Open-Air Preaching

In this day and age, open-air preaching is probably the most controversial and confrontational form of witnessing. I truly believe this form of witnessing can be done by all Christians, but only if they are called by God through the leading of the Holy Spirit. So where to begin? Do you just stand up somewhere and begin proclaiming the Gospel out loud the next time you are next to someone? Is there a minimum number of people needed before you start preaching? How do you gather a crowd? How do you handle hecklers? These are all good questions to think about that aren’t necessarily laid out in scripture. Lets start at the beginning. 

Beforehand

Join a Bible-Believing Church

You should be an active member of a local church before you ever go out to the streets and preach.  Pastors are given to us for a reason. They pray for you and shepherd your soul. Your pastor and/or elders should know and affirm you going out to preach the Gospel. They should have an understanding of your theology.  If he has not heard you yet, get on his calendar or invite him to an open air session and let him listen. It is wise to have accountability and prayer and approval from your pastor.

Pick a Location to Preach at

Consider the acoustics of the location you want to preach at. How do the sound waves travel? Do you have any large buildings to bounce your voice off of? Do you have loud music or construction nearby? Is there a large event happening around you? Perhaps you need to use amplification. Check your state and local ordinances on using amplification. 

Pray

Talk to God before you go out into the field to preach. Ask for both spiritual and physical protection while you are out there. Ask for God to bless your preaching and to send those who need to hear the Gospel. Ask for Him to keep falsehood out of your mouth and humility in your heart.

During

Record Yourself

Record yourself to evaluate your doctrine, speech patterns, intentionality and tone/interactions. It’s also good for accountability and establishing truth in what was said. Record time and date in message and location for quick reference in the future.

Gain Elevation

Stand on something to obtain command presence. This also will help your listeners find you in a crowd. Psychologically this will also deter hecklers from attempting to physically attack you if you are a whole foot taller than them.

Introduce Yourself

Share with your audience your name, what church you belong to, your pastor’s name. Explain to them that you are there to share the Gospel. You’re primary goal is to share the Gospel and is not to get them to join your church or enter a debate or ask for money. Although you should invite them to your church and be ready for a debate. 

Bring a Bible and Use it

Read, explain & apply the word. This is your sword. Don’t leave home without it, ever. I would recommend you start with reading scripture but there are other ideas to choose from.

Proclaim the Gospel

Call listeners to a right response to the Gospel: repent and believe.

Launching an Open-Air Message Using:

Encourage Christians to Preach the Gospel too

Call Christians to share the gospel in their circles. Encourage them to share their faith in any biblical method possible – preach, hand out tracts, have a conversation over lunch, buy them coffee, pray for them. Invite Christians, who don’t yet have a church home, to visit and join your church. This way they will be discipled and cared for and spurred on to mission.

Tell them to not be ashamed of the Gospel. Reassure them that if they have been ashamed in the past or didn’t share the Gospel when they knew they should have – to get back up and ask God for forgiveness and go back out to the fields. 

Here are some passages of scripture you can preach aloud to those passing by who may be a Christian:

1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

2 Corinthians 2:14b-17 (NLT) – “…Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.”

Mark 16:15 – “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.“

2 Timothy 4:2 – “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

1 Corinthians 9:16 – “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

Mark 16:20 – “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.”

Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

John 4:34-38 – “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.’”

Matthew 9:35-38 – “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

1 Corinthians 3:5-9 – “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

Interruptions

What about when someone comes up to you while you are preaching. Should you stop and answer their question? Are they a distraction sent by Satan or a God-appointed soul needing fine-tuned attention? Read more here.

Hecklers

What about a heckler? How are you supposed to handle someone who is creating a scene because your preaching has offended them? Do you address them or ignore them? Do you go somewhere else? Read more here.

Afterwards

At the end, thank them for their time and urge them to really think about what they’ve heard. Leave the results up to God if no one is saved that day – be faithful to God and preach the Gospel. Christians don’t convert anyone. That is God’s glorious role. Ours is one of a messenger.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.”

1 Corinthians 3:6-8