A Hot Day in Huddersfield

It is great to be back in the north of England, working at The Open-Air Mission Yorkshire team event. Originally, I was scheduled to preach in Barnsley today, but a last-minute change of plan had me heading over to Huddersfield (somewhere I’ve never been before). The weather was hot and sunny – a great day for open-air work.

We had a large team out sharing the good news, and I know from speaking with those who served that many good gospel conversations took place. It is very hard to relate the stories of others, so I am not able to share their accounts. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to detail the encounters I had.

Throughout the day, we had eight different preachers proclaiming the gospel; while that was happening, team members were busy handing out tracts and speaking with people.

For my first open-air message, I spoke on “Lessons from the Boomerang.” There was little interaction, but the truth still went forth.

Not long after I finished preaching, I found myself in conversation with a man who claimed to have studied all religions. He presented himself as an academic, so I asked, “In your opinion, which religion is true?” The man confessed he didn’t know, but it was clear he wasn’t a fan of Christianity. We spent a good amount of time speaking about the claims of Jesus and the trustworthiness of the Bible. He listened to the gospel, then took several booklets that addressed his questions.

Later in the day, I had a wonderful conversation with a couple who have experienced great pain. As they listened to Steve preach, the lady turned to me, saying, “Are you a Christian? If so, you need to know I don’t like his message!” I asked why she wasn’t a fan of Steve’s preaching, and with that, the floodgates opened. She told me that she had lost everything when her baby daughter died. In the pain of losing her infant, she turned to the bottle and became an alcoholic. This led to her losing her job as a nurse, and then she said, “I gave up my faith!” Her partner told me he was a Polish Roman Catholic, but even he struggled. I listened as they shared their story of pain and suffering, then I asked, “You said you believe your daughter is in Heaven — do you think you’ll go there too?” Both said they believed they would, as they were very good people. Opening up the Ten Commandments, I gently showed them that they had sinned and that Heaven wasn’t their default destination. When they grasped their sin, I shared the good news of Jesus. Both took tracts and copies of John’s Gospel. At the end of our conversation, they shook my hand and said they had really enjoyed our chat. Later in the day, as they passed by again, they called out and waved. 

Later on, while Neil was preaching, a young Muslim man drew in close to heckle. He began asking Neil a variety of questions clearly designed to discredit Christianity. Neil directed the heckler to me, and we had a good chat. The young Muslim began by asking, “Can you show me anywhere in the Bible where it says Jesus is God?” I replied, “Sure — how many verses would you like?” You could tell from his face he wasn’t expecting that kind of response. Together, we opened the Bible and read through various Scriptures. After a little while, the Muslim man admitted he didn’t know how to respond. I shared the good news with him, and he gladly took a copy of John’s Gospel, saying he would read it.

The heat was sapping, but I still had one more thing to do. I was asked to preach the final message of the day, so I spoke on “Steps to Peace with God.” There was little interaction, though a few people walked past mocking. Still, we don’t know how the Holy Spirit will use the seed that has been sown.

Overall, it was a great day in Huddersfield. I wish I could share all the stories from team members, but those are their stories to tell. Needless to say, many 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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