Battle Log

It was an epic outreach at Riccarton on Tuesday.  I love this spot, I look forward to coming here.

Yet, it was a grievous outreach as well.  Why?

Well, a young man & lady came past, I recognised him from multiple chat’s I’d had with him last year at this location and said his name in hello - please to see him.

The last time I talked to him, he had approached me.  He seemed to be deeply impacted by the gospel.  He had explained that, against his normal nature, he had started reading the Bible.  I was very encouraged, and I had started praying for him regularly.

I asked him about how things were going in his life, remembering the details he had shared with me previously.  He has finished school now, and will be starting a job in February.  But, sadly, he seemed dead inside.  He had forgotten the gospel.

I was able to go through it with him again, but I was directing my attention mainly to the girl that was with him.  She was resistant too.  We discussed why there is evil in the world - at an emotional level more than an intellectual one.  She had been to church in the past, but what good was God to her?  I was flabbergasted at this reasoning.  I gently challenged her on that.

They heard the law, and the gospel.  But they just weren’t interested - they had to go.  We said farewell, I was grieved, yet glad I had another opportunity to talk.

It was a windy day, I didn’t bring my flip chart, and Roger’s blew down once.  Yet, Roger had a busy outreach.  And so did I.  After my first chat, I decided to walk down to the bus stops to see if any would be willing to talk.  I told Roger that if I didn’t come back, I would be in a long deep conversation with someone.

Well, as soon as I had turned the corner leaving Roger, I sped two young people sitting on a bench on Riccarton Road.  I politely approached them, and we fell into a long deep conversation, with many many questions going both ways.  They seemed like senior high students or early uni students - on holiday.  The conversation must have gone for about an hour and a half, it was ten minutes past the finish time of the outreach before I made it back to Roger.

Due to all their questions, there was a lot of apologetics.  And yet, the law and the gospel was well and truly covered, with many checking questions.  They were both very intelligent, yet there was a resistance from her - wanting to go down rabbit trials, and getting the checking questions wrong; and an openness from him, wanting to get to the point and getting the checking questions right.

It was a wonderful chat, and yet a very tiring one.  The Sun was blasting on my neck the whole time, it was windy, and the traffic noise was loud.  I came away with a strained voice.  And yet, it was worth it.  May God be glorified in them coming to learn more about him - even if they reject him.

The rest of Tuesday and Wednesday I was online.

I talked to my first person from Japan!  Sadly, they didn’t stay for me to even be able to talk about the law, let alone the gospel.

I talked to a girl from Brazil who was completely deadpan in regards to the serious nature of what I was talking about - sadly completely uninterested, but polite enough to stay and listen.

I had a difficult chat with a girl who had been through some very hard times.  Her sister had been raped and committed suicide.  She was very angry at God.  With God’s help, I was able to navigate the emotions and amazingly have her come to some grasp of the law and the gospel.  She seemed very appreciative of the chat.

There was a nine year old kid, who seemed more like five.  He shouldn’t have been online - his parents were asleep and should have been too.  But before I learned this, he heard the law and the gospel.

I talked to a couple of Muslims.  One in particular was challenged and wanted to continue the conversation via Instagram.

But my highlight chat was one with a kid who wasn’t interested in his Mum’s faith in Christ.  I took him through the logic of God and his justice - and it really clicked.  He was open to hear the law, and his jaw opened when he came to grasp the gospel!  I worked through checking questions and finally I asked him - do you have any questions?  He said: “No, you actually changed my whole mind about everything”.  Lord, I leave him in your hands.
 

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I’m talking to more and more kids online, who already have a grasp of the gospel - obviously babes in the Lord, desperately in need of discipling.  Where are these kids hearing the gospel?

The last chat on Saturday was with a kid who said he first heard it about a year ago… on TikTok!  He couldn’t tell me who he heard it from, but he heard it from somewhere.

From what I know, TikTok is a social media platform that originated from China.  And yet, God seems to be using this to spread the gospel!

There was another chat I had with a kid back on Tuesday who had reasonable gospel answers to my questions.  He also had been following a TikTok channel and learning from it.  I pointed him to a Bible and a local church.

There was a third recent similar chat that I’d had - I can’t remember the details now, nor can I find the recording.

And now that I think about it more, I remember getting into a conversation with two people (within the last few days) and one of them said, “I’ve already watched a video where he talks about God, skip him”.

