What to Expect if you Join an Open-Air Mission Team

I’ve recently returned from Lincoln Christmas Market (LCM) having served on an Open-Air Mission (OAM) team. I’ve written about the experience before here, but as that was in 2017, five years ago, I thought it would be good to bring things up to date. My friends find it amusing that although I've been on this mission four times now, I've never actually visited the market itself.

This time, I travelled with an enthusiastic new(ish) believer from my church who had been praying about getting more involved in open-air work. The main thing she had been told by multiple people was to make sure she brought sufficient clothing as LCM is usually freezing!

Arriving at TCM Baptist Church on Thursday in the late afternoon, we met the rest of the team who were all men, apart from two ladies cooking for us. There were some younger men this time though as the mission has taken on some new evangelists.

The eldest team member, in his early eighties, who sadly lost his wife fairly recently, arrived with two giant suitcases, a massive rucksack, a trolley and a carrier bag. People may laugh, but various items from his extensive luggage have come in handy over the years, or so I’m told.

We had dinner together, then a short team meeting before heading to Lincoln Evangelical Church for their weekly Bible study and prayer meeting. Then, the men bedded down in the church to endure each other’s snoring, whilst the two of us headed to a church member’s house for comparative luxury, at least that’s how the men saw it judging by some comments the following day.

Breakfast the next day, then another team meeting with a Bible study and prayer time. The book table literature was explained to us including some items in foreign languages.

Two of the men volunteered to head to the market stalls with the OAM year planners. The oldest man kept volunteering but pointed out that he would need to get the bus to get there. The team leader looked a tad concerned that this dear man might not make it back again if he did go up the hill and thankfully there were enough volunteers that this unnecessary risk wasn’t necessary.

A slight debate about why the market traders want the calendars which are essentially a black and white grid with a small Bible verse on the bottom, and the OAM logo at the top. No pictures or colour. A few admitted they were also baffled by the popularity of the pretty uninspiring gifts.

Ready to go, we all begin layering up; thermals, gloves, hats, scarves, fleeces, and big coats over the top of everything. I ended up wearing five pairs of socks as memories of previous LCM’s got the better of me.

We no doubt looked ridiculous as our motley crew headed out dressed for the Arctic. It’s amazing how cold it gets when you’re just standing around rather than moving from stall to stall, or shop to shop. Don’t join an OAM team if you’re at all concerned about your appearance as these things go straight out of the window.

Facing the annoyance of the railway crossing, where despite the option to cross the footbridge, most people wait for anything up to twenty minutes for multiple trains to pass. There was also some buzz about a steam train which never seemed to materialise. Everyone was craning their necks to get a look at the elusive machine, but after a lengthy wait, the barriers opened without the anticipated sighting which made some people very angry!

Then, a Romanian woman, kneeling in the cold street with a sign, “I’m hungry” and a small cup. We tried to talk to her, but her English was poor. She said she had a house. I gave her a sausage roll then wondered afterwards if she was Muslim and would be unable to eat it. Several other people stopped and tried to help; one man told her to get up as he was distressed that she was kneeling on the floor. He then put £20 in her pot and, a few seconds later, someone else put £10 in. She was there the whole time we were in Lincoln, even kneeling in the rain, and we had to keep passing her to get to and from the church. There was nothing we could do not being local but knowing that people were being generous helped us to continue to our destination. Cynically, she may have been a professional beggar, but it’s better to give people the benefit of the doubt.

There was an NHS kiosk and a busker where we usually set up in the main street, so we moved further along. The guys set up the open-air board and one of them began preaching. The large book table was set up nearby.

After a while, one of the team suggested I might need to rescue my friend who was being preached at. I turned around to see a lively debate taking place. I sidled over to discreetly listen. A little lady was excitably quoting from her phone containing a version of the Bible. My friend was listening politely having identified that this lady was a Jehovah’s Witness. She told the lady that her version of the Bible was different, but the lady wasn’t listening. Seeing that the conversation wasn’t progressing, I joined them and after a bit of back and forth, I informed her that she was deceived and was misleading people. At this point, she left. It’s good to try and talk to JW’s as we have seen some converted, but if they are not open to hearing the truth, they can waste our time.

I didn’t need to rescue my friend again as she knows her stuff, although I did keep an eye on a conversation she ended up in with a young man who, after a few minutes, was gazing at her and hanging on her every word. Usually, we try to start conversations with people of the same gender but, if you are giving out leaflets, you can’t refuse to talk to someone if they start talking to you, so it can be unavoidable. Introducing them to a guy on the team usually does the trick if it becomes awkward! 

