Tell-a-tourist
Each year tourists from all over the world flock to London. For 25 years now, Tell-a-tourist has been an event in London’s Christian calendar.
The aim is gospel presentation, using a sketchboard to illustrate messages, and one-to-one evangelism with those who stop to listen. The outreach is run by full-time evangelists from the London City Mission (LCM) and OAC Ministries (Open Air Campaigners).
Team members are volunteers of a wide range of countries and ages. LCM provides organisational back-up, with the team being based at the LCM Bermondsey Centre for training.
OAC London director Peter Kennelly notes, ‘The volunteers who give up a week of their holiday time are invariably nervous (even frightened) about being on the streets of London. Yet they’re always encouraged by the power of God and the gospel they see at work before their eyes. They’re constantly amazed at the depth of spiritual conversations they have daily’.
Teams regularly speak to people from over 60 countries and often are able to give them literature in their own language. Many of these countries are closed or even hostile to the gospel, but everyone is impressed to receive something in their own language.
Peter said, ‘Last year on the first night, I was preaching in Piccadilly Circus … After I had finished one of the team members [spoke with someone from Korea] doing a “gap year” tour of the world. He said that he used to be a Christian but lost his faith when his younger brother died in an accident at a Christian youth camp.
‘Before leaving home for his travels, his father, a Christian, had given him a Bible and asked him to “re-examine his faith”. It is such a blessing that we were part of God’s answer to the prayers of that Korean father’.
Contact: www.oacgb.org.uk (or 0191 268 4320) or LCM www.lcm.org.uk (020 7407 7585).