Constant Conversations – Portsmouth Evangelism
No two days of open-air evangelism are ever the same. I headed out onto the streets of Portsmouth with one idea of how the day would unfold, but the Lord had other plans.
Initially, there were only two of us out witnessing—just me and my son, Thomas. For the first forty-five minutes, we held the fort while waiting for team members to arrive. During this time, we were able to hand out numerous tracts and chat with people about the Lord Jesus.
The first conversation I had was with a lady who had been raised as a Roman Catholic. She took a tract from me, then began to share how she had always wanted to read the Bible. I walked her over to the literature table and gladly gave her a copy. As we chatted, I was able to speak to her about the gospel, and she took several other Christian booklets.
As that conversation ended, a man stood nearby shaking his head and tutting. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise this man wanted to argue. He walked straight up to me and said, “All this is a waste of time. There is no knowledge in the Bible; it is all wrong, as it is written by men. All I need is my own thinking—my mind gives me the truth.”
I smiled, then asked, “Have you ever had wrong thoughts, or got something incorrect?” The man admitted his thinking wasn’t always accurate, so I asked, “How then do you know your mind is the source of truth?” He paused, then said, “I may be wrong. But I know the Bible isn’t right!” I had to ask him, “Have you ever read the Bible?” The man honestly answered that he had never read the Scriptures. This revealed the folly of his position. He outright rejected something without ever considering it for himself. He had no interest in biblical truth; he was full of his own pride and rejected everything that didn’t originate from him. I did sting him with the gospel as he left, but he laughed and walked away.
By now, it felt like I was going from one conversation to another. I then found myself speaking with a young lady who had come from an Islamic background. She shared with me that her father was a super-strict and conservative Muslim, but she liked to ask questions. She told me that she once asked her dad why he rejected Christianity, but he could never give an informed answer. This caused his daughter to start to think and wonder.
When she went off to university, she quickly discovered a wide world of thoughts and opinions, so she began to move away from Islam. Now, she was talking to me on the streets, unsure of what she believed—but, as she said, she wanted to learn.
She asked if she could have a Bible, so we gladly gave her a copy. I explained to her the central message of Scripture, then shared the gospel. She listened, then took several other in-depth booklets. I encouraged her to keep asking questions—but also to seek answers.
By now, three other team members had arrived, so I thought it would be a good time to preach. As I prepared for my open-air, I was brought into a conversation that Persis was having with a young lady.
This young lady shared how she was formerly an atheist and a witch. It was through seeing evil in the world that she came to believe there must be a Moral Lawgiver to determine right and wrong. Her atheism quickly disappeared as she began her journey to discover the truth. Sadly, along the way, she encountered the Jehovah’s Witnesses and began studying with them.
She is still learning with them but had questions. She asked me directly what I thought about the Watchtower, so I answered honestly. We then had a long conversation about the person and work of Jesus, and the gospel.
As we spoke, I showed her several verses proving the deity of Christ, and how the gospel is received by faith in Jesus. She admitted these verses were difficult for her and said she’d like to study more. After chatting for a while, she took booklets explaining the deity of Jesus and the Trinity. I also gave her a tract written specifically for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I noticed the other team members were all busy speaking with people, but again—before I could preach—I found myself in another conversation, this time with a Muslim couple from Bangladesh. They were both intrigued by Jesus, so they took a copy of John’s Gospel and some booklets.
Finally, it came time for me to preach. The clock struck 1pm when I began to proclaim the good news in public. A few people paused to listen, but there wasn’t too much interaction. However, five people did receive copies of John’s Gospel at the end of the message.
It was a busy and constant day in Portsmouth. So many conversations took place, and many tracts were handed out. 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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