There were some really good discussions taking place. Our team leader chatted with a man who said he had lost everyone during Covid 19 and that a Christian had previously tried to talk to him. He felt he had squandered his opportunity to hear by ignoring that preacher and was now determined to listen. He said he would go home and read the Gospel of John straight away.

 I spoke to a lady and her mother. The mother was a spiritualist. The younger lady became more and more interested as the Gospel was explained. She then said, “Oh, I think I need to get a Bible.” I was able to give her part of the Bible and literature to read. Another girl from Laos said that she had heard bits of the Christian message from friends but didn’t really understand. She too was given literature and seemed keen to read it after I had explained the Gospel. Also, a couple who said they were new to the area but seemed interested in attending the church were given details and encouraged to do so.

There were also those who stopped and half-heartedly engaged but weren’t really interested. A small group with one girl who said she came from a pagan background and wasn’t religious. Nevertheless, they listened to a Gospel explanation but remained entrenched in their apathy towards Jesus.

During this period, we had lunch back at the church where we were teased for buying hot snacks from Greggs, rather than relying on the sandwiches.

After lunch, another couple, the guy saying that he often heard a street preacher in Grimsby and considered himself a Christian. I asked what he thought the main message of Christianity was based on what he had heard. “To be a good person,” he said thoughtfully. I explained why this wasn’t right and wondered who he had been listening to.

It was pointed out later, in our team chat, that it may have been that he was hearing what he wanted to hear rather than the street preacher having said the wrong thing. Spiritual blindness is a strange entity. I’ve explained the Gospel to someone multiple times before, emphasising that it’s not through good works that we are saved, only for the person to say that they are going to try their best at the end of the discussion.

 Then, a heckler. The preacher had just quoted John 3 vs 16 when a passing man stopped in his tracks. He said “What if I don’t want eternal life? I’m not enjoying my life now; I’d rather be dead.” To his credit, the preacher recognised this as a genuine heart cry and with compassion explained the alternatives of Heaven and Hell as a final destination. The man engaged for quite a while before refusing literature and further conversation, but he had been offered hope in his dark situation.

We packed up at around 4pm and headed back to the church for dinner and another team time where we shared the various contacts we had had and prayed for them.

Then, the heat pads I had brought suddenly became very popular as we headed back out for the evening stint. They were shared around, especially amongst the older folks, and provided some welcome relief from the cold.

Setting up in the same place as earlier in the day, we observed a number of drunk people around. One woman, carrying a bottle of wine, came and stood directly in front of the board and began interrupting the preacher with questions. I attempted to move her into a one-to-one conversation, but her partner was also there, and then another man, seemingly high on something and unaware that his trousers were falling down, randomly appeared and standing next to the preacher kept interrupting him as well. I managed to signal to a few of the guys that I would talk to the lady if they could keep the two men at bay.

The lady began telling me terrible details about her tragic life. When we moved on to the Gospel, she suddenly said really loudly to her partner who was standing a fair distance away, “Here, this woman says that I’m not a Christian because I’ve been christened, she keeps saying that a Christian is someone who has been forgiven of their sin through Jesus or something. That’s not right though, is it?” I felt a little embarrassed as everyone turned to look at me as this lady indignantly accused me of offending her.

We continued talking after she calmed down. She kept saying, “I really want to hear this,” but then only listening to parts of what I said because she was drunk. She did tell the other guy to go away though when he tried to join the conversation. In the end, I gave her a Gospel of John and a leaflet and told her to read them the next day when she was sober. She knew what I meant and gave me a hug as she went back to her partner.

Later, one of the team that had been talking to her partner said that when she came over to them, she said that it was the first time anyone had told her that she wasn’t a Christian just because she had been christened. So, at least that was something!

During this exchange, a large group of youths had gathered around the board as well as some other people. There was a discussion taking place and many took leaflets to read. My friend had a profitable chat with three girls, a Muslim, an atheist and someone from a religious background. They all took Gospels away.

9pm couldn’t come quickly enough by this point at it was very very cold. We headed back to the church for a quick meeting before departing to our beds.

 Day two, a little colder and there was some rain about.

Almost immediately, after we had set up, a girl hesitated as she walked past the preacher. I asked her what she thought of what was being said and she swore in her response. I asked her why she felt like this and she told me that she had been hurt by the church. She had been very hostile initially, but I encouraged her to remember that the church is not God, and that it is made up of sinners. She seemed to soften. She didn’t like the idea that babies were born sinful, but I pointed out that she wasn’t a baby, and it was more important to focus on her own standing before God. She didn’t say much more, but at the end of the conversation when I gave her a Gospel of John, she offered me her hand to shake and then gave me a hug!

