preach to ten times more people than I should, if had been confined to the churches." Open-air preachers throughout history have often noted that preaching to large crowds often causes preachers to be abused in certain ways, even having objects thrown at them such as rotting vegetables or unsanitary liquids of many varieties. It was said that one of the regular practices of American evangelist Dwight L. Moody in the late 1860s "was to exhort the passersby in the evenings from the steps of the court house. Often these impromptu gatherings drew as many hecklers as supporters." In the late 19th century and early-to-mid 20th century many famous open-air preachers in the United States began to preach, such as Billy Graham and Billy Sunday. Graham in particular used a combination of open-air preaching and the recent advent of televangelism to broadcast his sermons, which often took place in large venues such as stadiums, to large portions of the world and millions of Americans. Charles Spurgeon, the famous open-air Baptist preacher of England, believed that open-air preaching was instrumental in getting people to hear the gospel who might otherwise never hear it, and today, open-air preachers such as Ray Comfort believe that it reaches many more people at once than other approaches to evangelism do. Charles Spurgeon recommends several things for open-air preachers, such as never trying to speak into the wind, trying to speak away from the wind so one's voice will carry farther, (sometimes up to half a mile by Spurgeon's account) keeping sermons concise instead of overly verbose and complicated, use illustrations and anecdotes to keep the crowd interested, and to not speak at the very top of your voice so you don't wear yourself out too quickly. Spurgeon also recommended to never use tents when preaching due to their muffling effects, and to be careful of what is on the other side of walls you may be preaching in front of, since people behind the wall or living in spaces in buildings could harass preachers. Notable open-air preachers Historic Active in the 21st century Micah Armstrong Jed Smock Ray Comfort Samuel Chambers (State Street Preacher) Reinhard Bonnke References Bibliography Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Lectures to My Students", Zondervan publishing house, 1977, Eighth printing, External links Street Preaching Training, Tips, and Information, Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry The Open Air Mission Evangelical Christian missions Homiletics