Message of Jesus hits Bristol's commercial district

Bristol will soon become home to a sprawling new shopping centre, and one which boasts Europe's biggest car park no less, but Open Air Campaigners (OAC) are there to meet a wholly different kind of need - spiritual.

A team of OAC evangelists will spend the summer and autumn speaking to shoppers in the heart of the city's commercial district in the hope of awakening a desire to hear more of the message of Jesus.

OAC evangelists will engage with passers-by from all different backgrounds out on the streets of Bristol by giving talks on the Gospel that incorporate colourful sketchboard illustrations.

Many stay on afterwards to chat with team members individually and to accept the literature, which are available in both English and other languages.

OAC evangelist Mark Detzler notes, "We meet a lot of people on the street who have a variety of needs. Many of them come from different cultural and faith backgrounds. One young man I spoke to had never had a conversation with a Christian before!"

This summer, a group of Brazilian pastors and Christian businessmen will add a new international dimension to the OAC Bristol team. They will observe OAC in action on the city streets with a view to sending missionaries from Brazil to Europe.

Team members seek to present the Gospel clearly with creative means as Detzler sums up, "The team hopes to use a variety of means to share the Gospel but they have
also found that the simple, winsome and punchy messages which are proclaimed using the sketchboard are still challenging men and women from all over the world."