A Light in a Dark Nation – Southampton Evangelism

It has been a horribly dark week in the United Kingdom. A few days ago, Parliament voted to open the door to allow babies to be murdered up to the point of birth, and today they approved the state-sponsored killing of the sick, frail, and elderly. While these sins may be packaged with medical-sounding terms such as abortion and euthanasia, the reality is that these decisions are outward indicators that Great Britain has turned its back on God. Proverbs 8:36 tells us, “All those who hate me love death.” Truly, that is a word in season. The nation and its leaders hate God, and so they do not love life—instead, they love death.

Now, the question that must be asked is: What is the solution? The solution is that the people of this nation need to be made alive spiritually—they need to have their hearts changed. This transformation will not come through politics in Westminster, nor will it come through legislation. The only way the darkness will be pushed back is if the light of the gospel spreads and takes root in the lives of those who hear it.

This is why evangelism is vitally important; we must take the gospel to those who are perishing. I truly believe that one of the reasons our nation is in such a poor state today is because, for far too long, we have remained silent about the gospel. Instead of proclaiming the good news of Jesus, we have tried to win people over with gimmicks and entertainment. Others assume the gospel—they think people are saved simply because they profess Christianity. But when we assume the gospel, we lose the gospel, and we end up exactly where we are today.

But there is hope! The gospel is still the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), so today we went out to share that good news. As we set up in Southampton, we noticed more homeless people than usual; a few of them set up near the outreach, but they were friendly and polite. Team members were able to give them gospel tracts and share with them.

I was the first to preach and spoke on the topic, “How Can I Have Peace?” As I shared the gospel, I noticed a younger man listening very intently. Afterwards, I spoke with him, and he shared that his job involves travelling the world to write journals about different people he meets. He was intrigued by what made us so passionate that we would stand in the sun preaching the Bible. I was able to share the gospel with him and encouraged him to trust in Jesus.

While this was happening, Sarah was busy sharing the good news with a Roman Catholic lady who took a copy of John’s Gospel and a tract specifically written for Roman Catholics.

Next to preach was Jeremy, who proclaimed the good news from John 3:16. A Romanian young man listened to part of the preaching, then took a tract in his own language.

Over at the literature table, David was chatting with two ladies who professed to be Christians, but whose views seemed to be more moralistic. It was not clear whether they were trusting in Jesus, so he urged them to consider Christ.

Richard was next to preach. He spoke on “The Power of Words.” A young South African lady studying to be a doctor listened to the message and had a long conversation with Richard afterwards. She took a copy of John’s Gospel and an invite to a local church.

Around this time, a pastor from a large church in Los Angeles stopped to see what we were doing. He was in Southampton as he and his wife were due to go on a cruise. The pastor was greatly encouraged by the open-air outreach and asked many questions about how we operate. He gladly took literature explaining our work, along with details for online evangelism training. Before leaving, he prayed for us and again encouraged the gospel work.

As the outreach began to draw to a close, Ben preached on God’s Word being true—whether you believe it or not. A gentleman listened and later spoke with Ben.

To conclude the outreach, I spoke on “Death: Is it the End?” A couple of people listened, and a young lad responded when the offer of a free copy of John’s Gospel was extended.

The nation may be dark, but the light of the gospel was shining in Southampton. If we want to see this land turn around, then let us carry the light into our cities and villages. No longer wait for people to come to us—we must go to them. Please prayerfully consider how you can be more active in sharing the good news. If you need help with evangelism or would like to talk about becoming more involved in outreach, please contact me. I would be happy to help where I can.

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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