Is God Doing Something in Portsmouth?
It should never surprise us to know that God is at work in the saving of souls and the building of His Church. Yet every now and then, you see something that makes you wonder, “Is God bringing His plans to pass?” Today, in Portsmouth, I couldn’t help but ask that very question. As two men professed faith in Jesus after hearing the gospel, and as new Christians shared their stories, I must conclude – the Lord is indeed doing something!
The weather for the outreach was perfect – sunny and pleasant. Portsmouth was quite busy, and soon people were taking tracts and hearing the good news of Jesus. After handing out tracts for a few minutes, I decided to preach. My first message was on “Steps to Peace with God.”
As I preached, some paused to listen. Then, at the end, when I offered copies of John’s Gospel to those who wanted to find out more, four people responded. What was truly encouraging was seeing team members quickly come alongside those individuals to speak with them further. Open-air preaching always benefits from that personal witness afterwards to drive home the gospel truth.
Throughout the outreach, we saw people from various backgrounds hear the gospel. Literature in English, Arabic, German, and French was distributed – and those receiving it seemed glad to have something in their own language.
Normally, I would have had Jim preach next, but he was busy helping a man who had heard me preach – the Lord had a different task for Jim today, so I proclaimed the good news again. This time I spoke on “Your Life.” After the message, one lady took a copy of John’s Gospel.
While I was preaching, I noticed several young men approach the literature table. Margaret quickly engaged them, and I could see that a conversation was taking place. Later, I was told that those young men were Irish gypsies/travellers. As Margaret shared the good news with them, one young man asked, “Could God ever accept and forgive a gypsy?” This was a deeply personal question for him – his people have faced rejection for generations, so it’s only natural he would wonder what God would do. Margaret shared the message of God’s love with him, and there at the table, he bowed his head and asked Jesus to rescue him.
Later, two friends of that young man returned. They told Margaret they are Christians and had been praying for their friend to be saved. Perhaps the Lord has answered their prayers! Due to the nomadic lifestyle of this people group, they often find it difficult to connect with churches, so we referred them to Grace Baptist Church while they are in Portsmouth.
While all this was happening, a young man spoke with Jyothi. He had grown up Roman Catholic, but only in recent months had he begun to take his religion seriously. It was clear he had been studying, and he quickly brought up standard Catholic arguments. He wanted to discuss transubstantiation, so I was brought into the conversation. We had a friendly chat, during which I used the Bible as the standard and challenged his beliefs. The man admitted I had asked good questions and that he needed to find answers. I gave him a tract designed for Roman Catholics, and he promised to be in touch.
As soon as that conversation concluded, I found myself speaking with a man who wanted a copy of the Old Testament but not the New Testament. He ranted that the New Testament was corrupt and rewrote the Old Testament. I challenged his assertions and pointed him to the gospel. The man expressed his hatred for Jesus, saying he’d rather be a Muslim than accept the New Testament. As the conversation progressed, he became more heated and eventually stormed off. It was clear his issue is with Jesus (John 3:19–20).
Back at the literature table, the Lord seemed to be at work again. An older gentleman stopped and spoke with Margaret. He told her he loved the Ten Commandments and believed he was good enough for Heaven. Margaret shared the truth with him and challenged him with the gospel. The man realised he wasn’t saved, despite having many Christian friends. There at the table, this older man prayed, asking Jesus to forgive him.
Shortly after this, a man passed by and told us that he had become a Christian last week (not through our outreach, but elsewhere). He is attending church and was excited about Jesus. We gave him a couple of discipleship booklets to help him grow in Christ.
Last week, we saw someone profess faith in Jesus in Portsmouth. Then we heard of another man who was saved after receiving a Bible. Are we seeing glimpses of a harvest? The Lord is clearly at work in this city – please join us in praying for many more to come to know Christ!
Jyothi told me she had an opportunity to speak with a college-aged young lady who shared that she had been brought up Christian but had since walked away. However, she now knows she needs to return to God. She took a Bible and some literature. Is the Lord at work?
After packing down, a man randomly stopped and told us he was saved and set free from drug addiction a couple of years ago. He joyfully shared what Christ has done in his life. He and his family had recently moved to Portsmouth but hadn’t yet found a church. Since he lives near Grace Baptist Church, we encouraged him to attend and said we would pass his contact details on to them for follow-up.
It was an amazing day! Surely, the Lord is at work in this city. Time will tell if we are seeing a harvest – we pray for the harvest to come in, and we look forward to the day when the Lord transforms Portsmouth by the power of His Word!
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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