“Why Did My Baby Daughter Die?” – Salisbury Evangelism
Things were a little different today, as half of our team was helping at an outreach in Devizes, while the rest of us ministered in our usual location in Salisbury. Seven of us came together to share the good news. Out of all my times in this city, I think today was probably the most receptive we’ve seen it.
As we set up the literature table, a lady came past on a bicycle; she stopped and began to share how she was a Christian but had gone back to the world. She told us of different sins she had committed, but then explained how much she hated sin and was being convicted by the Holy Spirit. I shared with her from 1 John 2:1–2, explaining that Jesus is more than sufficient to forgive our sins. She took some material and asked us to pray for her (which we did). We were also able to refer her to a local church.
When the preaching commenced, I used a new message which I’d never preached before. In this talk, I used 1 Corinthians 15:3 to explain the “Three S’s of Salvation.” A couple of people paused to listen, including two men who were very antagonistic towards the message. They didn’t heckle me, but they did engage Nigel in discussion.
We were blessed to have Paul Adams of Open Air Campaigners USA join us for the outreach. He did a great job preaching on “Warning: Six Deadly Lies.” As he unpacked each lie, a few people listened, including a couple of men who heckled. The heckling wasn’t the best, but it did help draw attention to the message.
When one of the hecklers went to walk away, I engaged him in conversation. He took a tract but told me he strongly disagreed with everything that was being said. He didn’t have a reason why he didn’t believe; he just didn’t want to believe.
The other man who heckled also spoke with me. He was much more willing to engage, but he told me straight out that God doesn’t exist. I asked him why he believed that, and he shared about an emotional trauma he had gone through. His baby girl had died just a few days after birth; as his eyes welled up, he said, “Why did my baby daughter die?” Some people ask questions about suffering simply to argue, but this man wasn’t like that; he was hurting. His pain had driven him to the bottle and to deny God’s existence.
Before addressing the issue of suffering, I had to respond to his atheistic objections. The man told me he had once worked as a security guard at Stonehenge, so I asked him, “When you looked at those big rocks, how do you know someone put them there in that shape?” He replied, “Because they are ordered; someone had to make it that way.” Using the complexity of our bodies, I showed him that he was far more ordered than a few stones. He agreed, saying, “I see your point; someone had to put me together.”
When he said this, I told him, “You’re not really an atheist; you know God is there, but you just want to deny Him because of your pain. Is that correct?” The man agreed – the issue here was pain, not atheism. We then moved on to discuss why there is suffering in the world, and how humanity has corrupted everything. Afterwards, we talked about the gospel and God’s love for sinful humanity.
By this stage of the conversation, the man was completely different. He had softened and was open. I was able to give him the booklet “Why All the Suffering?” and a tract. He gladly received them and shook my hand, saying, “Thank you for talking with me.”
Next up to preach was Tony, who spoke on John 14:1–6. He did a fine job explaining how Jesus alone offers hope. After Tony, Colin preached. As he spoke, a former Roman Catholic young man became very aggressive. At one point, I thought Colin might get hit, but eventually the man walked away. Colin tried to reason with him, but he wasn’t interested.
Another couple of hecklers went past as Colin spoke, one of whom said he wasn’t interested in anything being said, though later in the outreach he returned to have a long discussion with Paul and Colin.
It was good to see team members having many conversations with different people. Sometimes Salisbury can be really hard, but today there seemed to be an openness.
As the outreach drew to a close, I preached once more. This time, I spoke on “The Origins of Evil.” As soon as I finished, the angry Roman Catholic young man came back. He was less aggressive with me, but he was full of bravado, boasting about his sin and what he’d do in Hell. It turned out his two brothers had recently committed suicide, so his pain was driving much of his anger. We kept the discussion focused on the gospel, and on how this young man could have his sins forgiven. Eventually, he walked away.
Today reminded me that there are many hurting people in the world, all of whom need to hear the message of hope found in Jesus Christ. Please pray for all those who heard the gospel.
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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