Former Muslim Seeks the God Who Loves – Southampton Evangelism
The weather was horrid today; one minute it was sunny, then it was wet, windy and cold. Every five minutes, the seasons changed! Thankfully, we were able to set up under cover in front of a closed shop. Shortly after setting up, the gospel conversations began.
On the open-air board, I have a Scripture verse. A lady walking past stopped, read the Scripture, then began to chat. The lady wanted to know what religion I am, so I told her I am a biblical Christian in the Protestant tradition. She then told me something that is very dangerous. She said, “I was a Muslim, but I have left Islam due to their treatment of women. My family doesn’t know!”
I asked her about her religious beliefs now, and she told me she still believes God is there, but thinks that if God is real, then He would need to be loving. She had come from a religious background without love, so she longed to know the One who is love. I smiled and said, “Well, I’ve got some good news. The Bible tells us God is love, and He loves the world.”
The lady listened to the gospel, then asked lots of questions about the Trinity. It was an enjoyable chat. At the end, I gave her a copy of John’s Gospel in Arabic, and she asked if it would be possible to get a full Arabic Bible. I didn’t have one on me, but she gave me her address, so I promised to send her one. It was then I discovered she lives near a good evangelical church, so I invited her to attend and even offered to meet her there. She took my number and said she’d be in touch. Please pray the Lord would reveal His love to her.
During this time, other team members were busy speaking with people. Jeremy had spoken to several who were all interested in hearing the gospel and who received prayer. Nigel spoke with an older man, an atheist, who keeps coming back to listen; the man is stubborn, but he keeps hearing more about Christ.
Mike commenced the preaching by speaking on “Life: What’s the Point?” The rain started to fall again as he preached, so that made things a little more challenging.
When it was my turn to preach, I had sunshine, which quickly turned into grey clouds. I preached on “God is Love”. One man listened to the entire message, saying he enjoyed it. I was also heckled by two men who claimed to be atheists and accused me of being brainwashed. I tried to reason with them, but they were convinced that aliens made everything. It just goes to show people will believe anything as long as it isn’t in the Bible! At the end of the message, three people took Gospels, one took a Bible, and an Indian Hindu received a tract in Hindi.
Ben preached next. He spoke on “What People Often Say to Us”. He did a good job and even had an Australian, who is in the UK on holiday, stand to listen. Then, to finish the outreach, Jeremy preached on “Warning: Six Deadly Lies”. As he preached, the rain began to tumble down heavily. It made preaching a great challenge, but still a couple listened.
It was a wet day, but still very productive. 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