No sort of defense is needed for preaching out of doors; but it would need very potent arguments to prove that a man had done his duty who has never preached beyond the walls of his meeting-house. Charles Spurgeon
I recently read two different articles that either strongly condemn or seriously question street preaching as a valid, wise, and Biblical method of evangelism. "Is Street Preaching Biblical?" by Conforming To Jesus Ministry (here after referred to as CTJM) strongly condemns the practice, and "Reconsidering Street Preaching" by Tim Gough seriously questions the practice. This article is a response to them.
First, let me say this: it saddens me when Christians argue against and belittle methods of evangelism that faithful, Christ-loving, Biblical Christians use to faithfully proclaim the true Gospel according to the Bible (for the true Gospel, also see For Your Joy, Christianity Explored, and Two Ways To Live).
The glorious message of Jesus Christ, Him crucified, and risen from the dead is to be passed on, proclaimed, and shared in manifold ways: parents discipling children evangelism, sharing one on on with friends and family and people on airplanes evangelism, personal conversation evangelism, small group evangelism, Gospel tract distribution evangelism, Sunday school and church evangelism, lifestyle evangelism, door-to-door evangelism, hospitality evangelism, making disciples who make disciples evangelism, large event evangelism, missions evangelism, YouTube and social media evangelism, apologetics evangelism, life on life evangelism, campus ministry evangelism, other forms of evangelism that share the true, Biblical Gospel - and yes street preaching evangelism! Do it all! Do it all well! And do it all Biblically for the glory of King Jesus!
I found at least 7 major objections in these articles (and another common objection I hear) that I seek to answer here:
1. You shouldn't street preach today because street preachers are angry, condemn people to hell, insult people, call people names, offend people, and bother people
The person who wrote the CTJM article seems to have had a really bad experience with street preachers. I'm so sorry! There are street preachers who do it the wrong way. Just like there are people who do all those other methods of evangelism I mentioned above the wrong way. But that is not a valid reason to stop using those methods. We should not preach the Gospel in anger (though at times it is right and good to be angry over sin), but in humility and love. We should not merely condemn sinners to hell, but warn them about their sin and hell and call them to repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ through which they can be saved. We should never insult people, call people names, or purposely offend people. The only offense people should take is from our pointing them to the truth. And that will offend people and bother people. If we faithfully and lovingly point out people's sin, their false beliefs, and tell them that Jesus Christ's life, death, burial, and resurrection is their only hope, they will get offended and be bothered. But it's our message that offends, not our method, manner, or behavior.
So, yes, please don't street preach the wrong way. Do it Biblically for the glory of King Jesus!
2. You shouldn't street preach today because street preachers don't call people to repent of sin
We must call people to repent of sin and lift up the glorious, beautiful, all mighty, all powerful, all loving Sin Bearer - the LORD Jesus Christ! It's very easy to show something is unbiblical if, from the beginning, you define it in an unbiblical way. The CTJM article only gives two examples of street preaching, and I would agree with them: both of these ways of street preaching are unbiblical and unhelpful. Here are the two definitions given:
The typical scenario of street evangelism is the angry preacher standing on a street corner, yelling at strangers, holding a Bible and using Scripture to call them sinners and assigning them to hell . . . Those Christians who feel that this is wrong use the opposite method when street preaching; they use the "love" approach of street evangelism. They will generally attract people by showing extreme kindness and joy, while playing loud Christian music or singing Christian songs themselves; often a group of energetic, beaming with excitement youngsters who lead people to Christ by telling them how much Jesus loves them and wants them saved, hardly ever mentioning the word sin.
Sadly, it's true that people who street preach may fall into one of these two distortions of what God actually calls us to do. But just because people do street preaching in a wrong, unbiblical way doesn't mean it can't be done the right way.
My friend, Evangelist Robert Gray, taught me to do it the right way. He told me to go to the same place, at the same time, every week, rain or shine. Preach, not in anger, but with love, joy, and delight in Jesus Christ and the saving Gospel message. Don't call people names and assign people to hell, but warn them of the wrath to come. Sin must be mentioned, and we call people to repent of sin and turn to Christ. We must preach the Bible, and we must preach the Gospel in a faithful, biblical, winsome way.