Later, after lunch, where both myself and my friend had been ushered into what can only be described as a professional recording studio, to be interviewed on camera about our OAM experience, I was interviewed again by one of the men in the open air. This time, for details of my conversion. I saw some ladies listening at the back of the group as I was asked an interesting question. The team leader highlighted that I had travelled a lot and lived in various cultures with other religions. In light of this, he asked why I had chosen Christianity. I said that it was the only faith that offered me an eternal home in Heaven. Of course, afterwards, I realised that the main reason is because I believe it is the truth, but sometimes when we are on the spot we focus on another aspect.

After this, a small group of children were told to listen to my story, about dealing with addiction, by our team leader. We spoke to them afterwards, but they were joined by some friends who were a bit disruptive. They all ended up taking Gospels of John away in any event and promising not to just throw them away.

We then had a mini carol service with people from the churches we were connected to. I hadn’t been looking forward to this as I had memories of half-hearted and out of tune singing with about ten people in the rain. However, this time there were around thirty people from the churches, who could sing, the rain was only light, and many people joined in. I even heard part-singing from one direction, a definite first for the OAM team!

I spoke to two ladies who had been singing with us afterwards. They handed me the carol sheet and thanked us for having the service. The one lady was saying how great it was that we were out singing in the street at Christmas.

It’s always an awkward moment as they’ve enjoyed the entertainment, but I know that somehow, I have to turn the conversation to the Gospel. I asked them if they were Christians. The lead lady said, “Yes, I’m a Catholic.” She started speaking about God and love and how all God wants is for us to be happy. I gently challenged this which led to a Gospel discussion. The lady seemed to be born again but was lacking assurance in her salvation. I pointed her to various promises in the Bible to encourage her. She kept saying that she wasn’t worthy of Heaven. I responded that none of us are, but that Jesus is and that is why He died for us. She finally said that she didn’t want to be in Heaven if her loved ones who had gone before were in Hell. She was focusing on trying to move them out of Purgatory. I explained that Purgatory doesn’t exist, and we talked through the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Her friend listened quietly to our friendly discussion which was becoming quite passionate as I really wanted this lady to have assurance. She took a copy of The Unique Jesus, and I gave her friend a Gospel of John. The first lady gave me a big hug (my third of the two days!) and the second one shook my hand and thanked me for speaking to them.

Heading back to the church for the final time, we chatted about the mission. My friend had really enjoyed it, “Phew”. There’s always a fear that someone who is keen will be put off and never want to be involved in open-air work again. I remembered that after my first OAM team, I went home re-energised and wanting to do more evangelism, but you never know how someone else will react.

Discussing homeward journeys over dinner, someone mentioned a train strike and I realised that the only way to ensure our oldest team member got home in one piece was if I took him and all his luggage in my small car. Fortunately, another team member, with slightly more muscle for carrying bags, who was also concerned about the strike, opted to come with us. We therefore squashed four lots of luggage in my car before heading for the North.

Having dropped the two guys off in Leeds and Manchester, myself and my friend were sleepily chatting about the mission as we made our way back to Rochdale.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar ring tone from the backseat. Our Liverpudlian friend had left his phone, presumably with his train ticket on it in my car. Praying that he wouldn’t end up bedded down at Manchester Piccadilly, I decided it was tomorrow’s problem as each day has enough trouble of its own.

I told my friend that having endured the cold at the OAM Lincoln team event, she should now be ready for anything. The conversations I've mentioned here are mostly ones that I personally had but all of the team had opportunities. The Gospel was shared with many lost souls. 

Why don't you join an OAM team event in 2023 and reach out with the saving message of hope in Jesus?

Bringing Hope to Lincoln Christmas Market #LCM2017 #LincolnChristmasMarket

Arriving by train at TCM Baptist church, Lincoln, on Thursday evening, one of the first things I saw on the wall was the verse: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.” Psalm 127 vs 1. It was a good way to start the mission and an important reminder for all of us.

I recognised a number of the faces of those who had gathered for the open-air mission. Braving the freezing temperatures and icy wind, we set out on Friday for the town centre. A few diverted to the market itself primarily seeking to engage the traders, and to give away Bible text calendars and tracts.