And that reminds me of yet another conversation I had, about a week ago, where a kid said he had already watched a video with his Mum where I was sharing the gospel.

It’s starting to dawn on me the reach the gospel is having online.  It has its drawbacks - no doubt.  But it’s truly amazing seeing what’s happening - glory to God.

As an example, here is a sample video of a gospel chat Grace had recently.  It’s really worth heading over to watch it.  It’s a one minute summary clip of an online gospel chat.  The power of the gospel is truly epic!

So, watch this space.  Please pray that the gospel would continue to prosper online.  That many would be saved, and get connected with a Bible and a local church - wherever they are!

Anyway, I’m supposed to be writing about the weekend outreaches for the Christchurch team.

I was online on Saturday for three hours.  I had a lot of chats - 12 in total.  One of them started with two girls asking me to wave to their TikTok followers - one had a mobile phone and was recording me.  So I waved and simply asked them (and their followers) what they thought happened after they died.  She kept recording as I took them through the law and the gospel - it was a great chat (pictured)!

I had a couple of tough chats too.  One in particular, the guy started bucking against sound logic.  I was just too tired to argue, so I simply said so and skipped him.

On Sunday afternoon, after church meeting, I headed into Cashel Mall for some street outreach.  It was great to have Mike join me!  I had three solid chats.

The first was with a lady and three older kids - they all had a Christian background, but she seemed a bit confused by the gospel message I was sharing where I was emphasising the fact that works DON’T save us, but only Jesus does by his sacrifice on the cross, which will lead to good works.

The next was a lovely chat with a Christian down from Auckland on holiday.  He seemed impressed with what I was doing.  We discussed evangelism and theology among other things.  He had seen American Gospel on Netflix, and had been impacted by it.

The last chat was with a guy who had served time in prison for violent crime.  We talked for a long time, where I had to do a lot of listening, and gently folded the law and the gospel into the conversation.  He ended up leaving with four different types of gospel tract to read.

I made it home in time for online outreach with the team.  I was paired up with Riley from the USA.  He did such a wonderful job in sharing the gospel - always ready with a great analogy and always keeping the conversation on the gospel.  I ended up having two conversations with Muslims.  One from the Philippines, and the other from Egypt.  Both were open to hear the gospel.  The guy from the Philippines was very open, and seemed impressed by the gospel.  But then he remembered that he was a Muslim, and he suddenly closed up tight - I lost him.  Yet, the seed has been sown.  When I got into the second chat, I could see the same thing happening, so I raced away from talking about Islam and back to the gospel as quick as I could.  He said he would check out more online.
 

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Evangelism is terrifying work.  I understand why most Christians avoid it.  Today I had to deal with a new atheist (a “new” atheist is one that says religion is bad) who started the conversation by belittling me.  I hate conflict, so I want to avoid evangelism too!  And yet, when I wrestle with the Bible, theology & logic and I understand what is at stake: eternal life in hell - this motivates me to push past my fears.  I think of those that have gone before me: Jesus, Stephen, Paul - and I go anyway.

Evangelism is, therefore, lonely work.  Very lonely.  Ironically, if more Christians could push past the fear, it wouldn’t be so lonely, and it would actually become easier - we would have each other to lean on when we encounter those difficult situations - that will come!

So, from a lonely Christian to the terrified Christian - come and be terrified with me (and the few others), trust in the strength of the Lord - who knows what it’s like and will always be with us.

Thursday and Friday were long days of outreach for me.  But I feel like I’ve pushed through a barrier in the amount of outreach I do.  It seems like the more I do, the easier it is to do more.  And this life is so short compared to eternity.  I’m grateful to the Lord for provision to be able to do what I do - and I’m grateful to the Lord for those he uses to provide - thank you!

The gospel + abortion outreach is still happening, but due to the amount of counter protesters we’ve been attracting - and the hostility they bring.  The ability to actually engage people with the gospel has been diminished.  For this reason, this outreach will be occurring at non regular times (for the time being at least).  This weeks outreach was wonderful - with many opportunities to engage people in respectful conversation about why abortion is murder, and the hope for true forgiveness found in Jesus.  We had the usual support, and non-support.  One lady yelled from a car window as it drove past: “Stop abusing people!”  The irony was lost on her - I just shook my head and said nothing in return.

