“Jesus Could Never Accept Me” – Brighton Evangelism
It was a beautiful sunny day for our first outreach in Brighton. It was a privilege to partner with Grace Church – Brighton to assist them in reaching the city for Jesus.
As normal, we set up the open-air board and the free literature table. Soon, people from different backgrounds began to browse the literature and take items. It was also great to see Grace Church set up a chalkboard with a question and basket offering free books. There are many ways to reach the lost!
I commenced the preaching by speaking on “God and Man.” Soon, a group of young men paused to listen. I engaged them with a few questions; one responded to the preaching by receiving a copy of John’s Gospel. Others made their way over to the literature table. Skully (pastor of Grace Church) was able to engage the group in discussion and invite them to church. While preaching, I noticed that a Muslim couple listened, but they left before anyone could speak with them.
Next to preach was Tony Dancer, who spoke on “Bridging the Gap.” As he proclaimed the gospel, the two Muslims returned. They listened to Tony’s preaching and then engaged him in discussion. In the end, they took copies of John’s Gospel and the booklet, ‘Ultimate Questions’.
While Tony and I focused on the preaching, other team members were busy distributing literature and chatting with people. It was super-encouraging to see many people being engaged with the good news.
“The Big Picture of Easter” was the next message I preached. A few people listened, including a couple who took copies of John’s Gospel. Team members engaged in conversation with those who listened, which included students from Germany and a man who was upset that he couldn’t stop sinning.
Things were running full steam ahead as Tony preached again, but this time, an angry older lady stormed up to him and told him to be quiet. She went on to curse him and God. Hecklers are normally good, but this wasn’t a good heckler – she was abusive. But she did manage to draw a few people in who heard the good news.
One lady who listened to the preaching made her way over to the literature table; from her dress and appearance, it was clear she was a ‘working girl’ (this was confirmed in our subsequent discussion). I greeted her and asked if any of the material interested her. She said it was all interesting, but it wasn’t for her. I asked her why she thought that to which she answered, “Because Jesus could never accept me.” We had a wonderful chat about the love of Jesus and how He came to seek sinners. I mentioned that Christ loves the social outcast, even those people may deem unlovely. The young lady smiled saying, “He sounds like a loving preacher!” At the end of our conversation, she took the booklet, ‘The Unique Jesus.’
We had two more open-air messages to finish off the outreach. I preached on “Are You Sure You’ll Go to Heaven?” Then Tony preached on “Warning: Six Deadly Lies!” A few people engaged with Tony as he proclaimed the gospel.
As Tony finished preaching, I chatted with a man who had been listening. He told me that his mother would have enjoyed the message as she was an evangelical. I asked where he stood with the Lord, and the man admitted he had wandered away. We had a nice chat, and he took the booklet, ‘Welcome Back’, which uses the story of the Prodigal Son to explain the good news. The man also took an invite to Grace Church.
Brighton proved to be a wonderful location for ministry. I am looking forward to returning. 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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