Street corner preaching....??

[Zeno333]

Many of us I would imagine at least once in their life has seen and heard a person standing on a street and preaching out loud to the passers by....(There is one that I have seen in the town of Fernandina Beach here in Florida.)

I have always felt that it takes a very special kind of person to be able to do that....I think it takes lots of "guts" so to speak, lots of "guts" that only the Holy Spirit could provide....

i myself have never done it, but has anyone here actual stood ground on a street somewhere and started shouting out the Gospel??

 

[Herald]

I haven't preached randomly to whoever walks by, but I have been involved with a deliberate plan to proclaim the gospel in the open air. I have worked with Open Air Campaigners and did some street preaching years back in New Jersey under the auspices of a local church. Open air preaching is fine, but it is my opinion that it should be done under the authority of the local church.

 

[jambo]

Whilst living in the Irish Republic I was involved in regular street preaching. There were basically two types of scenarios-during Saturday afternoon shopping and late at night when the pubs were getting out. Although the same sermon may be used there were two very different audiences.

I found preaching to Saturday afternoon shoppers difficult as you may be preaching with no listeners before you-just passers by. One would preach to people who seldom stopped but those around me would be handing out tracts/leaflets to passers by who were only going to hear a few lines of what you were saying. Most people just passed by, an odd person would stop for a few minutes before moving on and only occasionally would a passer by stop to ask questions or enquire more.

After doing this a couple of years I learned to use the sketchboard which I found a big advantage as it was a visual thing and people tended to stop to at least look at the sketchboard and wait to see how the picture developing.

One sketch that drew a big crowd was a message on Ro 8.3 'What the law could not do, God did...' Living in an RC culture with the emphasis on works, I turned to write the verse on the sketchboard but decided to stop after 'What the' and prepare to preach. As I turned round a crowd had gathered anticipating what I was going to write next. It was a good crowd that day inadvertantly drawn by the words on the board.

The only other time we got decent sized crowds was when a local drunk used to pass by and hurl abuse at us. This also drew a crowd of watchers who would listen to the drunk (an RC) hurling abuse and questions at us. As we answered his questions it was the crowd who heard.

I found however late night open airs preferable. On a Thursday or a Friday night we would go into the town around 11.30pm. We would start to preach but had to stop after just a couple of minutes as the crowd was so big and many different people were asking questions that the sermon took on the form of questions and answers. Usually at night it was nearly always young folk and you did have to be very careful of anyone with a bit too much to drink. We were quite near a chip shop which attracted a crowd as people go from the pub to the chippie then stand listening to us whilst eating their chips. In fact I recall one one cold night the owner of the chippie came out with bags of chips for the preacher and his team. This was as a thankyou as he felt when we were there it attracted customers to his chippie.

One has to be careful of open air work due to shopping malls being private ground and the nature of open air preaching can be offensive. So, some advice.

-do not use a loudspeaker or amplifier. This annoys shoppers, shopkeepers and means that people just stand at a distance listening.

-do not shout and scream. Speak loud enough to be heard above passing traffic but do not shout at people

-keep it simple. Your listeners know nothing of theological terms or concepts and probably have no bible knowledge at all.

-do not cause any obstruction on the pavements or entrances to shps.

-better to have 3-4 or different people preach for 5-10 minutes each rather than one person preaching for 20 minutes.

-note the audiance: young or old? punks, goths or skinheads?

-have suitable literature. SGM material is very good as it is simply verses of the bible gathered together under titles on a large variety of topics. Use literature that has enough words to say what you want but not too many as invariably people do not read literature with too much writing on it. With PCs today it is so easy for local churches to produce their own literature and graphics which suit the local situation the church finds iself in.

-open air preaching is the big unkown. You really have no idea the effect of your words. There could be a visitor from the other side if the country challenged by what you say and you will never know about it. There are people who may hear just a couple of sentances and it can change their lives, yet you may never ever know about it. 'My word will not return unto me void' (Is 55.11) is a huge encouragement to keep at it and to keep praying.

-----Added 12/21/2008 at 05:00:42 EST-----

I had actually forgotten but a lot of Irish towns have a weekly market which was also good for open air preaching. You could go round and chat to the stall holders afterwards and over the weeks build up relationshiops with them. Plus the crowd at the market consisted not just of local shoppers but farmers coming in from the surrounding area to selling cows and sheep at the cattle mart.

