A Jew Considers Jesus - Southampton Evangelism
We were back out in the city centre of Southampton today, sharing the Good News. The weather was nice, and it was busy.
After setting up the open-air board and the literature table, the preaching commenced. I was the first preacher for the day. My message this afternoon was on “The Origin of Evil”. Using the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I spoke about the evil in the world. Then, taking Mark 7:21–23, I explained the source and solution to evil. A few people listened, with two receiving a copy of John’s Gospel at the end.
Before I preached, I had spoken briefly with a man who heard my Australian accent. We had a friendly chat, and he shared that he formerly went to church but had given up on all religion. The chat didn’t progress into the Gospel; it was more just a brief conversation. That man, however, stayed around to listen to the preaching.
After the message, he came to speak with me again. This time, he shared that the message had really impacted him and that he had taken a copy of the New Testament from the literature table. He said the message had caused him to consider the Bible again; then he said, “But I’m Jewish!” He explained a little about his heritage, and it seems that his Jewish heritage was almost like a barrier preventing him from seriously considering Christ.
I assured the man of God’s love for the Jewish people and spoke about how Jesus was a Jew. The man was intrigued and took a copy of the tract, “Stop: Who Do You Think That I Am?”, which explains from Scripture who Jesus is.
Please pray this Jewish man will be found by the Messiah.
While all this was happening, team members were busy handing out tracts and speaking with people. Both Jeremy and Zoe were in long conversations with different people. Mike, Nigel, Ben, and David were all kept busy too.
Next up to preach was Mike Mellor, who spoke on “Where Are They Now?” Using the deaths of different well-known people, he encouraged people to consider their own mortality. At the end of his message, three people had received copies of John’s Gospel.
Jeremy was the next preacher. I didn’t hear much of his message, as I had to attend to something. But his message was on “The Message of the Cross”. From what I was told, and I’m confident it was, the Good News was very clearly and lovingly explained.
Around this time, a Christian from a local evangelical church stopped to talk. She was very encouraged by the outreach and assured us of her prayers. She said she’d also be speaking with her pastors, asking about how they can get involved with evangelism.
We had numerous preachers today, with the next one being Ben. He preached on “What’s Gone Wrong with the World?” He did a good job showing different issues, then pointing to the only Saviour.
Once Ben was done, David got up to preach. He spoke about the value of the soul and how it would be reckless not to consider eternity. It was a clear and precise Gospel message.
Now it was all back to me. We had a few minutes left, so I thought I’d preach once more. This time, I spoke on “Hope for a Broken World”. A few seemed to listen, with one person receiving a copy of John’s Gospel at the end.
It was an enjoyable time of ministry in Southampton. Please pray that the Lord would save many.
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