Good News in Winchester!
Five of us gathered to share the good news in the ancient city of Winchester. The weather, while cool, was clear and sunny – perfect for evangelism. This city is one of the hardest locations in which I evangelise, yet we press on with the gospel, knowing that God’s grace is more than sufficient to break up even the hardest of ground.
Before the preaching commenced, we focused on handing out tracts. I gave out one called “Will You Consider Jesus?” to an older man who was passing by. He stopped, read the tract, then handed it back to me. He told me he attends a Church of England church, and that was good enough. He explained that he is there every Sunday, so surely that will get him to Heaven. I explained that religion won’t save anyone; rather, Christ is needed. The man just shook his head and sadly wandered off, holding on to his dead religious works.
Colin was the first to preach. As he spoke, a man sitting behind him began to shout abuse and curse. Colin kept on preaching, explaining that Christ isn’t just for Christmas, but that He is relevant all year long. Eventually, the shouty man came over, but instead of going to Colin, he came to me!
The man was calmer now, and he wanted me to hear his views. It turns out he held to Egyptian paganism and served the false god Ra. I tried to reason with the man, but he wouldn’t listen. He was very mixed up and closed to the truth.
Around this time, an older gentleman stopped at the literature table and was very excited. I went across to speak with him, and he began to point at the John Blanchard booklets we had on the table. The man told me he was a retired pastor and was personal friends with Blanchard. He also mentioned sitting under Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel. The retired pastor was very encouraged and excited to see the outreach. He took our details and said he would be speaking to the local evangelical ministers to see how more people could support the evangelistic work.
When it came time for me to preach, I spoke on “Have You Heard the Good News?” Using 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, I explained the ‘Who’, ‘Why’, and ‘What’ of the gospel. One man listened to the entire message. Afterwards, he shared with a team member that he had been thinking about Christian things, and the message helped him.
Another man then stopped to read the message I had on the open-air board. He turned to Colin, asking why and when he came to believe. A good conversation about the Lord soon followed.
For the final open-air, Colin preached on the free gift of God and the invitation to come to Christ. He had good interaction with a young man who said he’d love to abolish addiction. Colin took this statement and asked the young man how he would abolish sin. He then went on to talk about how religion can’t save, and only Christ can make someone free.
One lady who listened spoke with me. She said how much she loved the preaching, then told me she attends a local church. She also shared that she struggles to read, so listening to preaching really helps her. She struggled to fully understand the gospel, so I briefly shared it with her, then gave her three CDs we produce as a ministry. She was excited to get home to listen to the teaching.
Little by little, the hard ground is being ploughed up in Winchester. Please pray that the seed of the gospel would take root, and that many would be saved.
SDG!
_____
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.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAGAZINE AND PRAYER NOTES