 

[ReformedWretch]

I would so love to do this!

 

[Herald]

I would so love to do this!

Adam - Open Air Campaigners

 

[ReformedWretch]

Thanks Bill! They are even in Nazareth, PA!

 

[LawrenceU]

Yep, done it. Do it. More later.

 

[Tim]

Ought an open-air preacher conform to the requirements of an elder as mentioned in Titus, for example (so that he is "set apart" to preach)?

 

[govols]

The ones I have had to the "blessing" to hear (not referring to Open Air) in public while I'm out have had to talk louder than my air horn. Most are just obnoxious In my humble opinion. I take my kids to the park and I hear this man at the top of his lungs. Maybe the right place at the right time but most people just want them to be quiet. I am just speaking of the ones I have encountered not anyone on here, etc.

 

[Tim]

Whilst living in the Irish Republic I was involved in regular street preaching.

Stuart, do you think open-air preaching is more common in UK & NI, and the Irish Republic, as opposed to North America (I don't know if you have ever spent time in Canada or the US). I am under the impression that there is some cultural difference here. Do you think people more expect to hear preaching open-air, where you live? Perhaps this follows the situation in Hyde Park, London, where one expects to see public speaking.

I would like to know more about these possible cultural differences. Hopefully this is keeping in line with the subject of the thread (sorry if not).

Australians: what is it like where you are?

 

[APuritansMind]

Proclaiming God's word on the street is something I would like to do, but have not done yet. When a street preacher comes to mind I think of Pastor Robert McCurley. He preaches every Friday at 12:00 PM in downtown Greenville, SC.

SermonAudio.com - Open-Air Preaching

If I worked in the area I would be glad to listen to him during my lunch hour.

 

[Glenn Ferrell]

Outdoor preaching is more common in the UK and Irish Republic than in the US. And, it is not just the odd fundamentalists who do it. When my wife was part of a Free Church of Scotland (continuing) congregation in Glasgow, their pastor and members did open air evangelism on the streets at least every two weeks. I have friends who do the same in Northern Ireland and London. Of course, there, one is more likely to encounter opposition and hecklers than here.

When two of my British friends were visiting Boise earlier this year, we went to the University (BSU) to do open air witnessing and preaching. I regarded it as an opportunity to learn from these experienced open air preachers. Standing on a concrete bench beside the main walkway through campus, we proclaimed the gospel as people crossed the campus.

Things I learned: 1) Several preachers preaching short sermons are better than one. Your voice will hold out for only a short time if you speak any louder than a normal preaching voice. 2) You need at least a couple people with you to provide a constant audience. These standing and listening help you to focus and may induce others to stop. These should not be talking to pedestrians while you preach, but listening. They might extend a tract to those passing. 3) You don’t preach the same sort of sermon you do for public worship. You are addressing people who know little about the Bible and hold pagan philosophies. Paul’s sermon in Athens (Acts 17) is a great example of addressing such an audience. Speak of the Creator who may do what he wills with his creatures, who is not obligated to be “fair” in our contemporary understanding that word but is “just” in his condemnation of sin, who has provided one to bear the guilt and penalty for our sins, an exclusive savior. Such a message will possibly provoke discussion and challenge the philosophies and assumptions of many people today. 4) Figure most of those passing by will only hear sixty to ninety seconds of your message from the time they come into hearing and then pass beyond. Your points need to be short, such to provoke thought and perhaps induce some to stop and listen to more. 5) If one is there on a regular basis, each message reinforces the previous ones. 6) Be ready to deal with hecklers. My British friends were good at this. A lively exchange may cause others to stop. 7) Pass out tracts in between preachers and expect a few individuals to engage you in longer discussions.

I’d recommend developing a team of at least three persons to do outdoor evangelism and preaching together. Find the right spot or spots; and return on a regular basis. Reformed folk should be doing this more often and not leaving it to bizarre fundamentalists.

 

[yeutter]

If I remember correctly Prof. Cornelius VanTil did street preaching on Wall Street in the 1980s

 

[ManleyBeasley]

I have done a lot of street evangelism and sometimes it turned into street preaching when enough people gathered around. I'm all for it.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I've accompanied my Pastor a couple of times doing door to door Evangelism and we've set up a booth at a Farmer's Market in the past but never open air preaching per se.

