Yorkshire Outreach: Day 2 – Barnsley
It was a cold and windy day as we made our way to Barnsley. This small town is unknown to many people, but historically it has had a great influence. Directly across the road from where we preached, a blue plaque announced that in that location in 1832, James Hudson Taylor was born. Taylor would go on to found the China Inland Mission and become one of the greatest missionaries in recent centuries. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d think about his hometown today – a town that now needs missionaries.
The area wasn’t too busy, but it was noisy due to the buskers. We set up, and soon team members began to preach. As with yesterday’s report, I can only detail what I experienced, so this blog may seem one-sided. Let me say from the outset that the team did a tremendous job with many tracts, conversations, and open-air sermons taking place.
I was the second preacher of the day; for my message, I decided to preach a simple gospel sermon – “The Way to Heaven.” In this talk, I show three wrong ways people think will save them, then show the only way. There was very little engagement with the message, though I did notice a few people sitting nearby listening.
While other team members preached, I focused on handing out tracts and trying to chat with people. One man I spoke with stopped at the literature table and began to browse the resources. He told me that previously he had spoken to a team member, and as a result, he had found out his Bible, but he didn’t know where to start reading. I gave him a copy of John’s Gospel and encouraged him to begin there. He then shared that he had many questions, all relating to the issue of ‘why is there death and suffering?’
As we spoke, the man declared, “God should wipe out all the evil.” So I asked him, “Where do you think all the evil comes from?” The man answered by saying humanity is responsible for the problems in the world. Then he realised that if God wiped out all the evil, he too would be wiped out. This allowed the conversation to naturally progress to talking about sin and the gospel. The man took a copy of ‘Why All the Suffering?’ and thanked me for taking the time to talk with him.
The next person I spoke with was a young man who identified as an agnostic. He took a tract, then told me that he wasn’t good enough for Heaven or bad enough for Hell. With that, he shared something incredible. He said a friend of his was recently converted, and it seems to be doing her lots of good; so this morning he prayed, “God, if you are real, give me a sign!” Now, he was standing in the centre of Barnsley talking to me about God! The young man was no fool; he said that this was the sign he prayed for and that God was real. I was able to share the gospel with him, and at the end of our conversation, the young man said, “Nothing is stopping me from trusting in Jesus.” I urged him to seek the Lord today and not to put it off. He shook my hand and took a copy of John’s Gospel.
Even though there was little engagement with the preaching throughout the day, the conversations we had proved to be deep and productive. One lady who did engage in the preaching spoke to me afterward. She told me that as a Roman Catholic, she agreed with the Bible but then declared she would go to Heaven as she had never sinned. I took her to the Ten Commandments and began to show her that she, like everyone else, has broken God’s Law and needs the Saviour. When she saw her sin, I explained the good news. The lady took a copy of John’s Gospel, saying she would read it when she got home.
My last conversation of the day was with a vicar from the Church of England. He objected to the preaching by declaring it as fundamentalist and lacking logic. The minister explained that Jesus opposed all forms of judgment and condemnation. We chatted for a while, and I asked how he would deal with all his sins. The vicar answered by saying that when God judges him, he hopes to be forgiven of all the sins he has said sorry for. So, I asked, “But what about the sins you don’t know of, the sins you’ve committed that you haven’t apologised for?” The vicar shrugged, “Then I hope my good deeds will cover them.” I shared the gospel quickly, but he had to leave. He did, however, take the tract, “Are You Good Enough to Go to Heaven?”
To finish the outreach, I preached once more. This time, speaking on “Hope for a Broken World.” As before, there was little engagement, though I did notice a few sitting nearby listening.
It was a cold but productive day. The Open-Air Mission team did a tremendous job. I look forward to continuing this Yorkshire Outreach in Leeds tomorrow. 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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