The Gospel at Christmas – Southampton Evangelism
After being away for ministry and leave, it was good to finally return to my regular outreach location of Southampton. For all of November, and the first week of December, the team was led by Jeremy, who did a good job maintaining the outreach. I am truly thankful for the wonderful team we have in this city.
The Christmas markets are well and truly underway, which limited where we could set up and preach. However, we had a nice open space where we were able to share the good news. From the beginning, the literature table proved to be busy, with people stopping to browse literature and receive copies of God’s Word.
Richard was the first preacher for the day. He did a great job, and a few people paused to listen, including a man who had a long conversation with Jeremy afterwards.
Next up to preach was Ben, who spoke on “What’s the Real Reason for Christmas?” He did a good job explaining that everything is about Christ, and how we cannot ignore Him.
It was then my turn to preach, so I spoke on “Name that Carol”. In this message, I use the lyrics of well-known Christmas carols to explain the gospel. From the beginning, a young man engaged with the message. We were able to have a bit of back and forth, with him asking some good questions. It turns out he has been thinking a lot about Jesus and wants to attend church. At the end of the message, he took a copy of John’s Gospel and spoke with Ben. We were then able to refer him to a good local church near where he lives.
Mike preached next, speaking on the topic of “Where Are They Now?” As he began, a man called out a few questions, including one asking, “What is the good news?” (Can you get a better gospel opening?!). Mike did a good job engaging him, and the man took a Gospel of John. Then a couple of young ladies also asked questions, so Mike spoke with them, and they both took John’s Gospel as well.
Things were moving along quite smoothly at this point. Due to the number of qualified men, we were able to have one preacher after another. Next up was Jeremy, who spoke on “What’s Christmas Without Christ?” He did a great job, explaining how Christmas makes no sense without Jesus.
The final preacher of the day was Colin, who challenged people on whether they were truly ready for Christmas. He did well to bring it all back to the point that people need to be ready to meet God.
Alongside the preaching, many one-to-one conversations took place. A man who was going through suffering and pain spoke with a team member. A Muslim man from Afghanistan was also very open to hearing of Christ. Young people were keen to ask questions and hear answers. It was a great couple of hours on the street.
Please pray for all those who heard the good news. May the Lord save many in Southampton.
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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