Andy and I were in Cathedral Square.  Andy open air preached to a decent lunch time crowd.  He attracted a heckler who he started to engage with.  Sadly, others became involved and it started escalating out of control.  For this reason, I decided to head over and talk directly with the heckler.  It defused the escalation.  Andy was able to continue preaching, and I had a great conversation with the heckler.  He was obviously extremely resistant, so I didn’t have an opportunity to share the law and gospel with him - but we did exchange names and parted with a hand shake.

Before the open air preaching I had some great walk up opportunities.  I engaged two construction workers, who it turns out Andy had talked to on a previous day!

But the highlight was a conversation with a couple of ladies who, sadly, it turns out were high on drugs.  Yet, they came to grasp the gospel - one slower than the other as she processed the implications.  At the end of the conversation, they both wanted tracts - and they were excited about how they could learn more on TikTok.

I had thirty one solid law and gospel conversations online over this period too.  With people all over the world, including: the UK, South Africa, Argentina and the Dominican Republic (for the first time).  I’m out of time to write about any of those chats.

Again, thanks for your prayer & support.  But most importantly, be encouraged to get involved - as scary as it is.  Think of the God you love, think of eternity, act out of love - no matter the cost!
 

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On Tuesday I was back in Riccarton for a couple of hours, before joining the team in online outreach.

It just so happened that the Unicef team were in Riccarton at the same time as me.  Of the three of them, I’m already familiar with one - whom I didn’t really talk to this time.  But God gave me opportunities to chat to the other two - one of whom is new.  The new guy had a Hindu background but wasn’t religious - he heard a brief summary of the law and the gospel and happily accepted a follow up tract.

In spite of Unicef being out there trying to talk to people as well, I had a pretty busy outreach.  A young mother stopped and came to grasp the gospel - she obviously had a familiarity with Christian terms, but I don’t think she’d ever really understood the gospel (I could be wrong).  She seemed impressed.  She had to move on, but she put a follow up tract in her wallet.

I had a couple of guys from India stop to chat.  One wasn’t interested and moved on (and ended up getting into a conversation with one of the Unicef team), but the other stayed to talk further and heard the law and the gospel.  Sadly, he wasn’t grasping what I was trying to say and eventually decided to move on himself.

The highlight chat was at the end with a young Irish guy with Catholic parents who wanted him to discover the truth for himself.  He thought keeping the ten commandments would get him to heaven - well that set up the conversation well.  He came to grasp the gospel well, and then see it in contrast to the message of works of the Catholic church.  He took a tract and even followed up, posting a comment on one of the needGod.net videos: “Spoke to Glen today outside riccarton mall.  Amazing stuff has really changed my way of thinking.  Thank you Glen”.  Don’t thank me, thank God!  I’m just a messenger.  But it was encouraging to hear the after thoughts of someone I recently talked to!  May he truly be repentant, to the glory of God alone!

Oh, and earlier, I had an interesting follow up opportunity.  The first time I encountered this guy, he had some fish’n’chips and wouldn’t stop to talk to me.  I’ve seen him walk past with fish’n’chips about another 3 times since then (on different days!) - I would always say hi, and make a comment about what he was having for dinner.  Well, today he walked past without fish’n’chips, but he actually stopped to chat!  I was able to attempt to share the law and the gospel!  Sadly, he just didn’t seem interested or open.  God willing, I’ll have further opportunities to chat with him! :)

The rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday were spent online.  About ten chats per day, with all sorts of people - even skeletons and dinosaurs!  May God receive glory through people coming to understand who he is: holy, just, loving & merciful - even if they reject that mercy.  Lord, help us in this task.
 

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A nice Sunday afternoon to be out sharing the gospel with people in Cashel Mall in Christchurch.  Sophie joined me, and we spent a couple of hours.

It was an eventful outreach.

Three Christian teen guys stopped to chat.  They recognised me from previous outreaches in the city and Eastgate.  I encouraged them to get involved with the great commission.  

Then a man stopped, intrigued by Sophie’s flip chart - I took the conversation which turned into a bit of an apologetics battle - I was able to drop the law and the gospel in - but he wouldn’t relent in the argument so I could really talk with him.  He was nice, and interestingly he hugged me!  He had to go, but I gave him a tract and asked him to get in touch so I could continue the conversation.

