“You’re Here for Me!” – Southampton Evangelism
The summer holidays have begun, so the city centre of Southampton was buzzing with people. Even while we were setting up, gospel conversations began. One lady just started chatting with us, sharing how she is from Wales. Since Mike used to live in Wales, he was able to relate and share the good news. Then another lady stopped to ask Ben for advice, so he told her about Jesus, and she took an invitation to church. Before we’d even properly started the outreach, the good news was already spreading.
Today kept me quite busy. I didn’t get to hear much of the open-air preaching, as most of my time was spent talking with different people. Not all the conversations were deep and meaningful, but all contained gospel truth.
As Richard preached on “The Power of Words”, I found myself talking with two young ladies who wanted to study the Bible. They were asking good questions and were eager to learn more about God. I was able to share with them and gave both some booklets and a Bible to help them discover Jesus.
When I finished speaking with the ladies, a man stopped at the table. He asked for a Bible, as he’d like to read it cover to cover. I had no objections, so I gave him one and chatted briefly. He then spoke with Ben and eventually went to listen to Richard preach.
Around this time, a father stopped with his three sons. He had questions relating to science and the Bible. We had several booklets on this topic on the table, so he took three different titles. All the sons thanked me for the books and promised they’d read them.
At this stage, a lady came up to the table looking very emotional. She said, “Last night, I started to think about God and realised I needed to learn more about Him. So I decided to get a Bible, but I didn’t know where to get one—then I saw you. You’re here for me!” As she spoke, her eyes began to fill with tears. She took a copy of God’s Word and a tract.
As Mike was preparing to preach on “Where Are They Now?”, an older man looked at the open-air board and scoffed. I offered him a tract with the question on it: “Is there life after death?” The man said he was going to Heaven because he is a ‘good boy’. I replied, “What would you say if I told you Jesus said, ‘There are no good boys’? Who is right—you or Jesus?” The man said both he and Jesus would be right, which opened up the conversation.
I was able to challenge the man and share the gospel with him, but he chose to reject it. He told me, “I know what you say is true, but my TV and football are more important.” With that, he walked away.
Mike was now preaching, and three young men were listening and engaging with the message. All three took copies of John’s Gospel, and the interaction helped draw others in to listen.
One man who was listening to Mike began to move away, so I offered him an “Is there life after death?” tract. He took it, then answered the question: “Yes, I believe in reincarnation.” I asked what he believed he’d come back as, and he said he would certainly return as a human. I challenged him by asking, “Why would you come back as a human and not an antelope?” The man replied, “Because I’m a good person.” This is a common answer among those who believe in reincarnation, so I asked, “Who judges if you’ve been good enough, and who determines what you come back as?” The man paused and said he didn’t know—he mumbled something about maybe the universe deciding. He then asked me, “What do you believe?” This allowed me to share the gospel, but he wasn’t keen on my answer. However, later when Ben was preaching on “Who Can You Trust?”, the man did come back to listen.
After Ben finished preaching, Jeremy spoke on “The Message of the Cross”. One man who walked by shook his head, saying Jeremy was crazy. I engaged him, asking why he thought Jeremy was nuts. The man gave a vague response, so I asked, “Is it possible Jeremy isn’t crazy, but rather loves you and wants you to know the truth?” The man acknowledged that might be a possibility, then started to share how he has a medical condition in his brain which could kill him at any time. I asked if he was ready to meet God, to which he replied, “I don’t believe in God!” I responded, “Well, we know who the crazy person is—the Bible says, ‘Prepare to meet your God!’ (Amos 4:12).” The man engaged a bit further but eventually walked away in unbelief.
It was now my turn to preach (I was the last preacher of the day), so I decided to speak on “How Can You Be Sure You’ll Go to Heaven?” A few people listened, including one man who received a copy of John’s Gospel, and another who went to the table to take a New Testament.
It was a busy couple of hours in Southampton. It was really encouraging to see so many people engaging with the gospel and hearing about Jesus. 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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