It quickly became evident that two pairs of socks and thick tights weren’t going to be enough to stop my toes falling off. Obviously an exaggeration, but it was only possible to stand in the cold for around an hour before the numbness set in. Once that happened, walking back to the church felt like I was being supported by the bones in my feet rather than my actual feet, surprisingly uncomfortable. Still, the cheeriness of the team, and urgency of the task, despite the conditions, helped us persevere!

On the Friday, I first approached J, an elderly lady. She declined my offer of an Ultimate Questions booklet initially, but when I suggested that it might be important, she stopped and put her bag down. She looked at me pleadingly and said, “Can I read it at home?” Of course I said yes, so she took the book, dropped it in her bag and went on her way. Afterwards, I realised that the poor lady had probably thought that I was expecting her to stand in the street and read it in front of me…

A similar thing happened on day two with another elderly lady and a tract. It made me start to wonder what I could do to make myself look less intimidating to elderly folk. I was by this point wearing a woolly hat with ear flaps, a hoody with hood up, and a big jacket, also with a hood. There wasn’t much face left. The rest of the team looked similarly ridiculous, though, and as I had long since abandoned any attempts to make myself presentable, I decided not to worry about it.

Another somewhat louder Christian group were out with microphones in the same area. Their printed banner read, “Definition of a Hate Crime: Letting people go to Hell without first warning them.” Having been confronted with the Christian message wherever they tried to turn, we heard a number of people commenting, “these people are everywhere!”

My second opportunity for personal witness was with K, a seventeen year old girl with blue hair. She had been listening to one of the preachers trying to engage passers by with a Christmas crossword. I asked her what she thought of what was being said and she replied that she hadn’t known any of the answers. After reassuring her that it didn’t matter, I was able to share the Gospel and give her some literature to take away. Later in the day, I spoke to T and L, two youngish girls who weren’t sure yet what they believed. They were happy to take literature and promised to think about what had been said.

One of the preachers, from Liverpool, was getting an interesting response from members of our team as he suddenly directed his, at times confusing, questions to each of us in turn. Things like, “How do you know what you know?” and “What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?” His questions kept us on our toes as we searched for the answers that he was looking for in order to allow him to continue his talk. Passers-by looked stunned when he addressed them directly. It was difficult not to laugh. His approach, whilst unusual, was generally effective and resulted in some profitable conversations.

M had been standing against a lamp-post near to the open-air board listening to a number of the messages whilst also fiddling with her phone. One preacher tried to give her a John’s Gospel but she declined. Her body language suggested that a “softly softly” approach would be needed in order to connect. I wasn’t sure if I was really cut out for this judging by the reactions I had already had from the older ladies. However, as I was the only female there at this point, I knew it was up to me.

I approached her carefully after one of the talks finished and asked her what she thought. She said that she was happy just to listen. The sub-text being “please leave me alone.” I felt, though, that it was more of an automatic defence mechanism so I tried again. I asked her whether she had heard the message before. She replied, and from there we got into a long conversation. Her first question was along the lines of, “Why does God want worship for Himself, isn’t that vain?” I’ve heard this question and versions of it before. I answered by explaining Who God is according to the Bible, and that it’s wrong views about Him that result in this type of thinking. That we tend to think of God as just a bigger version of ourselves which is clearly wrong.

I was encouraged by M’s genuine questions and when she said that she would now like a Gospel of John to read part of the Bible for herself. She also took Ultimate Questions and then looked me in the eye as she sincerely thanked me for coming to talk to her, shook my hand and went on her way. I was reminded again of the sovereignty of God in this work, as he connects the different people with members of the team.

Friday evening was a struggle as unbelievably it got even colder and many people were drunk. An abusive heckler almost managed to dominate one of the talks but he was eventually encouraged to move aside for private conversation and ended up apologising for his earlier behaviour. I spoke briefly with B, a young lad who looked like he had taken drugs although he assured me he hadn’t. He took a tract and then wandered off. One of the team had a good chat with J, a man who had been leaning against a lamp-post and listened to several talks.

M had also been standing next to a lamp-post when she was listening. It was almost as if the post gave them some sense of security or meant that they were not completely exposed and having to stand in the open where everyone could see them. Perhaps, we should carry posts and place them at strategic locations around the open-air boards!

I felt guilty for being relieved when it was time to pack up at just before nine. I was reassured by others that they felt the same as the cold was becoming unbearable. I was astonished to see scantily clad females and some men in shorts or with holes in their clothes. Sadly, I think the alcohol accounts for a lot of the cold tolerance by speeding up the heart.

On Saturday we set out again. Walking past the train station, I observed two homeless men, seemingly high on drugs, sitting on a wall at the edge of the crowds. I hoped rather than believed they hadn’t been there all night as they had sleeping bags.