The author of this article seems to have only seen street preaching done in a bad way. There is a third alternative: preaching in the open air the way it was done from Noah, to Jonah, to Jesus, to Peter, to Paul, and the way numerous other saints throughout church history have done so according to God's Word.
3. You shouldn't street preach today because in the Bible, street preaching was almost always done to God's people who knew God and believed in God
Thankfully, these articles do acknowledge that God sent prophets and apostles to preach in the open air to sinners who needed to repent. But the articles dismiss these examples as evidence that we should street preach today because street preachers today are not preaching to God's people in the streets, but to pagans who don't want to hear the message. Whereas, in is argued, the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles were preaching to God's people who knew God and wanted to hear God's message.
In The Street Preachers' Manual, Pastor Gerald Sutek writes:
When you consider that virtually every Bible preacher from Noah to John was a Street preacher, and that more than 90 percent of all sermons preached in both Old and New Testaments were preached in a public forum, you wonder why anyone would discourage public evangelism, and why preachers, pastors, and others do not attempt to employ this undoubtedly Biblical method of gospel evangelism.
The clear command of the public communication of the Lord's message was given to Jeremiah (Jer. 11:6), to Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:1-7; chapters 3 and 33), to Isaiah (Isa. 58), to Jonah, to Noah, to Peter and the other disciples (Mark 16:15), to Paul (Acts 9:15; 23:11), and finally passed to Timothy (2 Tim. 4:2) as an example for the New Testament ministry. Add to this the examples of Ezra (Ezra 10:9-11; Neh. 8:1-5), Stephen, and of Jesus Himself, who was first and foremost a street preacher, and you have received more than sufficient mandate from the Lord to motivate any "God-called" preacher to "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet" - publicly.
This kind of evidence of street preaching from the Old and New Testament is dismissed by these articles by saying that all of these examples are of God's prophets or apostles going to God's people to call them back to God. It is claimed this is not what is happening in street preaching today. There are two major errors in this argument: 1. When we street preach today, we ARE preaching to God's people; 2. Israel was not God's people (in a sense), and they didn't know God.
When We Are Street Preaching Today, We Are Preaching To God's People
Where we street preach today in the United States (Philadelphia for me), there are numerous genuine born-again Christians who hear us and rejoice in our message! They rejoice in the Gospel! They are encouraged by the preaching of the Gospel! They delight in being reminded that there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains! They stop and tell us so! They thank us. They even give us money. We were street preaching just yesterday and a couple from Saint Vincent expressed their thanks for and delight in the message of God. Oh friends, we are preaching to the people of God when we street preach! And we call them to share the Gospel as well and to live faithfully for Christ. We were able to encourage one saint we met while street preaching at Broad and Olney to watch the superb Gospel documentary - American Gospel: Christ Alone. He was so excited about it that he shared it with his girlfriend, and we made a video explaining to others the importance of the Biblical Gospel.
Israel Was Not God's People (In A Sense), And They Didn't Know God
Also, where we street preach today, there are numerous people walking by and waiting to get on the buses who would consider themselves God's people but are not God's people (sounds like ancient Israel to me!)! They have the sign of the covenant - baptism. They are members of churches. They would consider themselves Christians. But they are either living in rebellion against God, not following Him faithfully, or they are in terrible churches, many of which teach the false health, wealth, and prosperity false gospel! Sadly, many people in churches in the United States don't even rightly understand the Biblical Gospel.
Like many of those to whom we preach, Israel was mostly unconverted! Praise God there was always a remnant, but most of the circumcised, Old Covenant people are of God are in hell today. God's Word teaches us that Israel fell into such wicked sin that they were even worse than the sinful nations around them:
But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel. 2 Kings 21:9
Israel was so wicked, they even became known as not the people of God!
And the LORD said, "Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God." Hosea 1:9
It was to this, "Not My People" to whom Jeremiah street preached!
Many people, Jesus said, will call Him "Lord, Lord!" and will even claim to have done miracles in His name, yet they will end up in hell (Matthew 7:21-23). We preach to those people at Broad and Olney on the street corner! They, like ancient Israel, think they are God's people because they prayed a prayer, walked an isle, got baptized, are members of churches, or planted that seed money and tithed this or that. But, like ancient Israel, they think they know God, but are deceived. Street preachers preach to those people!