I then had a lovely chat with an Irishman who was trying to teach me Māori!  I was able to swing the chat to what happens after life and he stayed to hear the law and the gospel but then disengaged.

I went for a walk to wave hello to Lance the busker, when I came back to my flip chart, Sophie was in a conversation on her chat, and there was a guy sitting close by who seemed interested, so I went to say g'day - it turns out he is also a Christian and was interested in what we were doing.  We had a friendly chat where I was able to challenge him on some of his evangelism methodology.

The outreach ended with another apologetical exchange with two teen guys I stopped with: “what do you think happens after you die?”.  We talked about how we know God exists, why bad things happen to good people (actually, the question should be: why do good things happen to bad people?).  In the end, in his resistance, he started denying logic principles.  I let them go - it’s hard to debate with people who aren't being logical.

We ended going overtime, which made me slightly late for the online outreach.  I was paired up with Matt, and it was great listening to him share the gospel and get feedback from him on the chats I was having.

On Saturday I was also online and had 15 solid gospel conversations with people.

Lord, thank you for life, and salvation.  May you save some of those talked to over this weekend for your glory alone.
 

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Since my last report on Wednesday I did some extra online outreach on Wednesday evening (11 conversations), Thursday I was online (22 conversations), and Friday I was online in the morning (6 conversations), before spending a couple of hours in central Christchurch in the early afternoon (open air preaching & tract distribution), after which I spent more time online (12 conversations).

I don’t report this to boast - I have nothing to boast about!  But that is over 50 conversations online in a period of just over 2 days.  That’s 50 solid law and gospel conversations - not including all the short encounters with people who might get challenged with apologetics, or the law before they disconnect.  I’m now in the habit of praying before and after every conversation.  I often see a lot of resistance or indifference, so I pray that God’s word will be powerful and effective - even if I don’t see it.  That the law would bring conviction and that the conscience would be activated, that God would be glorified because of the conversation, and that he may save people, in his timing, by his grace alone, through the power of the gospel.  Sometimes people seem deeply impacted though, as they learn something they had never thought of before.  Some are very thankful, some say there is nothing stopping them from accepting the gift of Jesus, even after considering the cost.  They are pointed to avenues for follow up: the Bible, a local church, and needGod.net - where many conversations are had via Instagram direct message with the team there.

I guess with this report, I’ll try to touch on some of the highlights over the last two days.

I’m going to start with my time offline - in central Christchurch.  The weather wasn’t the best, rain.  But I decided to go in anyway.  I’m glad I did.  I had a unique opportunity to touch on the law and the gospel with 3 Pakistan cricket players who were walking through Cathedral Square.  I’ve been to Pakistan to watch cricket (in 2003) so I used that as a way to start a conversation with them.  I quickly swung the conversation from the natural to the spiritual - maybe too quickly.  One of them, Shaheen Afridi was instantly put off and disengaged.  The conversation petered out after that.  But one of them took a gospel tract from me.  Oh for the days when there were many tourists coming to Christchurch to hear the gospel!  In the meantime, I’ll do my best to take the opportunities that come.

Before this, I open air preached in speakers corner to the people passing by.  Not many people were there due to the weather - but there were enough.  No hecklers, so I was able to freely work through the law and the gospel without interruption.

Later, Binu joined me for tract distribution in Cashel Mall.

Ok, now for the highlights of my time online.

A lady who wanted to be a Christian, but was subtly self righteous - seemed to agree with the gospel, but bucked against the law and disconnected.  A Hindu guy who spoke Telugu, Hindi & English (pictured).  The concepts I was explaining were very foreign to his thinking, and he was very resistant.  I was lovingly honest with him, he couldn’t take it and disconnected.
I then had a string of four wonderful conversations.  The first was with a “Christian” lady who was trusting her good deeds to save her.  She was super appreciative of the conversation - having come to grasp the good news of grace.  The second was with a couple of girls, one of whom said that from today she is believing that Jesus died on the cross for her sins!  I then had a very effective three minute conversation with a lady who said her goodness would get her to heaven.  I took her through the law, and she responded with “you’re making me cry”.  I then explained the gospel, and she started to grasp it when she suddenly disconnected.  The last one was with a Christian guy, whom I encouraged to join us in sharing the gospel.

