Paul Barnes interviews Mike Overd and comments on the Street Preacher Movement
A new threshold was crossed for British justice in February.
It occurred when public prosecutor Ian Jackson reportedly told Bristol Magistrates Court that publicly quoting parts of the King James Bible in modern Britain should ‘be considered to be abusive and is a criminal matter’. Astonishingly, the prosecutor is said to have claimed: ‘To say to someone that Jesus is the only God is not a matter of truth. To the extent that they are saying that the only way to God is through Jesus, that cannot be a truth.’
Although there has been a string of similar cases in recent years involving street preachers, a successful conviction is almost unprecedented. In the words of Alistair McKitterick, lecturer in Biblical Studies at Moorlands College: ‘This is a turning point in our society. We have become used to being marginalised in the media and in education, but this trend has now reached a very dangerous point where the secular voices in society have now received judicial backing in the courts.’
Street preaching resurgence
It was John Wesley who wrote: ‘Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergyman or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell, and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth.’
The contemporary, loosely connected, Street Preacher Movement that has sprung up in recent years takes its inspiration from men like Ray Comfort (co-founder of Way of the Master and Living Waters, based in California) and Paul Washer (HeartCry Missionary Society). Typically, this breed of preachers is zealous, bold, unorthodox and sometimes ‘outrageously’ controversial.
Some of the more prominent US street preachers have formed their own independent organisations, such as Cross Encounters (Tony Miano), JeremiahCry Ministries (Jeff Rose) and Cross Country Evangelism (Mike Stockwell). Each of these men has done street preaching in the UK in recent years.
A Facebook group called The Street Preacher Movement has over 4,000 members – ‘a place for open air preachers to fellowship and have edifying discussions’. The sheer size of the movement is staggering, particularly in America, with organisations and websites such as New York City Street Preachers, Official Street Preachers, Street Preachers of America, Street Preachers Fellowship and Washington DC Evangelists, to mention just a few.
Street preacher Mike Overd
I recently spent an afternoon with Mike Overd at his home near Taunton, where he lives with his wife Rachel and their two dogs.
Mike became a Christian 12 years ago. Mike recalls how he discovered the ministry of Tim Conway and Paul Washer on the Internet and was also helped by good books by Lloyd-Jones, Spurgeon and others. This enabled him to grow in his understanding of biblical truth, and engendered within him a desire to tell lots of people about Jesus. Soon he was out on the streets witnessing, handing out tracts and talking to people.
A few years ago Mike met Jeff Rose of JeremiahCry Ministries. He went up to Scotland with Jeff’s team. Mike was impressed by their boldness as street preachers.
Mike says street preaching ‘teaches you to stand on your own feet; makes you more determined. God gives me all the strength I ever need’. ‘I still make mistakes,’ he admits. ‘It’s hard out there. If you’re strong, and sometimes you don’t back down on something, you make mistakes.’
I asked Mike what motivates him as a street preacher. ‘First and foremost,’ he said, ‘it’s the pure love of God’s Word – that’s what fires me the most.’ Mike loves to take other Christians with him when he goes out on the streets. ‘I’ve met guys who only want to work on their own,’ he explained, ‘which I find odd really. It’s great to be out there with other guys. I love the team work. I love sharing it.’
Mike uses a little amplifier when he preaches. He says some people stop and listen discreetly in doorways. He sees his primary task as ‘just to go and give the message, like a town crier; then it’s up to the people – “What are you going to do with this?” ’
But most of the time, Mike says, ‘it’s ignorance out there, with the odd abuse, swearing, whatever. It’s always been unfashionable to preach, raise your voice out loud. It’s offensive – you’re going out there declaring it. It’s a direct assault on the kingdom of Satan.’
Clearly the Lord has done a wonderful work in Mike’s life in bringing him to saving faith and laying upon him a passion to preach the gospel in the streets of our land. Due to a severe back disorder, Mike cannot do street preaching as often as he would like. But he goes out whenever he can.
As Mike sows the seed of the gospel, he leaves the results with God. Occasionally he has had the joy of hearing that someone has come to faith after hearing him preach.
Bristol – July 2016
For more than an hour, on 6 July 2016, two Englishmen (Adrian Clark and Mike Overd) and two Americans (Don Karns and Mike Stockwell) stood in the Broadmead Shopping Centre taking turns at the microphone. Their condemnation of the prevailing sins of the day, and of all other religions, was bold – even audacious.
Early on, a lively crowd of predominantly young people gathered and the preachers engaged with them. This quickly drew an even larger crowd. A core group became rude and aggressive. Their hostility and open mockery provoked one of the preachers to use expressions such as: ‘All you depraved people’; ‘Just believe, dear heathen pagan’.
Questions were asked about the Qur’an, and the preachers went head-to-head against Islam, declaring that the way to Heaven is ‘not through Mohammad – he’s a liar’; ‘Allah of the Qur’an is a false god’. The Bible was quoted liberally, with warnings of hell for the unbeliever. A signboard read: ‘After you die, you will meet God’, while another posed the question: ‘What will you do with your sin on the Judgment Day?’ The message of the cross was emphasised too, with John 3:16 quoted again and again. The truth was laid bare, no holds barred, until the crowd began chanting, ‘Go home! Go home!’, as the police arrested the men and led them away.
The date for the appeal against Mr Overd and Mr Stockwell’s conviction, which is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, has been set for 28 June and is likely to last for three days. The prayers of God’s people would be appreciated.
Being bold or being obnoxious?
Paul Washer has a word of caution for street preachers: ‘There’s a difference between being bold trying to reach people and being obnoxious. I think we need to be very, very careful. We are servants, so whatever technique, you need to be a person that people see a graciousness to you. I just see a tendency – as the old Puritans used to say – the preachers are making themselves obnoxious to the hearers. Not because of the gospel, but because of the way they’re doing things’ (quote abridged).
Paul Barnes is in full-time Christian ministry as founder of India Link Ministries. He is also Chairman of Fellowship of Faith for the Muslims.
