A Shorter Outreach Due to Rain – Salisbury Evangelism
Wet weather makes evangelism challenging; as we looked at the forecast, we saw we had a narrow window of dry weather to share the good news in Salisbury. The Lord very graciously allowed us to have ninety minutes before rain ended the outreach; in that period, we shared the message of Jesus with all who would listen.
Upon arriving in Salisbury, we discovered something unusual… there were no buskers! This provided an opportunity to set up right in the centre of the high street. We’ve never evangelised in this part of the street - it was an excellent location (I see why the buskers use it!).
While setting up, Paul and Shirley spoke with a gentleman we’ve chatted to several times. We aren’t sure where he stands with the Lord, but he is open to speaking about Christianity. Today, he took more material and asked when we would be back in Salisbury.
Knowing the predicted rain was getting closer, I started the preaching by speaking on “How Can You Know You’ll Go to Heaven?” A couple of people stopped to listen, including an older gentleman who identified as religious but not born again. He listened to my preaching, then spoke to Paul afterwards. He said I was orthodox in my view (being mainstream Christianity) but was a little bit extreme like Billy Graham (I took that as a compliment). He wouldn’t take any material, but he listened to the preaching and to Paul as he shared the good news.
Open-air evangelism not only serves to reach the lost, but it can also encourage Christians. Two believers from a local village stood to listen to the preaching; both expressed feeling uplifted after hearing the gospel.
When Paul preached, he spoke on “Four Big Problems.” A couple of people stopped to listen, including a French man whom I spoke with. He told me he wasn’t sure about the message and wouldn’t take any gospel material. There was also a man from New Zealand who listened briefly to the preaching, but he was closed to the gospel. I engaged him in discussion, and soon we were chatting about Australia and New Zealand. He said he was happy to meet someone from the southern hemisphere. As we talked, he softened. I couldn’t share the good news with him verbally, but he did take a tract.
Around this time, the heavens opened, and the rain came tumbling down. We quickly packed down the board and table - and then headed home. The outreach was shorter than usual, but many were exposed to the good news. Please pray for all we encountered in Salisbury.
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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