Showers of Blessings – Southampton Evangelism
The weather forecast looked grim. A weather warning was in place for heavy rain across the Southampton area. After considering the situation, we decided to head out onto the streets anyway; I figured that if it did rain, we could hand out tracts and chat with people in the undercover areas.
When we arrived, the city centre was packed! People from all walks of life were enjoying not the rain, but the sunshine. The weather proved to be very changeable today. We did get a little rain, but these were only light showers. Instead of heavy rain, we saw showers of blessing! The Lord did more than I expected today.
After we had set everything up, Richard commenced the preaching by speaking on “Life: What’s the Point?” A few people listened to parts of his message before heading over to the literature table. Throughout the outreach, many stopped to request copies of God’s Word or to take different booklets answering questions they had.
When Richard had finished preaching, I began to speak. My first message was on “Wages or Gift?” In this talk, I used Romans 6:23 to illustrate what we are all earning because of our sin, and then I pointed to the free gift offered to us by God. As I preached, a group of young ladies stopped to listen. I engaged them, and they were happy to answer my questions. As we looked at the issue of sin, they admitted to breaking God’s Law, and as they spoke, one of them pulled out a cross that she was wearing. This proved to be a helpful tool in explaining the good news.
At the end of my message, four of the young ladies took copies of John’s Gospel, and so did two others who had been listening.
Next up to preach was Ben, who spoke on our greatest problem. He outlined a few issues humanity faces, but then he turned to the biggest one – the fact that we are perishing because of sin. It was a good message that clearly explained both the problem and the solution.
We were joined today by Colin from Bournemouth. I had met him a couple of weeks ago at the Weymouth beach mission, so it was good to have him with us for the outreach. When he went to preach, he had planned to use the message “Warning: Six Deadly Lies,” but before he could get to it, he was engaged by a young man who had only recently been released from prison.
Colin went back and forth with this young man, explaining the gospel and urging him to trust in the Saviour. The young man took a Gospel and was also given details of a local church.
Time passed quickly, and it was soon approaching the end of the outreach, but before we finished, I wanted to preach once more. This time I spoke on “Warning: Six Deadly Lies.” A few people stopped to listen, including two young ladies who had already spoken to Ben. They listened to the entire message, and afterwards they spoke with Richard. When the offer of John’s Gospel was extended, six people responded.
Indeed, we were showered with blessings today. The Lord was at work, and He allowed His Word to spread. Would you please take a few moments right now to 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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