So, no, you can't simply dismiss all the Old Testament and New Testament examples like these articles and make the kind of street preaching we do today non existent in the Bible. You must rightly divide the Word! And when you do, you see that street preaching is just as Biblical, relevant, and needed today as it was in ancient Israel and in the times of the New Testament. Faithful Israelites needed to hear God's Word. Deceived, unconverted, rebellious Israelites (like the Pharisees) needed to hear God's Word. And pagans who were among Israel needed to hear God's Word. In fact, everyone needs to hear God's Word.
4. You shouldn't street preach today because street preaching in the Bible was done around people who wanted to hear the message
This one is sort of funny. Tell that to the prophets and Peter and Paul and Jesus. Yes, there are numerous examples of places in Scripture where people did want to hear and learn and understand what God's messengers were telling them. But, there are also numerous examples of preachers preaching God's message to hostile crowds who then did very bad things to them - like stone them and drag them outside the city (Acts 14:19)!
Remember Jesus' Words:
Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute," so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Luke 11:47-51
Let's just look at one prophet's life who was called to preach to a sinful, rebellious, not-my-people:
You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. Jeremiah 7:27
This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless. Jeremiah 13:10
Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction. Jeremiah 17:23
But they say, "That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart." Jeremiah 18:12
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words." Jeremiah 19:15
These people did not want to hear what they so desperately needed to hear. But God called Jeremiah to preach to them anyway. Examples could be multiplied in both Old and New Testaments of those who were sent by God to preach to a people who didn't want to hear.
Cowardice on the part of Christians may be a large reason why the Muslim world remains so unreached - they don't want to hear, so we don't go! But we don't go to people with the message of Christ simply because they want to hear it! We go for God's glory, because we trust and love Him, because we love sinners, and because God commands us to go! We don't street preach today because people always want to hear what we have to say. We do it because God commands us to trust and love Him enough and love others enough to tell them hard truths that they need to hear so that they might be saved.
Yes, we must use wisdom. There may be missionary contexts in the Muslim world where it would be unwise and unhelpful to use street preaching as a method of evangelism. But that doesn't mean it's always an unwise method in every context. Even in the United States, you must choose the right place to street preach. We preach at Broad and Olney because there are large crowds, people are not forced to listen against their will (even people waiting for a bus could walk away or put their earbuds in), and different groups disperse all kinds of different information and advertise there. Pastor Bill Welzien, an OPC minister in Key West, FL, is a great example of how to use wisdom when street preaching to reach your hearers.
5. You shouldn't street preach today because street preaching in the Bible was done in such a way that the preachers did not disobey the authorities and they avoided persecution
First, Jesus' followers were willing to disobey authorities in order to preach Jesus Christ:
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men."
Acts 5:27-29
Second, it is very clear that God's messengers were and are persecuted for preaching the truth. The author of the CTJM article seems to contradict him/herself by writing:
It is true that Paul was persecuted by some Jews and Gentiles and sometimes by local authorities, but not because he preached in a way that was considered culturally, socially or legally unacceptable, but simply because the people did not want to receive the New Testament Message of Jesus that he preached and that very message made them angry . . . Preaching in an environment where people are clearly hostile to God or to the Message of the Bible is unbiblical. There is no biblical evidence or precedent of anybody ever doing this in the Old or New Testament.
Which is it? The article states that Paul was persecuted, not for his method or manner, but for his message. But then it states preaching should never be done where people are hostile to God or to the message of the Bible. This is a contradiction. Sinners and deceived religious people will always be hostile to God and His message. They can't help but be hostile to God and His message because they are enemies of God, dead in sin, and evil to the core of their being. The Bible is full of examples of God's people being persecuted by such people because of their message. Faithful street preachers today will also be persecuted, not for their method or manner, but because of the message of the Gospel.
6. You shouldn't street preach today because street preachers preach from wrong motives, they aren't under the authority of sound churches, and they are not local to the place they are preaching
Motives: It's true, we can do all kinds of Christian ministry from wrong motives. But that doesn't mean the method is wrong. We should repent of wrong motives and preach the Gospel from a heart that desires to see God glorified, Christ-exalted, the true Gospel go forth in power, souls saved, believers built up and encouraged, the Church strengthened, and lives transformed!