Of the 22 conversations on Thursday, the one I’ll mention is the one I had with a guy in Pakistan.  I think my first (online) conversation with someone from there.  He was surprisingly open, expressing that he had never heard such news before.  I pointed him to needGod.net.  Oh, this was interesting, I had a chat with a girl who had a Ukraine / English Bible - sadly she didn’t understand the gospel, I was able to labour with her for some time.

Oh, and another highlight from Thursday was a chat with an Asian looking girl, who sounded American, but was actually German.  She had all the right answers initially, but as the conversation progressed it became evident that she was actually looking at her good deeds to save her.  I confronted her to start trusting alone in Christ alone to save her.  It turns out she is a Baptist PK and leads worship.  She opened up about the pressure she feels to perform.  She came to tears as I encouraged her.  I challenged her to confront the hypocrisy in her environment - as hard as that will be.  I pleaded with her to reach out to some of the girls on the needGod.net team via Instagram.  It was a wonderful chat.

On Friday morning, a long chat with a guy who had a Hiindu / Bhuddist kind of belief, yet a Muslim father and a mother who had maybe become Christian?  He had a lot of apologetical questions to ask after coming to understand the gospel.  An interesting chat with two girls sitting in a car - I think from the USA.  One of them in particular became engrossed in the conversation.  They heard the law and the gospel.  Oh, and then a wonderful chat with two ladies who spoke spanish and a touch of English.  In a 12 minute conversation, with the assistance of translation tools on both ends, they came to hear the law and gospel!

On Friday afternoon, first up was a chat with a Muslim from Morocco via Arabic translation.  He was pretty resistant, but he connected the needGod.net team via Instagram.  A wonderful chat with a Catholic kid.  He was so appreciative of the conversation, declaring that he was going to skip, but he was so glad he didn’t.  “This is amazing”.  Later, another wonderful chat with a Catholic guy from Nigeria but living in the USA.  He had a lot of good Christian lingo, often going on about grace, but it was obvious that he was trusting in his works.  I was pretty stern with this guy as he tried to resist and fight, but he relented seeming to understand that I was doing it in love for him.  He has much to process.  Lord, save him!

The 2nd to last chat of the day was with a young man who considered what I shared very seriously.  Another wonderful chat.  And the final chat of the day was with a young man who gave stellar answers to my initial questions.  I was surprised, because he didn’t have a Christian background.  It turns out he had become interested due to various reasons - including friends, and had obtained a copy of the Bible and started reading it!  It seemed like he had become a Christian, and was in need of discipling!  He wasn’t part of a church, so I pointed him to one.  It was a very encouraging chat, showing the power of God’s word in someone’s life.

Well, if anyone has made it this far, well done! :)  Thank you for praying for this gospel ministry.  May God receive all the glory alone.
 

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It was nice to have a day of rest on Monday.  Tuesday started with some online outreach before I headed to Riccarton again in the afternoon.

My very first chat of the day - the first thing said was from the other person, responding to my sign on the wall: “What happens after we die?”  It was a lovely first up chat with the guy (from Greece - I think my first time talking to someone from there), with a Catholic background, hearing the law and the gospel, coming to grasp it quickly, and responding that there was nothing stopping him from trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus.  I leave him in God’s hands, but I first pointed him to the Bible and a local church, and also needGod.net.

Next up was a chat who was trusting in his religiosity to save him - specifically baptism (he was also Catholic).  He also came to grasp the gospel and, with a frown, he admitted that it made sense.  I was working through checking questions when he decided to bail.  I understand that he has much to process - changing your thinking can be hard: impossible without God.

Next up, a little kid - always grieves me that one so young is in such a place.  But he needed the gospel too.  I could tell he was into Spider Man, due to a picture on his wall and because of something he said - so I swung the conversation to the greatest superhero: Jesus.  He heard the bad news, and the beginning of why Jesus is the greatest superhero before he disconnected.  May the law activate his sin and may he start to thirst for the truth of Jesus.  Lord, may he have more opportunities to hear your good news!

A guy from Finland.  He didn’t give the classic “be a good person” answer to why he was going to heaven.  It turns out he had a Christian background.  And yet, he wasn’t a Christian - he was only 10% sure he would be getting to heaven!  It was obvious he was really trusting his works to be saved - and he knew his works stunk.  I laboured with him on the gospel, but he wasn’t interested - sadly he seemed inoculated away from it.  In hindsight, I should have backed up and taken him through the law - something that was missed due to the unconventional start to the chat.

