It all started three or four years ago with my husband, Maurice reading an article about an evangelist struggling by himself to preach the Gospel and how discouraged he was. This article prompted Maurice to go out himself onto the streets of Oxford in the early part of 2007. There he saw all kinds of people witnessing to all the other gods: Hare Krishna, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc and then the Lord spoke to him saying: “And who will witness to ME?” His heart sank hearing these words – for indeed there was no sign of Christian witness whatsoever, yet there are plenty of churches in Oxford.

That was how we started to go out, just the two of us (I needed a further prompting of the Holy Spirit – finding all sorts excuses not to join him – business, headaches, back pain etc). We acquired a few tracts telling of who Jesus was, about the Cross, Salvation etc and we went each Saturday to distribute these tracts and talk to people who were willing to enter into discussion. It was difficult to start with, but the presence of the Holy Spirit was so evident it made the task possible. I must stress here that the work of evangelisation is entirely done by the Holy Spirit - there is no point in going out otherwise – our part is just to be physically present on the streets. He does the rest.

It is a challenging and exciting ministry, for one never knows whom one might encounter during the outreach time. And we have encountered them all: atheists, scientists, Satanists, Jehovah’s Witnesses; so called non-religious, young, old, plus the thousands of visitors and students coming to study at Oxford University of all nationalities. So you always need to be ready, alert and willing to listen to the person and his/her needs and views. You also have to listen to the Holy Spirit to learn how to approach each individual, for no two are alike.After a while we met one or two other Christians doing the same outreach work for the Lord and they gave us more literature, single gospels, booklets etc. We soon had so many of these that we realised that we really needed a table for them. So my husband approached the vicar of the local church on Cornmarket Street who agreed to let us borrow a table from his church. We use this on our thrice weekly outreaches. I am still the only Roman Catholic in our team but I pray for boldness that more will join us soon. I particularly enjoy meeting young people and sharing the gospel with them; for they are like sponges, soaking up the message of salvation, which unfortunately they never seem to have heard before either at school or from family and friends. It would seem that we have in England a whole generation who have not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ which makes me sad. As a result of our witnessing however on the street several young people have decided to become Christians.

Another group whom I enjoy meeting on the streets are Muslims who are very open to God. God matters in their lives and many pray and fast (Ramadan). They have great difficulties in understanding the Holy Trinity, however, and accepting the idea that Jesus is the Son of God. Despite that we have made quite a few Muslim friends and have regular contacts and discussions with them. One already attends the church, though he has as yet not been baptised. So in this relatively short space of time we have already seen the fruits of our labour, or rather God’s work in the lives of these people we witness the Gospel to. I feel that at this time the LORD wants more and more of His servants to go out and bear fruit for HIM. Therefore I urge those who read this article to just go out and/or encourage others to go out. I totally agree with Joe O’Callaghan (see May/June edition of GoodNews, page 32) – that the Life in the Spirit Seminars should have an eighth seminar added on the importance of evangelism.The New Life we have been given is not only for ourselves. It must overflow in evangelism.

You might find it beneficial to read a practical/spiritual book my husband has just written about how to start the Lord’s Table. You can download it or buy it from his website: www.oxfordoutreach.co.uk or contact us for more information.Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation, CASE: www.caseresources.org.uk is another helpful resource. Please pray for us and come and see us in Oxford in Cornmarket Street; we are there every Saturday between 11 – 4 pm.