Arriving in the town centre, It was obviously busier than it had been on the Friday. We had been beaten to our spot by an animal charity sporting various breeds of dog all obediently sitting on mats, and available for people to pamper as they walked by. Some of them were wearing little woolly jumpers. I watched, with a mixture of fascination and sadness, the numbers stopping and fussing over the dogs which contrasted sharply with the attempts to avoid our presentation, and the wide berth people had been giving the two homeless men. It seems that animal life has become more sacred than human.

I saw a Chinese lady across the street from us offering palm readings and decided to go and talk to her thinking that she would at least be polite due to her cultural background. She was, until she realised what I was talking to her about. She became very angry telling me in her limited English that the Bible is a load of made-up stories, she doesn’t believe any of it and eventually asking me to stop talking to her. I complied.

An Italian coffee shop probably got a little more than they bargained for as one by one they sent their staff out onto the street with an advertising board. The young girls, S, R and D, were right next to our presentations and I was able to share the Gospel with all three of them individually as they spent their fifteen minutes in the freezing cold. I gave each of them different literature and told them I had previously spoken to others of their number. They were all very receptive and said that they would probably be arguing with each other about the things we had discussed later on.

We finished the afternoon with some carol singing as our teeth chattered and the shivering set in. Not as many people joined us as I was hoping, but the lyrics were heard by all who passed. Carol singing seems to offend less than the preaching, probably because it falls within the “acceptable things to enhance the Christmas spirit”, or something equally nonsensical. I suppose we should be grateful that the words of the carols haven’t yet been changed to exclude Jesus altogether.

I haven’t been involved in witness at Lincoln before, but I was more aware of the hardness of people's hearts during this mission than on others. The expressions on some faces as they realised our message was religious. The shaking heads and the irritation that we had dared to try and bring them a message of hope but had, in so doing, interrupted their shopping experience. I was surprised as I had thought that people might be more receptive at Christmas and wanting to think about what they are actually celebrating. I have to remind myself that people are spiritually blind and therefore cannot see….and, perhaps on a deeper level, that I was like that before.

Fish and chips for dinner was a good way to round off the short mission and then handshakes, or in some cases enthusiastic hugs, all round. I was expecting to be back in Banbury just after 9pm but was warned that there were already long queues at the train station. That was a definite understatement as hundreds of us stood outside waiting to actually get into the station. Arriving at Derby, so far so good, I found that my train to Banbury had been cancelled several weeks ago due to the strikes. The station staff were unsympathetic as I “should’ve checked before travelling,” but a police lady was helpful.

I eventually caught a later train to Birmingham. I had just settled down with my laptop on the cold floor amongst the crowds of people when the waiting room suddenly emptied as a train arrived and I was left sitting opposite a drunk man who, of course, began talking to me. Torn between wanting not to be bothered as there wasn’t much I could do for him, and wanting to make the most of every opportunity, I waited until a few more people came into the room then closed my laptop, and went to talk to the man. T was very drunk and smelled pretty bad. He said he needed to get to hospital as he had a gangrenous foot, I didn’t want to check whether he was telling the truth. I couldn’t leave the station but suggested I could get a policeman to accompany him to the bus station if I gave the officer the money for his fare. He didn’t want to know. 

I tried to share the Gospel with him but he kept getting annoyed and telling me not to speak to him anymore. I complied but then he kept speaking to me, as drunk people do. He eventually showed me some food someone had given him so I matched it with some leftovers I had in my bag. He commented that he could see I was a good person, I kept my mouth shut rather than correcting him as it seemed pointless. The gift seemed to open the way for me to give him a Gospel of John and a tract which he took gratefully. As I left for my train he pulled me down for a hug and then kissed my cheek. I had to maintain my smile as, by this point, the waiting room had filled up again and there were loads of people staring at us!

Leaving the room, I had to run for the last train back to Banbury as I suddenly realised I was on the wrong platform. The train was jammed and I ended up squashed into a carriage with a load of very drunk people swearing, shouting and singing as they continued to drink. My only goal by this point was to avoid eye contact with any of them so they didn’t speak to me. I got back to Banbury at 1127pm wondering if my electricity would have run out as I only had a little when I left for Lincoln. It was okay. Phew!

Reflecting, I realised that the busy shoppers at the Christmas market, the kind-hearted people working for the animal charity, the Chinese lady reading palms, the drunken man at the railway station and the raucous bunch on the train are basically the same. They are all lost without Jesus this Christmas or any other Christmas. My prayer is that they realise this before it’s too late for them.