A guy with an Irish accent - and his girlfriend off picture.  They heard the law and the gospel - but seemed deeply resistant and quickly disconnected.

Last up was another kid having a lark online - he wasn’t expecting the serious conversation he got!  He heard the gospel, but it wasn’t sticking for him - I did my best to labour with him.  In the end I pointed him to needGod.net which he started looking at as I left.

It was great to get out on the streets - although overcast.  I ended up having a young man come over intrigued by my flip chart.  It turned into a conversation that went for over an hour!  He asked lots of good questions (sometimes twice).  He was really processing what was said.  He grasped the gospel quickly and then wrestled with the concept of repentance for a while - I helped him work through it.  In the end, I was confident he was clear.  We finished up talking about the cost (in this life) of the gift (for eternal life).  It was a great chat, quite tiring.  He didn’t really want to leave, he just wanted to ask questions - but they eventually ran dry and then he realised the time.  He knows how to get in touch with me.

Later I was letterbox dropping in Riccarton when my path crossed with an elderly gentlemen with a Muslim background.  We ended up having a lovely chat about the gospel and the differences between Islam and Christianity.  He took a tract - but put it in a letterbox for me.  So I gave him another one!  I pleaded with him to read it.

On Wednesday I decided to work online.  Eight solid gospel chats.  A guy who didn’t want God to exist, and didn’t like having his real motives for denying him exposed - he disconnected.  A great chat with a couple I couldn’t see - after initial resistance, they opened up and appreciated the chat in the end.  A chat with a musician who looked like a lady, but sounded like a man.  Deeply resistant to the logic of the reality of God, I didn’t even get to the law before they disconnected.

Next up I was connected with a couple of ladies.  One wanted to die.  All the other  could say was mean things to me.  No depravity vale on her!  I ignored the insults and persisted through the law and on to the gospel.  I can only hope in the reality that the gospel is the power of God for salvation.

A great chat with a young Muslim from Egypt.  Google Translate was my friend as Arabic was easier for him.  Yet sadly, he too was deeply resistant.  I persisted for a while before leaving him with needGod.net.

Next up a wonderful chat with a Hindu in India.  He came to grasp the gospel for the first time, and asked wonderful questions.  About twenty five minutes with him - who was left counting the cost.  I pointed him to the source, the Bible.

A great chat with some nominal Christians who came to grasp the gospel.

And the last chat was with a couple of teen guys who were being silly.  I ignored the silliness, and eventually they stopped.  I was able to share the law and the gospel with both.

Thank you to those who are praying for me and supporting me in this gospel work.  I can’t do this alone - again, thank you! :)
 

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The weekend’s outreach was online.  Street evangelism can be lonely work, and it’s so good to be working with a passionate team online.

My first significant chat of the day was with a very deep thinker from the UK called Harkrishan.  In the way he described the kinds of things he thought about as a child, I could see there were a lot of similarities between us.  We really clicked, and we settled in for a nice long chat.  Unfortunately, his deep thinking led to a lot of talking!  It was hard to get a word in!  And yet, I patiently took the time to share the law, and touch on the gospel.  I didn’t think he had picked up on the seriousness of sin - but I was pleasantly surprised when later in the conversation he referred back to it, and I could tell it had hit home.  This man needs the peace that surpasses understanding: Jesus.  But at the moment, he is very resistant to it.  Please pray that he would be able to sleep peacefully - something he struggles with because of his over thinking.  Pray for his salvation.

I had my first chat with someone from Trinidad in the Caribbean!  Unfortunately he liked Soccer, not cricket.  I was able to swing the conversation from the natural to the spiritual, and was able to share the law, but sadly he bailed as I started to explain the gospel.

Next up a chat with a young Christian lady without a completely sharp understanding of the gospel - esp. Justification which we worked through together.

A chat with a kid - quite switched on and asked great questions.  He heard the law and the gospel.

On Sunday I was paired up with Ryan on livestream for ‘training Sunday’.

First up I was connected with a large group of kids.  I was able to work with them through the law and the gospel.  The first checking question I got a response of ‘good works’ - wrong answer!  They slowed down to concentrate more after that, and started to take notice of the good news.  It’s harder holding the attention of a big group - I hope some, God willing, will have grasped the gospel.  I leave them in your hands Lord!

