Numerous Gospel Conversations in Portsmouth
It was a lovely sunny day in Portsmouth; even though the wind made it slightly chilly, the good weather still put people in a happy mood, and many were willing to speak about the Lord Jesus.
We had a delayed start to the preaching today, as another preacher was in the area when we arrived. We let him finish preaching before we started, as we didn’t want to interfere with the gospel work he was doing.
While the other preacher spoke, we focused on handing out tracts and speaking with people about Christ. As I handed out the tract, “Did You Know Jesus is Alive?”, a man stopped and began to rant, “God isn’t real! If He is real, tell me, what is His name?” I replied, “His name is Jesus!” That was like a red rag to a bull. The man began to rant and rave, yelling, “It isn’t Jesus!” Clearly, the name of Christ is powerful. As the man walked away shouting against Christ, other people who had heard came over to take tracts. What he meant for evil, the Lord used for good.
When we aren’t using the open-air board for preaching, we try to have a Bible verse displayed for people to read. Since we are coming into Easter, we had 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 on the board. A lady and her son, walking past, stopped to read the verse and then became excited. She told me how wonderful it was to hear about Jesus in the streets, as she has recently been getting into Christianity (she said she has become obsessed with it).
She took a tract and shared that she is looking for a good church that believes the Bible. When she told me where she lived, I was able to point her to Grace Baptist Church and then introduce her to Jim, who is a member of that church. The lady was so excited, saying she would be attending on Sunday. She gave Jim a big hug and left, saying, “Thank you so much!”
It seemed like today was going to be a day full of conversations. Team members were all busy speaking with people, with many being open to hearing the good news. One man I spoke with shared that he was just out of jail and was struggling. I was able to share a few words with him, and then I introduced him to Jim, who was able to pray for the man and offer directions for practical help. The young man took a copy of the New Testament and a few booklets. He had been attending chapel in prison and was still keen to learn more about Christ.
Another person I spoke with was a lady in her 70s. She told me she was formerly a Roman Catholic, but for the past 38 years she has been a Jehovah’s Witness. She was polite, friendly, and open to talking. Sadly, she has no concept of the gospel or of who the biblical Jesus is. We discussed several passages of Scripture, and she was very willing to listen and learn. At the end of our chat, she took two booklets and said she would be back next week to continue the discussion. One of the reasons she stopped was because she had previously seen us in Portsmouth. This shows the importance of establishing a regular open-air outreach location.
As I spoke with the lady, Jim began to preach. He spoke about the transformation and freedom Christ brings. He stressed that Jesus went to the cross on behalf of sinners, and he joyfully proclaimed the Saviour. A few people sat listening, with a couple taking material afterwards.
One of those who had listened was a Romanian lady, who told me she is a Christian because she is from Romania. We had a friendly gospel conversation, and she took several booklets, including a couple that focused on the need to be truly saved.
Jyothi also spoke to a young man who had listened to some of the preaching. He attends the Roman Catholic cathedral, so Jyothi pointed him to biblical teaching and gave him a copy of the booklet, “Near to God.”
Finally, after all the conversations, I was able to preach. Today I spoke on “The Message of the Cross.” A few people sat to listen, with two taking copies of John’s Gospel.
As the outreach began to draw to an end, we saw God’s providence on display. Jyothi ended up in a conversation with a Hindu lady from the same city she is from in India. It turned out that the Hindu lady had been witnessed to by her friend, but she had not been open. Jyothi was able to share her testimony of how she went from Hinduism to Christ. The lady seemed quite interested and said she would think further about it.
It was a joyful time on the streets of Portsmouth; it is always a blessing to speak to so many people about the risen Saviour. Please pray for all who heard.
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.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAGAZINE AND PRAYER NOTES