Furthermore, though we should care deeply about our motives for ministry, Paul and the Holy Spirit cared much more about the faithfulness of the message preached than they did about the motives or method of the preacher:
And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Philippians 1:14-18
It really doesn't sound like either Paul or the Holy Spirit are as concerned with the methods of evangelism like these two articles are - as long as in every way Christ is proclaimed! Amen!
Local Churches: Street preachers who are not members of faithful, Bible teaching local churches are in sin and should repent. They should be under the authority of Biblically qualified elders in healthy local churches that teach the Bible and Gospel accurately.
Local Preachers: I am thankful that I can street preach every week one mile from where our church meets. I love street preaching in my neighborhood. But different Christians have different callings. I'm also thankful for Evangelist Joseph Toy who preaches all over the city and country and also helps me almost every Thursday afternoon preach in the Olney neighborhood. May the Gospel be preached and spread to all the ends of the earth!
7. You shouldn't street preach today because street preaching doesn't work - it's ineffective
Faithful street preachers who preach the true, Biblical Gospel are always effective. 100% of the time. Without question or debate. Period. Why? Because God is always glorified when His Word and Gospel are faithfully preached. And God getting the glory is the most important, most central goal of any evangelistic endeavor. If you don't understand this, listen to the sermon "Ten Shekels And A Shirt" or the sermon "Is God For Us Or For Himself?"
Faithful street preaching is always effective because God promises to send His Word out, and it will not return void but accomplish all that He pleases:
. . . so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11
Faithful street preaching is always effective because God will either save sinners through it or harden sinners and store up wrath for them through it:
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:14-17
Faithful street preachers are always effective because the blood of those to whom we preach and warn will not be on our hands:
But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. Ezekiel 33:6-7
I don't want to be a pragmatist. I don't want to do things in my Christian life merely because they work. I want to do them because God commands them. God commands us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, so we go.
The founding executive director of 9 Marks Ministries was saved through a street preacher. Matt Schmucker writes:
I was converted during my senior year at the University of Maryland through hearing an open-air preacher after listening to him for three years.
Notice it took three years! We have to be in ministry for the long haul! Keep preaching friends!
Faithful pastor and author Dave Harvey was converted through the help of street preaching. He writes:
While the day and hour of my conversion is unknown to me, the gospel proclamation of an open-air preacher, the witness of Christian friends, and the life of a Christian community all played prominent roles in my story.
Before his conversion, two faithful street evangelists confronted Pastor Kempton Turner right in the middle of the darkness and utter rebellion of Mardi Gras (remember this is where street preachers shouldn't go according to the CTJM article!), and even with alcohol on his breath they told him: "You need to repent and trust in Christ!" This encounter helped finally lead him to faith in Jesus Christ and changed his life forever! Now he is a pastor, shepherding and bringing many more to Jesus!
One Christian named Fred testifies to being saved through the street preaching of a college campus preacher:
When you came to our campus I noticed a large crowd screaming and decided to see what the commotion was all about. After hearing the message that God was giving through Brother John I came under great conviction and God revealed to me the lukewarm way in which I was going about my Christian life. I soon became part of a great Bible study on campus and have died to sin so that I may live through Christ for the Glory of God!!! Thank Brother John for your rebuke of my sinful ways and praise be to God that I now live through Christ.
Evangelist Robert Gray preached the Gospel on the streets of Ottawa and a man repented right there on the street, just weeks before he died - which is exactly what Robert warned him about.
I have personally baptized hundreds and started five churches through open-air preaching, in tandem with one-on-one evangelism.
A faithful Christian lady coming to our church recently shared that God has given her numerous opportunities to share the Gospel with women in the ladies' bathroom. With joy I called it bathroom evangelism! I remember in college we would leave Gospel tracts in the toilet stalls. Then I saw this testimony from Ryan Denton:
I was recently told about a man who found a gospel tract while in a public restroom. He began to read. Suddenly it all clicked. He went in a child of wrath. Came out a child of God. Sow widely.
