Three Different Responses – Southampton Evangelism
It was a busy and productive day in Southampton. From the outset, people were stopping at the literature table to browse and ask questions. One lady told me she was planning to have her children baptised soon, but didn’t understand what it was all about. I used baptism as a way to share the gospel. The lady took a Bible and some gospel booklets.
Around this time, we encountered a worker from a company operating in the area that day. Over the course of the outreach, we met three workers from the same company, each giving a different response to the gospel.
The first worker spoke with Ben. He expressed an interest in the Bible and said he would collect one from us later in the day — and he did. After receiving his Bible, he thanked us, saying, “I’m not a Christian Catholic, I am a Roman Catholic, but I want to read the Bible.” This man was interested and open. That was the first response; the second was soon to come.
Ben was the first to preach for the day, speaking on the topic: “Who Can You Trust?” A second worker from the same company approached. He heckled a little, saying he couldn’t trust in Jesus because the facts about Him were written down. This man doubted and used the excuse that “you can’t trust anything on paper.” Ben did a good job dealing with him, but the man wasn’t interested in answers; he was more interested in telling us he was Welsh. This was the second response – unbelief.
I was next to preach. Today, I spoke on “Steps to Peace with God.” A few people listened, including a large Roman Catholic family. As I began to close the message, I issued a challenge: asking what stops people from trusting in Jesus. At that point, a man began to heckle. He declared, “I won’t trust in Jesus because of Israel and Catholics.” I asked, “Are you in Israel?” The man said, “No.” I followed up, “Are you Catholic?” Again, he answered in the negative. So I said, “If you’re not in Israel, and you’re not a Catholic, what is the real reason you won’t trust in Jesus?”
With that, the man began to rant against governments, Zionists, and the elite. In his mind, they were all corrupt and did evil things.
I answered the man from Psalm 2, showing that rulers must submit to King Jesus or face His judgement. The heckler had no issue with this, but he didn’t like it when I made it personal and applied the passage to him. He then tried to deflect by asking, “Isn’t it unfair to say there is only one Messiah? Why can’t there be many Messiahs?” I countered by asking, “How many kings are there in the UK?” The man said there was only one, so I asked, “Is that unfair?” He replied, “No, but when the king dies, another takes over.” I agreed, then pointed out that Jesus, the Messiah, died and rose again — and now lives forevermore. So, there is no need for other Messiahs because Jesus is alive!
The heckler was clearly looking for an escape at this point. He said, “When I meet Jesus, I’ll set Him straight. I’ll tell Him all the things He should do.” I quoted Philippians 2:11, showing that on that day all he will say is, “Jesus is Lord!” He didn’t like this, so I took him to John 3:19–20 to explain why he objected to Jesus so much. At this, he walked away. I summarised the gospel once more and offered copies of John’s Gospel to anyone interested. One lady took a copy, and later the Roman Catholic family visited the literature table and took more material.
It was now time for the third response. A third man from the same company had listened to the preaching and approached me when I finished. I asked what he thought, and he told me he didn’t like me talking about sin. In his view, the Bible was just a metaphor. He liked the concept of Jesus but considered the Bible to be purely naturalistic. I made an apologetic case for why the Bible is not metaphorical, and the man conceded some ground. But before I could go further, a cultural Christian interrupted, ranting about Islam. The worker quickly left — the third response: doubt and confusion. Three responses from three workers in the same company. All heard the gospel — perhaps the Lord will save all of them!
The cultural Christian liked me but hated Islam. As he spoke, it became clear he wasn’t a true believer, so I asked, “Have you ever repented and trusted in Jesus?” He said he hadn’t, so I showed him Luke 13:3, explaining that without repentance, he would perish. I stressed that he was no better than a Muslim — in fact, he might face harsher judgement, as he claimed to be a follower of Christ. He agreed that he needed to think more seriously about Jesus and took a gospel booklet.
Meanwhile, Jeremy was busy talking to people at the literature table, and Richard was seated on a bench sharing the good news with an older gentleman. Ben was also active, handing out tracts and pointing people to Jesus.
When Jeremy preached, he spoke on “Warning: Six Deadly Lies.” Two young men heckled. It was clear they were there to mock and enjoy their sin, but Jeremy handled them well. He explained the gospel clearly and later spoke with them after preaching.
Richard was the final preacher of the day. Using his well-worn message, “Life: What’s the Point?” he proclaimed Christ. As I stood listening, a young man stopped next to me. He began to laugh and said, “These preachers don’t know anything. I ask them questions they can never answer.” He clearly didn’t realise I was with the team (I must look like a sinner!), so I asked, “What’s the question?”
He replied, “I asked this question of a preacher the other day — he couldn’t answer, so he packed up and left. The question is: ‘Where did Cain get his wife?’”
I smiled. “That’s an easy one!” I then gave an apologetic answer to his question (click here for the answer). The man said, “I didn’t know that.” He gave me a fist bump, thanked me, took a tract, and went on his way.
It was a unique day, with many hearing the gospel. As I reflect on all that happened, I’m amazed at God’s grace and kindness. Please pray for all those who 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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