My second and last chat was reasonably good.  I had a few false starts to start with - I was even connected with a couple of guys from NZ - that doesn’t happen often.  But the main chat was with a couple of guys - one of whom said you have to be perfect to go to heaven.  He failed the perfection test and came to hear the good news!  He slowly started to grasp the gospel.  He had two penny drop moments - as his understanding grew.  The first was when he first realised salvation was a gift, the second was during a checking question when the point was nailed home.  I leave them in God’s hands.

It was wonderful being paired up with Ryan, listening to one of his chats, and getting feedback from him on mine.  I love being part of this team.  Thank you Lord.
 

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I’ve now completed a whole week of outreach post my holiday.  Thursday & Friday are my longest days of the week.  In those two days, I had twenty five solid gospel conversations - online, not including the ones I had while on the streets.  Although most of my outreach time over those two days was online.

When people first see me online, I will often get called grandpa, or something not mentionable and the person will quit.  They often assume I’m there for nefarious reasons (which, ironically, is hypocritical). So I decided to print a question and post it on the wall behind me: What happens after we die? (pictured)  So far it has worked well!  Often I’ll connect with someone, and they will speak first saying something like: “What happens after we die?  Hmmm, that is a good question - what do you think?”  And I’m straight into a spiritual conversation!

Now, it’s a bit overwhelming thinking about sharing the details of all those conversations in this report, so I’m going to glance at the recording of each one and skim through them.

I had an interesting chat with a couple of girls who heard the law and the gospel.  It became a bit pastoral in the end.  One of the girls had been deeply hurt through inappropriate relationships, and so I gave her the wisdom of the Bible in the right way to approach these relationships, but I had to be careful to not just be a moralistic lesson - as good as that is.  But I had to bring the focus back to the law and the gospel - the root of the problem: sin, and the solution: Jesus.

There was a guy who quickly became engaged in the gospel conversation.  He even moved rooms to get away from distractions so he could concentrate.  From memory, he had a clear “ah ha” moment as he came to grasp the gospel for the first time.  Checking questions confirming.  When I asked him what was stopping him from accepting the gospel, he said: “nothing, nothing anymore”.  So I pointed him to the Bible and a local church.  And I encouraged him to start telling others the good news.

Oh, I had a great chat with a “Christian” guy.  He said that the reason he was going to heaven was because he did a “good turn every day”.  I had an instant flashback to my Cub Scout days!  And, yes, it turns out he was involved with Scouts.  This guy, with much frowning (in a thoughtful way), came to understand that the gospel involved grace through faith, and not good works.  I left him with a link to needGod.net and much to consider.

A guy from the UK, who became deeply engaged, and asked hard apologetical questions - after hearing the gospel.  I was able to point him to needGod.net before the battery in his phone went flat and we disconnected.

A young Christian girl who gained much clarity around the gospel and justification by faith and the correct place of good works in her life.  She seemed pretty overjoyed with the new understanding.  At the end she even asked if I had an Instagram account about God!  In fact, the team I work with does! - so I pointed her to it and said there would be some girls that would be able to answer her questions.

A conversation with a clear false convert, who loved their sin, and was trusting (incorrectly) the fact that he had “ticked the boxes'' to get to heaven: esp. Baptism.  He heard the gospel, but rejected it, the lure of his sin was too great.

On Friday I started with a great online chat with an ex-Mormon girl and her friend.  She came to grasp the gospel, and even expressed how amazing it was.  And yet, when I left her, she was still counting the cost of accepting that amazing gift.

It was at this point I decided to head into the city for some street outreach.  I spent a fair amount of time in Cathedral Square before heading to Cashel Mall with Roger.

I was going to open air preach - but I ended up spending a long time in direct conversation with one of our regular hecklers.  Through the conversation he was making logical contradictions without shame.  It was like he had so medicated himself with his own deception he was completely blind to reason.  It was a frustrating conversation where I often just had to stop and listen - I couldn’t reason with him.  He needs much prayer!

In Cashel I had a good chat with one of my regulars.  Last time I talked to him, he had embraced universalism (everyone goes to heaven).  He had forgotten that in this conversation, and he was back to thinking his good deeds would get him to heaven.  Over and over I tried to explain the gospel, but every checking question he would just revert back to his goodness to save him.  Incredibly frustrating.  I gave up - for now.  God willing, I’ll have more opportunities to labour with him.