Praise God! He uses the Gospel written down to save sinners! The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, no matter what medium it is delivered in! This is an excellent message on how God uses Christian literature, like Gospel tracts, to save sinners: Words for the World: Rejoicing in God’s Global Use of Christian Literature
God has used John Barros to save hundreds of babies from being slaughtered by abortion through the preaching of God's Word outside an abortion mill in Orlando, FL.
What The Bible Actually Teaches About Street Preaching
There are numerous faithful examples in the Bible of street preaching done as we know it today and God commands us to preach the Gospel to all creation!
Enoch
Jude, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes:
It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 1:14-15
We are at full liberty to believe that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, when he prophesied, asked for no better pulpit than a hillside, and that Noah, as a preacher of righteousness, was willing to reason with his contemporaries in the shipyard wherein his marvelous ark was built. (Lectures To My Students, 273)
Noah
Some wrongly dismiss Noah as an example of an open air preacher because the narrative in Genesis never tells us that he preached, only that he built an ark. But God's perfect, inerrant, infallible Word tells us Noah was a preacher! Noah is called a preacher of righteousness:
. . . if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald [kerux] of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly . . . . 2 Peter 2:5
Noah was not preaching to the people of God. He was preaching to wicked, rebellious sinners who desperately needed to hear the message: repent or perish. And Jesus describes our days as just like the days of Noah:
As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:37-39
Our LORD, Master, Commander, and King has told us that we are living in days like the days of Noah. Noah preached to pagans to repent and flee for safety from the wrath of God. But One greater than the ark is here. Jesus is our Ark Who delivers from the wrath to come through His life, death, burial, and resurrection! Like Noah, we must herald this message today before it's too late.
Jonah
Jonah clearly preached in the streets of the city of Nineveh to a pagan, godless city:
Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you." So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" And the people of Nineveh believed God.
Jonah 3:1-5
This is a clear example in Scripture of God sending His spokesman to a pagan, unbelieving city to cry out to them to repent and turn to God. This example cannot be dismissed by saying: "Well, this doesn't count because the whole city repented!" No! This is what street preachers long for! We long for revival to break out through the power of the Holy Spirit, accompanying God's Word with power and saving multitudes of sinners! May God save the whole city of Philadelphia through the preaching of street preachers like He saved Nineveh of old!
Jeremiah
God called Jeremiah and other prophets to preach in the streets to God's wayward, rebellious people:
And the LORD said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice." Jeremiah 11:6-7
Ryan Denton and Scott Smith comment:
Jeremiah heralded the words of God in the valley of Hinnom . . . Note that many of these prophets, especially Jeremiah, preached without the authority of the priests. Jeremiah was struck by one of the priests because of his message and even thrown into prison and a well. Although we believe that preachers should be sent out and held accountable by their local church, it is crucial to see that in an era when open air preaching was scorned by most of the Israelite community, Jeremiah and the other prophets not only continued to preach but had a command from God to do so . . . The places where the prophets preached would have been thronging with people. Their messages were unsavory to most, even though the people were "religious." (A Certain Sound: A Primer On Open Air Preaching, 10-11)
John The Baptist
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:1
Jesus
Yes, Jesus discipled twelve men. And yes He had one on one conversations. And yes he taught small groups of people. And yes He had dialogues with people. But he also preached! Preaching is not conversation. Preaching is not Q and A. Preaching is announcing good news! John Piper writes:
The fact that in the New Testament, "preaching" translates mainly kēryssō and euangelizomai suggests that preaching is a peculiar form of speech that derives its character, at least partly, from these public acts of heralding. Preaching was not ordinary conversation. Nor was it identical to teaching. Both euangelizomai ("preach good news") and kēryssō ("preach" or "herald") have the quality of announcement, and since the specific Christian content of the announcement is the good news of Christ's saving work, with all its roots and branches, the announcement quality was not disapproval or indifference, but commendation and acclimation. (Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching As Worship, 54)
As Piper notes, one of the Greek words used for "preaching" is "kerysso."
