Making the Gospel Accessible
Telling the good news of Jesus to people where they are is the motivation behind an evangelism training course starting on the 29th of January 2011. OAC Streetwise aims to present the truths of the Gospel in a way that is accessible to all.
‘Jesus himself was an open-air preacher and as we know many flocked to hear his message being proclaimed in such a clear way. We believe we need Christians today to be following His example,’ said OAC National Director Peter Kennelly.
Streetwise includes six training sessions over a six month period. In order to accommodate people with other commitments, sessions take place one Saturday every month in different locations throughout the UK. Students acquire practice in preaching a message in the open-air, using a sketch board for accompanying illustrations, speaking to individuals about the Gospel, and leading an outreach team.
There are more Streetwise courses taking place in 2011 – as well as London there will be a course in Manchester, like London this will be over six Saturdays from January to June (one per month). There are others possibly in Canterbury, Plymouth, Cardiff and Bristol. For more information contact:
London: steve.gurnett@talk21.com
Manchester: geoff.beckingham@talktalk.net
Cardiff— steve@steveharris.me.uk
Plymouth—dawn.getley@oaci.org
Kent (Dave Workman)— israel1@ntlworld.com
Bristol (Alan Jenner)— a.h.jenner@gmail.com
With only a few people booked in for Manchester Streetwise – could do with quite a few more. A good sized team contributes to group dynamics and allows greater development of individual gifts.
A good example is when Roger Cole, the minister of Henley Baptist Church, enrolled in the London course along with five members of his church. Developing their potential through ‘Streetwise’, they then went on to form a Gospel team which now preaches publicly in their local area. The team also has the opportunity to conduct outreach abroad – in countries as different as Poland and India.
5 people starting Streetwise in Manchester tomorrow. * registered on London course, also starting tomorrow but only 5 can attend the first day. Please pray for students and trainers.
A good day at Streetwise Manchester on Saturday – seemed to be enjoyed by all five who indicated they will be coming next time
Just to continue about Streetwise on Saturday – we started with a short devotional by Roger who later led discussion on ‘What is the Gospel?’ and ‘Why preach the gospel?’ Doreen kept is supplied with tea and coffee (and cup-a-soup at lunchtime). The afternoon was more practical when I introduced the sketchboard and the students got to painting, practising ladder lettering – and excellent work too!
One week away from our next Streetwise training day on Saturday 24th April. The whole course will be going down to Chatham to work with our friend Mike, who was trained on STREETWISE some years ago. He has set up a team in his own area. Now Saturday open-airs, run by him and his team, are a regular feature in Chatham High Street. We will join him for the day and some of our students will preach in public using the sketch board for the first time. The rest of us and Mike’s team will watch the preaches and then talk personally with those who stop and listen. Please pray for good weather so everyone has a chance to give it a go. It’s pretty nerve wracking the first time! In the past, these first timers have done well and even seen people make first time commitments to the Lord on their first time out. It just shows it’s much less about being slick and more about God’s mercy and kindness, and us just letting Him work through us – sometimes nerves help that to happen.
The day is encouraging for Mike and his team too as they get to work with a large team.
Mike and his team provide the lunch, which is normally very nice too! We will discuss the day and the presentations over lunch after the outreach and pray for the contacts.
Looking forward to a good day.
Steve G
Seven people came on our first day of training last Saturday. One guy broke down on the way with a major fault with his engine but aims to be coming next time.
Everybody seemed to gel together well. After a short worship time and introductions we covered the subjects of What is the Gospel and Why preach the Gospel. When I got home I realised I forgot to explain the workings of OAC Nationally and Internationally but never mind I’ll have to cover that in the future. (It’s good to know a litttle bit about the organisation as a whole)
In the afternoon we introduced the sketch board and everyone began practicing the lettering.
JB and Sue gave us plenty of tea and coffee to keep everyone awake.
This year we thought it would be a good idea to learn a few verses from the book of Romans each month so by the end we have six verses we can use off the top of our heads to explain how someone can become a Christian.
We are using John Chapman’s, ‘Know and Tell the Gospel’ Its a good book with plenty of helpful pointers from a person who has been an active evangelist for many years.
One of the students came because he had met Mike in Chatham. One of our past students who does open-airs down there. Very encouraging for us and Mike.
I am looking forward to meeting up again next month.
Steve