The Old Gospel for an Old City – York Evangelism
It was great to visit the ancient city of York to share the good news. This city has witnessed many remarkable events over the years, but nothing is more important than the Gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed within it.
The city was heaving with people; the streets were crowded with individuals moving from place to place. Eventually, we found a corner to set up, and soon we were sharing the good news. Alongside our team from The Open-Air Mission, we were also joined by many local Christians from St Andrew’s Evangelical Church. With so many workers on the street, the good news spread far and wide.
So much happened today: team members had excellent conversations, and numerous copies of the New Testament were taken. Tracts were distributed, and much preaching took place. I can’t give all the details of what team members did or experienced, so all I can do is share some of what I did.
I was the second preacher of the day; for my message, I spoke on “The Origins of Evil.” As I explained the source of evil, a group of young men stopped, so I called them out and began to engage with them. One young bloke in particular stepped forward and joined in a back-and-forth with me. He told me he was really good and that he hadn’t done evil, so we tested that claim with Scripture. After the man realised he wasn’t good and that he deserves Hell, I explained the good news of Jesus. One of the amazing things about having an interaction is that it draws a crowd in to listen. At the end of the message, when the offer of a John’s Gospel was made, four people took a copy. The group of young men then spent time speaking with Julian, who made sure they heard the gospel again.
Another interesting encounter I had today was with a man who listened as Paul preached the gospel. After listening for several minutes, he began to walk away, so I offered him a tract and engaged in conversation. The man was mocking of the gospel as he professed atheism. From the beginning, I could tell this man looked down on us ‘uneducated types’. Since he was keen to proclaim his beliefs, I asked, “What is the best argument that convinced you of atheism?” The man paused, then stated there were too many to share; so, I asked for one knock-out punch argument that would destroy Christianity. The man considered the question, then said, “The issue of morality.” I wasn’t expecting that answer, as atheism cannot provide a solid foundation for morality.
The man made his case that morality is created by society, so God isn’t needed. I countered by asking what should be done if another society determined an evil action was acceptable – would we be justified in opposing them and trying to stop the evil? The man said we should stop evil, but by making that statement he revealed that his moral system wasn’t determined by society; rather, it was universal in nature. Since we were now dealing with an absolute and universal morality, I had to ask, “By what standard do we determine right and wrong?” The man couldn’t answer, so I explained that for there to be a universal moral law, there had to be a universal moral lawgiver – One who is outside of our creation. The man admitted he wasn’t sure how to answer, but before I could go any further, Bas began to preach on “Questions Atheists Can’t Answer.” The man looked at the board and said, “I need to leave!” With that, he shook my hand and took off. It was clear that this man’s atheism wasn’t an intellectual issue but rather a moral issue – he didn’t want to believe, and the reason for his unbelief is sin (John 3:19–20).
The outreach soon came to an end, but it was an encouraging time, seeing so many people out sharing the good news. Please pray for a harvest.
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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