 

[jambo]

It probably is more common in the UK than the US and within the UK, Northern Ireland would probably be the part where most street preaching is done. However I have seen both good and bad examples of such activity that I sometimes cringe as I hear examples of bad or at least inconsiderade preaching. In the Republic of Ireland it would also be fairly common but because there are so few Christians then it is not so obvious.

Some street preachers in the UK have in fact been arrested for public order offences. This seems to be due to a more heavy handed approach by some police. Over the last year or two hate crime has come to the fore where people may be perceived as stirring up a crowd to racial hatred. Some preachers have been misconstrued to be stirring up hate crime when pagans decide to get offended by what is said or even if no one is offended someone will say that some other person could be offended and a complaint is made. Then there is the paranoia in this country where we must not upset the Moslems and local councils get involved.

In Northern Ireland street preaching is quite common and a lot of churches are involved in street work. In the past people such as WP Nicholson was greatly used and it has also proved to be an effective means of reaching in to the RC community.

In the Irish Republic it is a huge thing for a local believer to stand up on the street. Bear in mind Irish towns are small-the vast majority of towns are under 20000 and a lot would be half that. With Catholicism being the overwhelming religion of the people and with almost all new believers coming from an RC background and with large family circle to stand in the street and preach was a huge thing. In such towns where everyone knows everyone such a thing was noticed. I was a stranger in the town but it cost those young believers to publicly identify with a local church and to declare the gospel on the streets of their own home town to their friends, neighbours and family. It really did the heart good to witness this.

In terms of qualifications of street preachers, the local church knows its members and knows who wants to preach and who is able to preach and the leaders give them the support and encouragement they need. Not everyone who spoke was a preacher. Someone can just stand and give their testimony in the public. Again from the culture it was effective as passers by then think along the lines: 'this guy was one of us, his family still live here, he was devout. what could have changed him?'

Street preaching can be viewed by some as a a thing of the past. Certainly the days of Whitefield preaching to thousands are long gone. Sometimes I wonder if the Saturday afternoon preacher is just part of the street furniture decorating the shopping scene. But as I think back to crowds of young people (50+) standing asking questions from around 1130pm till two in the morning who else would answer their questions -and be back there the following week. The great thing was those young people would never dream of missing mass and upsetting the granny or the mother. (A lot of those young folk were quite lawless. No regard for police or authority of any sort, yet scared stiff of missing mass and upsetting the mother) They would have no intention of ever entering a church building that was not RC. Yet on a Friday the church has gone to them and they can stand and watch, listen, ask, take, read, think and return the following week. All that without their mother/granny ever knowing.

 

[CharlieJ]

I have done street preaching in the Bahamas and several places in the U.S. Here are some thoughts:

1) It works well in foreign countries, especially those of different color, because people are curious what the Americans are saying.

2) It doesn't work in places with car traffic. I've done it in downtown Greenville and found it to be a waste of time. People can't hear you in the cars, and there isn't a great place for pedestrians to gather.

3) Energy would be much better spent in public evangelism than in preaching per se. For example, I was a part of an organization that rented booths at county fairs. We gave away free walking sticks (yardsticks) to anyone who would listen to the message of the walking stick (there was a leather strap with wordless book beads on the top of each stick, serving as a wriststrap). People would sit down in our area (lots of chairs) and we explained the gospel to them through the beads. Most people were interested, and a few seemed to be genuinely converted. They were happy that they got something. We also sent them away with a tract.

4) So... be creative. It's always better to have a few people listen to a full gospel explanation than for crowds to hear 10 seconds and be annoyed. Also, as in the walking stick example, get people involved in different ways. Lots of people put time and energy into making the sticks who weren't able to be physically present during the fair. Why not utilize all your congregation's gifts in evangelism?

 

[Glenn Ferrell]

When a street preacher comes to mind I think of Pastor Robert McCurley. He preaches every Friday at 12:00 PM in downtown Greenville, SC.

That's a great idea, if your community has a public park or city square where people gather at lunch in warmer weather. That has me thinking if we have such a place in Boise.

 

[PresbyDane]

I have done some street evangelism, but it never turned into street preaching, it was more one on one.
But I see no problem with street Preaching, and the fact that some people find them strange or loud etc. should not make on bit of a differance either way, that is always unregenerat peoples respons to Gods word.