Science, the Cross, a Riddle, and the Way to Heaven – Southampton Evangelism

The sun was shining, it was warm, but not too hot, so the city centre of Southampton was busy. This city has a rich Christian heritage, including being the birthplace of the great hymn writer Isaac Watts, but sadly, good biblical teaching isn’t as common as it once was. Many people wander through Southampton not knowing about the God who made them, nor what Christ has done for sinners. Little by little, we seek to change that. We want to see the entire city reached with the good news.

Being a maritime city, we often have people from all around the world arriving on cruise ships. Today, a Christian couple from Ontario, Canada, stopped to talk. They were greatly encouraged by the witness and said they would be praying for us. One of our goals is not just to reach the lost, but also to inspire more Christians to share the gospel.

The preaching commenced with Ben speaking on the topic, "Has Science Disproved the Bible?" He did a great job challenging the fallacy of atheistic evolution and showing why there must be a Creator. He also exhorted people to come to Jesus, the One who created all things.

Next up was Jeremy, who spoke on "The Message of the Cross". Not long after he began preaching, a man started to heckle. He wasn’t one of those loud hecklers who draw a crowd; instead, he simply asked questions in a quiet tone. His first question was whether the Bible was just a metaphor. He then asked how we got the New Testament, and finally, he wanted to know why churches kept asking for money. Jeremy did a great job answering his questions and bringing the conversation back to the gospel. Afterwards, the man took a copy of John's Gospel and had a good conversation with Jeremy.

Throughout the day, a number of gospel conversations took place, and numerous tracts were distributed. The literature table was also busy, with people stopping to browse the material. Ben had a good conversation with a lady who, after hearing the gospel, was referred to a local church, and Jeremy spoke with a group of young people.

Today, we also did something a little different. Since Paul Adams from Open-Air Campaigners USA is with us, we decided to modify my open-air board into a sketchboard so he could paint while sharing the gospel. Speaking on the subject, "Solve This Riddle", he engaged those listening and clearly presented the gospel. Three young ladies who listened took copies of John's Gospel at the end.

I was the final preacher of the day. I spoke on "The Way to Heaven". At the end of the message, two ladies took copies of John's Gospel.

Time seemed to pass more quickly today because we were kept busy. Please pray that many people in this city will come to know Jesus.

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