The former RCC of Kampala Mr. Hudu Hussein, was reported to have given street preachers only 30 days to leave the streets of Kampala. May be he was not aware that when we go to the streets to preach the gospel we are following the command of the Master as stated in Luke 10:1-2.
The scripture reads,
“The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” (NLT version).
This statement was said by Jesus to his disciples asking them to pray for more workers, referring to more preachers of the gospel in the fields. By fields, Jesus was referring to towns, streets, communities and nations, that is to say, all places. This is a command that every true follower of Jesus Christ is obliged to fulfill.
Street preaching dates as far back as the Old and New Testament times. As a matter of fact, street preaching has brought about some of the greatest revivals in church history, and street preaching will be found to be the best way to get the gospel to most people in the least time at the least expense.
Matthew 10:27 says, “what I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!” (NLT version).
Research reveals that, the Apostles spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire through street preaching, but soon the early church began to see persecution by the Roman Empire. Since public expression of faith in Jesus resulted in death, the Church went underground. When Constantine became emperor, Christianity became the official state religion, and there was a decrease in zeal to spread the faith. Then the absolute power that corrupts absolutely corrupted the Church, and it became more of a political organization, losing sight of the self-sacrificing discipleship of the New Testament.
History records that because of intense persecution, public proclamation of the Word of God was virtually non-existent, but as time went on some became very vocal about their displeasure with the papacy. This came from groups within the Catholic Church upset at its growing worldliness, which became “heretics” whose exhortations got them excommunicated.
Many of the great preachers between the 10th to the 20th century after being excommunicated from church pulpits because of the papacy restrictions, resorted to street or open air preaching.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia (1909) Francis “usually preached out of doors, in the market-places, from church steps, from the walls of castle courtyards.” Francis of Assisi was a Street Preacher!
The early Protestant reformers had to be outdoor preachers, since, as Spurgeon points out, the churches were in the hands of the papacy. Such circumstances forced John Calvin to go to Switzerland, as a street preacher. John Knox, George Whitefield, John Wesley among others were street preachers.
George Whitefield once stated: “I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields. I now preach to ten times more people than I should, if had been confined to the Churches.”
The modern mission’s movement of street preaching saw the rise of other famous preachers that started their ministries by preaching in the streets, such as C.H. Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, and Billy Graham. Spurgeon began preaching in the streets of London at the age of 16, which he continued until he became pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle at 19.
Here in Uganda, we have several prominent pastors who started out or daily preached on the streets. Some of these include Presiding Apostle Joseph Serwadda, Bishop Morris Harry Bukenya, and Bishop David Kiganda among many others.
The current street preachers are following the steps of all the great preachers mentioned in this article. But more importantly, obeying the Master according to Luke 14:23 which reads,
“Then the master said to the servant,‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” (New King James Version.)
Street Preaching has been the most powerful tool for reaching the world, not only throughout Biblical times, but also in every age of history. We believe that in today’s critical times the Church of Jesus Christ needs now more than ever to revive the proven ministry of STREET PREACHING.
The writer is Pastor and a Leader in the National Fellowship of Born Again Pentecostal Church of Uganda. Joseph.magongo@gmail.com
