Many Christians keenly support open-air evangelism. They have seen it done well and believe it is an effective way of reaching the lost. However, others doubt whether it is effective today. Often, these Christians have sincere objections to open-air preaching because of how they have seen it done in the past. Below are answers to some of the common objections we hear.
‘It puts people off’
This objection misunderstands the human condition. People are already put off because of their sinful nature (Romans 8:7). Any form of clear, faithful evangelism will demonstrate this point.
Rather than open-air work putting people off, it enables those who are already put off to hear the gospel. As this happens, God works in their hearts so that they may respond positively to the gospel message with repentance and faith.
In fact, open-air work is particularly good at reaching people who are already hostile to the Christian message because they hear something of the gospel whether they want to or not. This is unique to open-air work. If you invite someone to church who is hostile to the Christian message, they won’t come and, therefore, won’t hear the gospel. In the open air, for as long as they are within earshot, they will hear it—whether they like it or not. Christian history is filled with examples of hostile people being converted because they heard a snippet of preaching as they passed by an open-air preacher.
One caveat is necessary here: if people are put off, we must ensure it is by the message and not by our manner. We must never come across as rude or ‘standoffish.’
‘People won’t listen’
It is true that many people walk past and choose not to listen to open-air preaching. However, lots of people do listen. It is very rare to conduct an open-air meeting and have no one listen. More often than not, several different people will stop and listen. It is not uncommon for the preacher to draw large groups of people who listen.
An important point to note here is that the preacher must be careful to preach in a way that draws listeners. People are distracted and disinterested. It is up to the preacher to encourage them to stop. This can be done using visuals, asking questions, gathering a supporting crowd, etc. Most importantly, the preacher must have a sincere dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
A point of encouragement is that, occasionally, in the open air, we meet people who say, ‘I often listen to you,’ even though we have never seen them before! This demonstrates that people are listening, even when we are not aware of it.
At OAM, we stress the necessity for open-air preachers to conduct themselves in a winsome and loving manner.
‘Open-air preaching is aggressive’
It’s true that some open-air preaching can come across as aggressive. But this does not mean all open-air work is done in this way. At OAM, we stress the necessity for open-air preachers to conduct themselves in a winsome and loving manner. Faithful open-air work requires the preacher to say things people do not like—such as that they are sinners, in danger of hell, and need to repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone. However, these truths can and must be shared lovingly and winsomely.
The danger here is that some people judge all open-air work by one bad example they have seen. We encourage Christians not to do this. Instead, come and see it done differently.
‘Open-air preaching isn’t effective today’
The objection usually goes like this: ‘We live in a social media age. People are used to brief snippets of information that are visually engaging. Preaching just isn’t effective these days.’
This kind of objection is common but untrue. People’s attention spans may have been negatively affected by hours of scrolling through social media, but this does not mean preaching is ineffective. Preaching is God’s chosen method for converting people, and this will remain the case until the Lord Jesus returns. He makes preaching effective because, as people hear the gospel preached, He works in their hearts by His Holy Spirit. As it says in Romans 10:17, ‘So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’
These are the most common objections we hear against open-air preaching. Perhaps you have heard others, or maybe you have objections yourself. The best way to grasp the effectiveness of open-air work is to see it yourself. If you would like to see open-air work ‘live,’ why not contact the office? They will connect you with a local OAM evangelist or associate worker.
Alternatively, why not consider applying to join an OAM team event? Team events are a great opportunity to experience open-air evangelism first hand alongside others.