Yorkshire Outreach – Day 2: Huddersfield

Day two of The Open-Air Mission Yorkshire team event had us heading up the road to Huddersfield. This location is much quieter than Leeds and also lower on a socio-economic scale. That being said, it turned out to be a good place to speak with people about the Lord Jesus.

So much happened today amongst the team, but as with yesterday, I can’t tell their stories. Instead, I can only share some of what I was directly involved in.

Taking the theme “The Message of the Cross”, I was the second preacher of the day. There wasn’t too much engagement, but a few people seemed to listen while sitting. At the end of the message, two people took copies of John’s Gospel.

While the rest of the team continued sharing the gospel, I took a short lunch break. Next to where we were preaching, there was a traditional fish and chip shop. The smell drew me in, so I headed there for lunch. The shop was run by several Muslims, so I shared with them what we were doing near their shop and commended them on the quality of their food. This opened up a good opportunity to share the gospel, and they took some tracts. They continued to be friendly throughout the rest of the day.

As one of our team members preached, I noticed a man listening, shaking his head, then walking away. As he left, I asked him, “What did you think about the preaching?” The man wanted to talk, so we sat down and began a long conversation. 

He shared with me that he grew up going to church and Sunday school, but had since walked away from it all. Since then, he has been in and out of jail, and even this morning he had just been released from the police station.

We went down a few rabbit trails, but the conversation kept coming back to Jesus. By the end of it, he took a tract and downloaded the Bible onto his phone.

Another conversation I was involved in actually started when Dave engaged a Muslim man. Eventually, I was brought into the discussion. The man was very friendly and open to talking. He struggled with the deity of Christ, although he believed Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Bible.

After a bit of back and forth, the man listened to the good news and took a copy of John’s Gospel. As he received the Scriptures, he admitted he needed to consider what Jesus said about Himself.

The final chat I had was as we walked back to our cars. A young Muslim man in traditional garb was stopping people and asking if he could share a message with them. He would then launch into a two-minute monologue about Islam. I agreed to listen if I could ask him questions, and he agreed.

After hearing his presentation, I simply asked him, “How do you know that’s true?” The man pointed to the Qur’an, so I asked, “How do you know the Qur’an is true?” He replied by saying it is true because the Qur’an says it is true.

I challenged him with what the Qur’an says and pointed him to the Jesus of the Bible. The man admitted he didn’t really know the Qur’an, nor how to answer, so I urged him to look to the Jesus of the Bible. The conversation ended abruptly as he said, “Have a good day. Please leave now.” I hope this brief conversation makes him consider the truth.

It was an enjoyable day in Huddersfield. Please 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.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAGAZINE AND PRAYER NOTES