Irish Catholics, Muslims, and Christians All Hear the Truth in Southampton
It was good to get back to Southampton after being away for ministry elsewhere. There is something nice about being on your home patch, as you get to speak with the same people again and keep sowing gospel seeds into ploughed ground.
The first forty minutes of today’s outreach were busy with tract distribution and personal witnessing. It was incredible to see many people taking literature, and others wanting to speak.
Nigel spoke with a lady who is reading her Bible but is struggling. Jeremy spoke with two older ladies who seemed to have many questions. I spoke with a middle-aged mother who is Church of England, but isn’t attending a church. She wants her children to grow up with biblical teaching. We spoke about the gospel, and her kids took a copy of our Gospel colouring book, while the mother received an in-depth gospel tract.
We also had several conversations with Christians, including a man who has studied Islamic apologetics and wants to join us on the street. I also spoke with other Christians who had questions about different things they’ve read in the Bible. Sadly, they are struggling to find good Bible-teaching churches. We did the best we could to point them to truth.
Another Christian we spoke with was a lady who is witnessing to her adult son. She asked what material we’d recommend, and for advice on how to best reach him. We were more than happy to help her out!
The preaching commenced when Jeremy spoke on “The Message of the Cross”. I’ve heard this message many times, but I am always struck by how simple and clear the gospel truly is. Jeremy did a good job explaining Jesus to any who would listen.
It was then my turn to preach. Today, I spoke on “How Can You Be Sure You’ll Go to Heaven?” It was hard going, as a street performer had set up nearby and was singing very loudly. Still, the Good News was proclaimed. A man who previously aggressively heckled me while claiming to be God stood to listen. He waved, and quietly listened to the preaching. At the end of the message, two people took John’s Gospels, and a couple of others asked for Bibles.
That ended the preaching for the day, as the rest of the time was spent in one-to-one conversations.
One of the team members spoke at length with an Irish Roman Catholic who is also a homosexual. At first, he was tense and argumentative, but he calmed down. I was brought into the conversation, and I had a long chat with him too.
We covered the issues of sexuality, gender, God’s creation and design, how to be forgiven, whether we can trust our hearts, and the trustworthiness of the Bible. Throughout the conversation, I kept bringing it back to the gospel. At the end of our chat, he shook my hand and thanked me for the friendly discussion.
My last conversation was with a group of Muslim university students from Saudi Arabia. At first, they started talking with Jeremy, but I was called into the discussion. All were very friendly, and we had a great discussion. We dealt with the topics of how sin can be forgiven, the mercy and justice of God, the deity of Christ, the trustworthiness of the Bible, and the differences between Islam and Christianity.
At the end of the conversations, a few of them took copies of John’s Gospel, and a booklet aimed at sharing the Good News with Muslims.
It was a productive afternoon in Southampton. Much seed was sown, but we look for a harvest. Please pray the Lord would bring many to salvation.
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