brother, this coupled with his addiction background sent him into dark places, yet in the darkness, a Bible was requested. Now, on the streets of St Austell, I was able to share the gospel with him. Mike was shaking and quite emotional as he described all that had happened. All he could say was, “God has done this!” Truly, the Lord in His providence had arranged this meeting. We posed together for a selfie so I could send it to his father. I know members of our church have been praying for Mike, and it seems like the Lord is showing grace towards him. Please pray for him.
By now it was close to the end of the outreach, so we began to pack up and head home. It was a great start to a week of mission. I can’t wait to see what the Lord has planned for the days ahead.
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/