The Open-Air Mission

THE OPEN-AIR MISSION

‘Holding fast the faithful word...’
(Titus 1:9)

‘Holding forth the word of life...’
(Philippians 2:16)

Geoff Cox

& Ruth

Open-Air opportunities in the Birmingham Area

Click here to read Geoff’s Testimony

ONE DAY IN SOLIHULL

Solihull has always been a good location, with faithful and regular support from a number of local churches. This year has been particularly encouraging so far. Once a month there is a Farmers’ Market on the first Friday and we go again on the third Friday as well. At the February Market we had a really encouraging time. Let me share with you some of the conversations that took place:

Janet, an older lady, spoke with one of the team, who then brought her over to me. She had recently lost her husband and the team member was able to share the gospel with her and give her some literature. Janet said that he had caught her at the right time. We explained that God was the God of all comfort. She was interested in finding a church so she took my card so that she could email me for details of a church near her.

Jean listened to the preaching and I spoke with her afterwards. She accepted the offered gospel of John. Jean was religious, but in a rather sentimental way, enjoying the singing and the services. I shared the gospel and, although Jean agreed and said that she believed in Jesus, it wasn’t obvious that she was born again. She took details of a good local church in Solihull.

Several students stopped as I preached and I engaged with them. They began asking questions and soon about 8 of them, with others stopping for a short time, were standing, listening to the conversation. They asked really thoughtful questions, ranging over issues concerning the existence of God, suffering and other religions. They listened carefully to my answers. The highlight came when one of them asked me what it meant to be born again, which was a great opportunity to share the gospel and give my testimony. The discussion lasted about half-an-hour and at the end one of the students took the booklet, ‘Why Believe the Bible?’.

A Muslim student came up at one point and began questioning me. He was quite self-confident, like many of them are, with their programmed questions about the Bible and the deity of Christ. It was really sad to talk with him as he was out of his depth and really didn’t listen to what I was saying. However, he did soften and listened a bit better as I shared the gospel and talked about the importance of the heart. He took the booklet, ‘Is Muhammad in the Bible?’.

Ian, a man in his late-80s, was talking with a team member and I got involved. He was an atheist and mockingly sceptical, but polite and friendly. We spoke of the transforming work of Christ and I gave my testimony. My colleague was also sharing the evidence for the existence of God and the truth of the Bible. He received the booklet, ‘Is Anybody Out There?’.

Registered as a Charity: No. 215409