“I want peace with God!” – Portsmouth Evangelism
Outreaches on the coast can be unpredictable. One minute is sunny, then the next thing you know, it is dark with the clouds threatening heavy rain. That is what it was like in Portsmouth today. When the weather is unpredictable like this, foot traffic in the city centre is much lower. Compared to other weeks, Portsmouth was quiet, but even in the quietness, the gospel spread.
One of the many things I love about open-air evangelism is that we get to talk to people from all different religions and worldviews. Today, the outreach started with me chatting with two Mormon missionaries. Out of all the new religious movements (cults), Mormonism is the one I’ve studied the most. As I approached the two Elders, I could tell their guard was up. They saw me, and they saw the open-air board; it was clear that I was approaching them for a reason. What I always like to do with the Elders is ask them about their background – where they are from, how long they’ve been away from home, and the cultural differences they notice in the UK. I do this for two reasons - 1) I find people interesting; 2) It helps relax the conversation – defensive walls come down.
As we spoke, I discovered these two Elders were not from the UK; one was from the US, and the other was from Australia. The Australian connection instantly gave me an opening for further discussion. After talking about ‘natural’ things, the conversation effortlessly moved to the spiritual. They shared about what they do, and I spoke about the gospel. The conversation was very friendly. In the end, we shook hands, and they happily took tracts designed for Mormons called “A Different Jesus.”
After speaking with the Mormons, I decided to open-air preach on - “How Can I Find Peace?” With the news being consumed by the war in Israel, I knew the topic of peace was on everyone’s mind. As I preached, there was little engagement. One young lady stood to listen, then walked off (though she came back later and took a copy of “Why Christianity?”). But towards the end, a man heard me ask, “Do you have peace with God?” He stopped and said, “I want peace with God!” I asked him how he thought someone could have peace, to which he replied, “I was baptised four weeks ago. I hope that helps!” Sadly, this man trusted in a religious ritual and not Jesus Christ. I referred the man to the last verse I had placed on the board, Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” From this verse, I explained to him the wonderful truth of justification by faith alone. After listening, the man took a copy of John’s Gospel with the promise to read it.
After the open air, the team was busy with tracts and conversations. I noticed that Jean was chatting with an Indian Muslim who had begun to read the Bible. But what really encouraged me was that Roger and Val were speaking with Daniel, a young man who had asked Roger some good questions during the open air last week. That young man had read the material we gave him and then returned to talk further. He took more literature and an invitation to a local church.
Around this time, Sheryl, a self-described hard-line atheist, stopped to speak with me. She is an older lady and admitted she doesn’t have much life left. At first, she was combative – we discussed morality, the nature of truth, and if there are absolutes (there are!). As we spoke, she became softer and listened as I shared the gospel. After hearing of Jesus, she said, “If Jesus appeared now, I would stop being an atheist, but I would never worship Him!” I agreed she wouldn’t, then quoted John 3:19-20 to her. I explained the reason she wouldn’t worship Jesus was because she loved her sin and didn’t like the idea of God ruling over her. She agreed that was the case. At the end of our conversation, she took two booklets designed for atheists.
We spent more time today in deep conversations with people than open-air preaching. But before we finished, Roger preached the gospel in the open air. A Christian passing by seemed encouraged by the preaching. She told me she had recently moved to the area but couldn’t find a church. I pointed her towards a good gospel church and then gave her material to help her grow in Christ.
As we packed down the outreach, a young lady approached us. She was in Portsmouth with her boyfriend for the day. She asked if they could have a New Testament as they had been thinking about God. We gladly gave them the Scripture and copies of “Why Christianity?” I also knew of a church near where she lives, so I referred her to that local congregation.
Even though Portsmouth was quiet, we were kept busy with gospel work. Please pray for all those who heard the good news.
SDG!
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Josh Williamson is a full-time evangelist with The Open-Air Mission. Since 1853, OAM has been sharing the good news on the streets of the United Kingdom. To stay updated about the work of the Mission, please sign up for the free quarterly magazine and monthly prayer notes.
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