Much Gospel Engagement in Portsmouth

The weather was on and off again in Portsmouth. One minute it was fine, and then a gentle rain began to fall. I had mixed feelings about the rain. On the one hand, it made the outreach harder, but on the other hand, we really need the rain due to the drought. The Lord knows what He is doing, so He gave us a bit of time in the rain, while the remainder of the outreach stayed dry.

The outreach got off to a lively start as a homeless man, who is ‘alternative’ in his views, was nearby. I spoke to him, explained who we are, and offered to buy him lunch. He refused, as he was fasting. He then demanded that we not preach. I couldn’t agree with his request. A few minutes later, he was ranting at us, claiming that we were raising money for Israeli bullets to kill people and that we support genocide. He couldn’t be engaged with, but thankfully, he did walk away.

Around this time, a man whom I spoke to several months ago stopped to talk. When I last saw him, he wanted a Children’s Bible for his daughter. I didn’t have one on me, so he gave me his address, and we happily sent him one. He stopped to thank us for the gift, as it has been helpful for his daughter. Please pray that this young lady would come to know the Lord Jesus.

Jim started off the preaching by speaking about the cross of Jesus. Not long into his message, a man walking by took issue with the preaching. He began to rant that he wasn’t a sinner and that the Bible was wrong. The man was irrational, merely making assertions without engaging with what was being said.

As the man ranted, a lady and her young daughter stopped at the literature table. They were dismayed by the conduct of the heckler, which made them more open to hearing what we were doing. The lady told the heckler to watch his language, as there were children about, a request he wasn’t overly happy about.

The young girl asked if she could have a Bible and colouring book, and we happily gave her one of each. She then went up to Jim while he was preaching to say thank you and give him a hug. In the midst of the hostile heckling, there was this sweet moment.

The heckler then spoke to me, and I challenged his arguments. He walked away, saying he’d be back next week with answers. About ten minutes later, he returned. He still didn’t have answers but wanted to continue the conversation. Eventually, a member of the public stepped in and told the man to leave. The heckler complied. We are thankful for that man protecting our freedom and peace.

Back over at the literature table, a young man stopped to talk. His mother is training to become a Church of England vicar, and he is interested in religious philosophy. We had a nice chat, and he took several apologetic booklets.

It was now time for me to preach, so I spoke on the ‘Three S’s’. There was some good interaction, including with a nineteen-year-old man who was very open. He had little biblical knowledge and no idea how to be forgiven. We went through the gospel with him. At the end of the open-air, nine of those who had been listening requested copies of John’s Gospel.

Between the preaching, we spent time handing out tracts and chatting to people. Team members were kept busy engaging with people who were interested in learning more about Christ.

For the final open-air, I preached on ‘God is Love’. A few people listened, with five requesting copies of John’s Gospel at the end.

As we packed down for the day, a man from a local evangelical church came to speak with me. He shared that a friend of his, who had been closed to the gospel, listened to me preach in Southampton. The message impacted him, and he is now very open to talking to his friend about Christ. The local Christian is busy sharing the good news with him and urging his friend to trust in the Saviour! We never know how the Lord will work in the open-air.

It was an encouraging day in Portsmouth. 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