London Outreach – Day 5 (Covent Garden & Leicester Square)

It was a long day of outreach! We started in Covent Garden, which is a location I’ve found challenging for evangelism. During the afternoon, I struggled to give out tracts or engage in conversations. However, I managed to give away several cards that link to the gospel in multiple languages. This allowed me to share the good news with those who spoke German, Dutch, Spanish, and Arabic.

When it was my turn to preach, I spoke on “Your Life!” Soon, a couple from Romania stopped to listen and engage with the preaching. I thought they must have been Christians by their responses, but it turns out they were Roman Catholics. Both took tracts at the end of the message.

In the evening, we returned to Leicester Square. There was lots of noise and distractions, so we headed to a quiet part of the square. One of the team members commenced the preaching, but soon a well-known ‘professional’ heckler began to yell at him with a bullhorn. I was cleared by the team leader to take over the open air so I could engage the heckler.

The first thing I did was tell the heckler I could answer his questions and then challenged him to a public discussion. This would allow us to present our case and then engage with the arguments. He agreed and laid down his bullhorn. For the next 45 minutes, we went back and forth on topics such as the nature of God, evil, humanity, animals, and the gospel. The heckler was angry and spewed hatred towards God. Andy Little commented that the difference between me and the heckler was clearly seen as I was smiling, laughing, and being kind.

Whenever I responded, I would answer the question, challenge the heckler’s argument, and preach the gospel. As I did this, I would tell the good-sized crowd who was listening to take a copy of John’s Gospel if they’d like to find out more. Andy would then move through the crowd offering people the Scripture. It is estimated that around fifteen people took copies.

At the end of our open air, the heckler shook my hand and said he enjoyed the discussion. He also thanked me for using humour and treating him well, as many Christians have just yelled judgment at him. He took a tract and posed for a photo with me.

While this was happening, team members reported they were able to have many gospel conversations.

We then moved back into the heart of the square, where I spoke with two buskers. I wanted to ensure we were not encroaching on their location and wouldn’t interrupt them. They said they were touched as Christians never showed any concern about them. I apologised for other Christians, which then opened a door to share the gospel.

It was a long and eventful day. We have one more day of outreach remaining. Please pray for us and all 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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