About this word, Gordon Hugenberger writes:
. . . the NT uses . . . kerysso . . . to refer primarily (though not exclusively) to evangelistic activity directed to non-Christians. (Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching As Worship, 54)
And John Piper writes:
. . . yes, kerysso . . . in the New Testament refer[s] most often to public speaking to unbelievers. (Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching As Worship, 54)
Jesus came preaching. This is demonstrated in the Gospels:
From that time Jesus began to preach [kerysso], saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17
When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach [kerysso] in their cities. Matthew 11:1
In Mark, Jesus says the very purpose for which He came out was to preach:
And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach [kerysso] there also, for that is why I came out." Mark 1:38
In Luke, Jesus preached as he went through both cities and villages:
Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming [kerysso] and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. Luke 8:1
Jesus' Disciples
Yes, Jesus had twelve men He poured into more than others, spending much personal time with them and instructing them privately in groups and one on one. But what did He disciple them to do? Preach!
And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach [kerysso] . . . . Mark 3:14
And what does Jesus call us, His disciples today, to do? Preach!
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim [kerysso] the gospel to the whole creation." Mark 16:15
And He commanded us to preach [kerysso] to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. Acts 10:42
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed [kerysso] throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14
Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed [kerysso] in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:46-47
Peter
Peter preached the Gospel at Pentecost and 3,000 people got saved:
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them . . . So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Acts 2:14, 41
Later, thousands more believed when Peter preached again:
And when Peter saw it he addressed the people . . . many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. Acts 3:12, 4:4
Philip
Philip is a clear example of a street preacher who went to Samaria (non-Jewish area) and in the city preached Jesus to crowds of people:
Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed [kerysso] to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city. Acts 8:4-8
Paul
When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel . . . But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Acts 14:5-7, 19-22
Paul preached to the Gentile Corinthians:
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached [kerysso] to you . . . .
1 Corinthians 15:1
And Paul calls the Christians in Rome (and us!) to go and preach the Gospel so that sinners might be saved:
But how are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching [kerysso]? And how are they to preach [kerysso] unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" Romans 10:14-15
Church History After New Testament Times
Ryan Denton and Scott Smith, in their excellent book, A Certain Sound: A Primer On Open Air Preaching, give a helpful summary of street preaching after the times of the New Testament:
What about examples in church history? Do we see any cessation of open air preaching as the church progresses and becomes more established? On the contrary, Spurgeon points out, "It would be very easy to prove revivals of religion have usually been accompanied, if not caused, by a considerable amount of preaching out of doors, or in unusual places." (Spurgeon, Lectures To My Students, 275). According to the church historian Eusebius, the disciples of the first apostles "everywhere prosecuted the preaching of the gospel, sowing the seeds of heavenly doctrine throughout the whole world." (Spurgeon, Lectures To My Students, 274). Michael Green says the same thing in his book, Evangelism in the Early Church: "The evidence is not as full as we should like, but there can be no doubt that this open air evangelism continued throughout the first two centuries . . . Irenaeus was accustomed to preaching in the market places not only of the city of Lugdunum but also of the market towns and villages round about. Cyprian even dared the authorities to arrest him as he preached in the market place during a period of persecution." (Michael Green, Evangelism In The Early Church, 304) . . .
Crowded markets and thoroughfares were always seen as excellent opportunities for proclaiming the gospel. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) became "a public preacher of considerable distinction" when a group of monks were thrown out of their seclusion and "into the highways and byways of public concourse." (David Larsen, The Company Of The Preachers, 111). He was one of the first monks to bring gospel preaching outside of the cloister. People were milling about the streets, so the monks began to preach.
Arnold of Brescia (1090-1155) is another example. He proclaimed the Word of God to great crowds in Brescia, eventually heading to Rome, where he "denounced papal usurpations at the very gates of the Vatican." (Spurgeon, Lectures To My Students, 275) . . .
The Protestant Reformation came about in large part through publicly preaching the gospel. Henry of Lausanne in the twelfth century is reported to have preached against transubstantiation on the streets. John Wycliffe, the "morning star" of the Reformation, was the figurehead of a group in England who regularly preached against Roman Catholicism in the open air. (James Gairdner, Lollardy And The Reformation In England: An Historical Survey, vol. 2, 47). This kind of evangelism led the way for the men we now call the Reformers. John Knox began his ministry as a bodyguard for a street preacher. When the preacher was martyred, Knox regularly preached "faith alone by grace alone in Christ alone" in the same manner as his predecessor. (Gervase N. Charmley, "John Knox, The Making Of A Reformer") . . .
