“Why do I need to believe in Jesus?” – Reading Evangelism
The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day in Reading; the sun was shining, and people were out and about in the town centre. After setting everything up, we prayed as a team and then began engaging people with the good news. The literature table quickly attracted attention, and tracts were being handed out. All around, team members were speaking to people about Jesus.
Bill was the first to preach today; he spoke on “Why Was Jesus Crucified?” As he explained the gospel, a woman walked past, shouting abuse. She claimed that Jesus was an illegitimate child but didn’t want to engage with Bill beyond that point. However, her outburst caused others to pause and listen.
One man who had been listening walked away shaking his head, so I offered him a tract and asked what he thought. He replied, “It’s all rubbish!” He then launched into a diatribe, claiming that Jesus never existed and that the whole story is a myth. This is a very foolish and non-academic argument, so I responded with an apologetic demonstrating the historical existence of Jesus. The man changed his tone but then said that Jesus should have come from West Africa (where the man was from) and that He shouldn’t have been white. I pointed out that Jesus lived in the Middle East and wouldn’t have been white.
The man then asked one of the best questions: “Why do I need to believe in Jesus?” This provided a perfect opportunity to explain the Gospel. I spoke about our fallenness and sin, then explained the just punishment for sin. Once the man grasped this truth, I pointed him to the cross and spoke of Jesus. He listened as I shared about the resurrection and the need to repent and believe. Although he said he didn’t believe what I was saying, he admitted it had made him think. He took a copy of John’s Gospel, saying he would read it to see if it was true.
While I was still in conversation, Trevor began to preach. He did a great job explaining who Jesus is and emphasising the fact that Christ is knowable. He clearly presented the good news and called on people to repent and trust in Him.
At the same time, we saw God’s providence at work. Richard ended up speaking with a man who lives and works in the same part of London as he does. The man was friendly and open, though he admitted he hadn’t thought much about Jesus. After chatting with Richard, he took a copy of John’s Gospel.
It was then my turn to preach, and I spoke on “Steps to Peace with God.” There was little meaningful engagement, although a few people walked past calling me names. One man walked by holding his young child in his arms; as he did, he hurled abuse and made several rude hand gestures. He openly mocked God, so I decided to challenge him by warning that God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7), and that while he may laugh at God now, one day God will laugh at him (Proverbs 1:26).
A Roman Catholic man also paused to listen to the preaching and had a good conversation with Bill afterwards.
We had two more preachers to finish off the outreach. First was Rich, who used his testimony to preach the Gospel. As he spoke, he urged people to read the Bible for themselves. Then Bill preached again, this time using the board to speak on “The Greatest Appointment of Your Life.” Two very different preaching styles, but the same good news. Both preached very well.
It was an enjoyable couple of hours in Reading. Lots of literature was taken from the table, and many heard the good news. Please pray for all those who heard about Jesus.
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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