Harrison is one of our interns and is about to begin the second year of his internship with us, with a focus on evangelism and discipleship. On any given week, you might find him leading a Bible study with those exploring Christianity, studying for his theology course, or chatting to people on a local estate. Since becoming a Christian just over three years ago, Harrison has continued to grow in his passion for Christ and urgency to share the good news with those around him. We thought we'd ask him a few questions about one of the ministries that he's involved in - street evangelism on the south bank.

Why do you go out on the streets to do evangelism?

After becoming a Christian, and joining Grace, I had plenty of opportunities to get involved in different evangelistic opportunities and events, such as the Salt Course, Salt Live, bible studies (for non-Christians) and street outreach. Jeremy and I would sometimes go out to the south bank and chat with people sitting there. For the first few times, I remember pretty much hiding behind Jeremy in conversation, but as time went on I began to feel more and more comfortable talking to strangers about my faith. It wasn’t as frightening as I first thought. I think these small conversations really gave me a love for street outreach. Once I got over that initial fear, I began to see the importance of leaning on God in weakness and seeking God’s Spirit to empower me. Now I think it’s something every Christian should consider getting involved in!

What does street outreach involve?

On some Sundays, we meet at 1:30pm at LNS, and make our way to the south bank. Once we’ve set up the table, a few of us start handing out tracts and gospels, and chat with people who stop to see what we have on display. After just over an hour, we meet back at the table, pack up and share how it went for everyone. This is one of my favourite parts as there are always stories of people having conversations that they wouldn’t have otherwise had, and it’s great to see how encouraged people are who haven’t done this before and how the Lord blessed the work, as they have stepped out in faith. As a result of our street outreach, we’ve had people come to church services and Salt Live events, had great inter-faith exchanges and evangelistic chats, prayed with people and handed out a large number of Christian materials.

What’s a memorable conversation or chat that someone’s shared?

Just over a month ago, I gave a gospel tract to a man on Southbank and just a few minutes later, his teenage son came over asking for more. He said he was a Christian and was really encouraged to see other believers out in the streets telling people about Jesus. He also told me that he’d hand out the tracts that I’d given him on his way home as well as to his friends in his hometown of Cambridge. It was a good reminder to me that we’re not only witnessing to the lost, but encouraging and building up the Church when they see people seeking to be bold for Christ.

If you are interested in getting involved in street outreach, just get in touch with Harrison (07368 817640, harrison@grace.london). He's always keen for more people to get involved.