Sean Redfearn comments on the recent good news from Uxbridge, that a church will be able to continue its evangelistic outreach ministry
As Christians, we know that Jesus has the power to change a life – any life – in an eternal way and in a way that nothing else can.
That’s why so many committed Christians are keen to share the gospel with others.
Sharing the gospel was criminalised
Kingsborough Centre is locally known for its nursery initiatives, for founding London’s first food bank, and for sharing the gospel in the town centre.
“We go to the town centre to witness. We stop people and speak to them. I’ve seen a lot of people stand there and give their life to Christ on the spot.”
Yet during a prayer meeting last year, they learned that their gospel-sharing in the town centre was banned without warning.
Some of their outreach activities had been classed as ‘anti-social behaviour’ under a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), and on par with offences like littering, violence, dealing drugs, drinking, and urinating.
Introduced under the radar and without proper consultation, the PSPO made it a criminal offence to preach with amplification, distribute Christian leaflets, and display Bible verses on posters in Uxbridge town centre.
The council’s website stated: ‘police and specific officers authorised by the council can enforce PSPO conditions and may issue fixed penalty notices of £100 for non-compliance’, and added that ‘non-payment may lead to court prosecution with a maximum fine of £1,000 and/or criminal conviction.’
The rules were put in place despite no concerns being raised about their street witness.
A PSPO is supposed to prevent anti-social behaviour, but in recent years PSPOs have been politically weaponised to also introduce ‘buffer zones’ around abortion clinics, and now to prevent street preachers from proclaiming Jesus.
Christian Concern has been active in opposing these censorship and no-prayer zones, including recently releasing a 100-page report detailing the evidence on why they should be scrapped.
The irony of a PSPO on preaching the gospel is that criminalising the gospel actually promulgates anti-social behaviour.
A person who hears and understands the gospel will learn that they need to act for the benefit of others rather than themselves (John 13:34; Romans 15:5).
Christians fought back and it was worth it
But that wasn’t the end of the story. With the Christian Legal Centre’s help, Kingsborough Centre successfully pushed back. They launched an application for a judicial review of the PSPO and after the High Court allowed the challenge to go ahead, the council quickly changed tune.
It said that the PSPO was never meant to ban the church’s leafletting, and committed to changing other aspects of the order to re-allow the church’s town centre ministry.
And so people in the streets of LBH are going to continue to be told about Jesus, because Christians were bold enough to fight for this right.
To be clear, anti-social behaviour is still banned in Uxbridge; but because of the church’s successful challenge, sharing the gospel is now not going to be recognised as anti-social behaviour.
Praise God that Kingsborough Centre and other Christians’ evangelistic street ministries will continue. Uxbridge is better for it.
Street ministry serves people to encounter Jesus
Is it common knowledge yet that no man-made initiative has been able to change lives and communities as profoundly as the gospel?
Man-made initiatives often strive to manufacture inclusivity and diversity, especially in the modern workplace.
Christianity, however, doesn’t need to manufacture inclusivity, because all types of people are naturally drawn to Jesus.
No one has a recruitment list like Jesus.
And as it changes people’s lives, the gospel breaks down hostilities between different types of people – much needed in 21st-century Britain. (See Eph 2:14-22.)
On Sunday, our team visited a different church we’re partnered with in the greater Uxbridge area. There, we were reminded of two things:
- The church doesn’t need to manufacture inclusivity. Different races, different education levels, different nationalities, different mental and physical ailments, different vocations, different ages, different pasts, different stories. Same Saviour.
- Church affords us the opportunity to talk about difficult issues. In the secular world, there are certain social, political, and religious topics that friends, colleagues, and even families don’t want to touch for fear of judgment and conflict. But there is freedom in a healthy church to talk (with people who are both very similar and very different to us) about a great deal of culturally controversial matters – because we know that we’re unconditionally loved by our brothers and sisters in Christ and don’t need to fear being cancelled.
A broad range of people in a healthy church will generally reflect the range of people from the streets – because a local church will often represent the demographic of its community (Luke 14:15-24; Rev 5:9; 7:9).
Jesus is what former Muslims, Hindus, atheists, Buddhists, same-sex attracted persons, transgender-identifying persons, witches, alcoholics, hedonists, abortionists, drug addicts, gang members, prisoners, porn ‘stars’ – as well as ‘ordinary’ people like me – all have in common.
And apart from the local church on a Sunday morning, where are you going to find the broadest range of people, from the broadest range of backgrounds, in your community?
Is it not in the town centre?
Street ministry reaches the people in the streets (Rom 10:14-15) – calling on anyone who will listen (John 7:37).
We’re encouraged by all that the Lord is doing in Uxbridge and pray that the Holy Spirit would be active as the gospel continues to advance in LBH.
We praise God for this successful challenge. Would all of Kingsborough Centre’s faithful gospel-sharers continue to reach anyone who is thirsty on the streets of Uxbridge.