First Time Hearing the Gospel – Southampton Evangelism

Wet, wet, wet! That is probably the best way to describe the weather in Southampton today. The heavens had opened, and it was pouring with rain. Thankfully, in the city centre, there is an undercover location. Our plan was simply to hand out tracts and engage in conversation, but when we arrived, we saw that we could set up the open-air board and preach in the shelter. The Lord had provided a busy and prime ministry location.

After setting up the board, people began to take tracts – indeed, many took tracts today. Conversations soon followed, and before long nearly all team members were engaged in discussions.

Jeremy was busy speaking with a man who was a Muslim but was beginning to question and doubt Islam. The man listened to the gospel and then received a Bible.

I had a conversation with a young man from China who had never heard the gospel before. There, on a windy and wet day in Southampton, this Chinese student heard the message of God’s good news for the first time.

The young man told me that he was intrigued by Christianity and that he had attended government churches in China, but he had no knowledge of the Bible. Starting at creation, I explained who God is and what God has done. Then I shared how we’ve all turned away from God, but that God, in love – the Lord Jesus – came down to rescue us by going to the cross and rising again. As I explained the gospel, the young man said, “It makes sense; Jesus paid the penalty!” I urged him to repent and trust in Christ, then gave him an invitation to a local evangelical church that has a Chinese service, along with a Bible.

Once all the conversations had finished, I began preaching on “Are You Good Enough for Heaven?” Our preaching location was ideal, as people exiting the shopping centre were able to listen to the message. A few people listened, including a young lady who was locked onto the message – a team member spoke with her afterwards. Two others received copies of John’s Gospel at the end of the message.

Next up to preach was Ben, who spoke on “Who Can You Trust?” As he preached, two young ladies said they agreed but that they weren’t Christians. After the message, both received copies of John’s Gospel.

The preaching was well and truly underway now. Next up was Mike, who preached on “Where Are They Now?” An Eastern Orthodox priest was intrigued, and a few others listened to the good news.

The final preacher of the day was Richard, who preached on “Life: What’s the Point?” He preached with extra passion today, which helped draw people in to listen. He later said he had felt a real need to press home the good news to those who were listening.

After the preaching had finished, I thought we were done for the day. We packed up, and as Jeremy and I were about to leave, a young man stopped to ask questions. He later revealed he was bisexual, had his own morality, and came from a Church of England background. He had lots of questions – some seemingly designed to try to disprove Christianity – but we answered his objections and kept bringing it back to the gospel.

At the end of our chat, he gave us a fist bump and took a tract. He had started the conversation intending to question and disprove, but he finished by thanking us for taking the time to answer and engage.

Time had really flown by today. Many heard the gospel, and lots of tracts were given out. Please pray for all those who heard the gospel.

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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