Every generation of the church seems to have had men preaching in this way . . . Another revival in India came in part through the work of William Cary (Edward Glinney, ed., Missions In A New Millennium, 301). Robert Flockhart was one convert of Carey's ministry who, upon returning to Scotland, preached publicly for four decades (Robert Flockhart, The Street Preacher, 185-208). Horatius Bonar notes how God blessed these men for their outdoor preaching: "They preached and labored in season and out of season, in churches, barns, schoolhouses, streets, or highways, to deal faithfully and closely with men's consciences wherever they may happen to be brought into contact with them . . . This is to turn the world upside down, to offend every rule of good breeding, and to tear up the landmarks of civilized society . . . This has ever been one of the great secrets of success (Horatius Bonar, True Revival, 11 (emphasis added)).
In modern times, D. L. Moody, Leonard Ravenhill, Paul Washer, Albert N. Martin, Rob Ventura, and even Westminster Theological Seminary professor Cornelius Van Til were all open air preachers. Today it is possible to find people preaching openly in every major city in North America and Western Europe, and a smattering of others in South America, India, and other "hard to reach" areas. It seems conclusive to say that God has always used open air proclamation as a means for getting the gospel to the lost (Ryan Denton and Scott Smith, A Certain Sound, A Primer On Open Air Preaching, 13-17).
Below are a couple pictures of Dr. Van Til and Dr. Jack Miller (also a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary) street preaching.
People often critique street preaching by asking: "Is this really the most strategic, wisest way to do evangelism?" I'm glad you asked! Let's look at what God's wisdom says:
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?" Proverbs 1:20-22
God's Wisdom, which is ultimately Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24, Colossians 2:3) is to be preached with a loud voice in the streets and markets! You want to do evangelism with the best wisdom, which is God's wisdom? Then raise your voice in the street and preach Christ: the power and the wisdom of God!
Dick Lucas, preaching on these verses, says:
In the Old Testament the prophet and preacher did not proclaim in the Temple . . . but out in the streets and that's why significantly in church history when the church has come alive again the Word of God has gone out to the people. Now it's God's intention that His Word should not be locked in a pulpit or on a Sunday morning but should be heard just where? In the street and the marketplace and at the city gate. (Wisdom Calls).
Tremper Longman comments:
In essence, she is a street evangelist or prophet. Like an evangelist or prophet, her audience is not there to hear her. They are going about their daily activities. She has to shout in order to get their attention, and as we will see, it appears that many of her hearers are in no mood to listen, not to speak of obeying what she has to say. (Tremper Longman, Proverbs, Baker Academic, 2006, 111).
Broad and Olney, in Philadelphia, is our city gate: Over 35,000 people go through that transit center on one weekday alone! They need Christ! And though some will think our preaching is foolish, we follow Christ:
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
1 Corinthians 1:21
We all have different callings and gifts. Some are called to one kind of faithful, Biblical method of evangelism while others are called to street preaching. And while street preaching often leads to these other forms of evangelism and discipleship, it still ought to be done. May we all be content with our own callings and do what God has called us to do in a Biblical way, with the Biblical Gospel, full of love and grace and compassion for sinners - and all for the glory of God - all for the glory of King Jesus! And may our attitude be the same as that of the Apostle Paul:
What then? Only that in every way . . . Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Philippians 1:18
By all means, let us go evangelize!
c. Defending Door-to-Door and Open Air Evangelism
d. Answering Objections To Open Air Preaching
e. Charles Spurgeon's Lectures To My Students has two lectures on open air preaching: (Lecture XVII, page 273 and Lecture XVIII, page 296)
f. Go, Stand, Speak Documentary
g. Thoughts On Street Preaching
h. Guessing And Gauging The Street Preacher
i. A Certain Sound: A Primer On Open Air Preaching
j. Amazing evangelism story during the sinking of the Titanic: "John Harper's Last Convert"
k. The best, short article I've ever read encouraging evangelism: "Go To Hell!"
l. Very helpful 9 Marks Journals on Evangelism: Evangelism Part 1; Evangelism Part 2
m. A Dozen Practical Ways To Evangelize