To finish the day, I was back online.  And, with much answered prayer, I had a string of wonderful conversations.  God granted me the opportunity to talk with two very logical and open hearted people - much medicine to my mind!  They asked very deep and difficult questions, and I loved it.

And yet, everyone needs the gospel.  The lost and the saved, the blind and the seeing, the resistant and the open, the angry and the calm, the illogical, and the logical.  All of them.  Don’t give up in prayer for the lost, and take every opportunity to share the gospel with them.  Nah, make time to focus on sharing the gospel, wherever you are!  Without it, people will go to hell because of their sin!
 

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On Tuesday I was back out on the streets!  It was good to be back.  :)  I was in Riccarton for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

But before that I was online.  I was reminded afresh at the amazing tools we have at our access for reaching people with the message of Jesus.  Those tools: the Internet, the proliferation of English as a common language, Google Translate for those times when you encounter people that don’t know English (in the past I have successfully communicated the gospel with someone who doesn’t know English - purely with Google Translate).  The Internet is used for many bad purposes - but we are able to bring hope to many in dark places with this tool!

It was only a few decades ago, where reaching people in another people group would take years of preparation: learning a new language, learning a new culture, and getting established (often years of labour).  Now I can sit in my study, and at the click of a button, I’m talking to Ghilas (pictured), from Algeria.  He knows French and English well.  He described his people group as Amazigh - which if my Wikipedia search is right, means he is a Berber.  He was bored and looking for people to talk to.  In the providence of God, he found me.  We had a good long chat, for about forty minutes.

He grew up in a Muslim environment, but he had rejected Islam.  He came to understand the gospel but he clearly rejected it also.  His reason: he didn’t want to be a slave.  I challenged his thinking on this.  But ultimately I leave him in the hands of God.  May he not forget the conversation, may the law awaken his conscience - every time he sins now, may he remember our chat!  And may he remember the forgiveness, grace, and hope found in Jesus.  His name means “Son of Lion” (so he told me) - may God change his heart, and may his name prove true - may he become an adopted son of God.

I was then beamed into a chat with a kid from the USA - a much shorter chat, but I could tell from his response that he was impacted and intrigued in the new understanding he had gained.  Sadly, he had to go to work, but his friend was with him and so he passed the headset to him and encouraged him to chat with me.  The second guy wasn’t so open, and bailed on the chat - but now before he came to hear of the serious nature of sin.  Lord, use our feeble efforts to show your strength!  Convict and save, Lord.  May they have further opportunities to engage with your gospel.

I then had a twenty minute chat with a kid wearing a balaclava (like a robber).  He too came to grasp the gospel, but also clearly rejected it.  He was brutally honest in his reasons: 1) “I don’t enjoy thanking a higher power for what I have” (I couldn’t believe he so honestly said that).  And secondly, he thought as long as he was good enough he would be okay (at this point he was clearly not understanding the serious nature of sin, and the reality of the only hope of forgiveness being Jesus).  So I went back over the law, in different ways.  The robber started to feel conviction - he even said “ouch” at one point.  But by the end of the conversation, he was clearly articulating the gospel back to me.  Only God can change his heart.  Lord I leave him in your hands!

The outreach in Riccarton was wonderful.  My conversations were made up predominantly with white males.

The first was with a guy who often thinks about what happens after life - he’s talked about it with friends, and he has even tried reading the Bible.  He assumed that his goodness would get him to heaven, and so it was my pleasure to tell him the bad news and the good news.

On Wednesday I was again online and I had some great conversations.  Separate chats with Hindu guys from India, and a Google Translate chat with a girl from Brazil.

The last chat, with one of the Indian guys, went for nearly an hour.  It was wonderful in how I could see how challenged he was.  It was sad in the fact that he just couldn’t grasp the gospel.  He just couldn’t grasp that heaven would be a gift.  I just kept doing my best to explain in different ways, answer his questions, and continue to labour with him on the law and the gospel.  In the end he started to double down and would reiterate arguments for why what I was saying can’t be true.  I would gently reiterate my arguments that he had forgotten.  In the end he disconnected.  Oh Lord, may he try to ‘be good’ from now, and see how impossible it is, may he have other opportunities to engage with your gospel.  Save him Lord!
 

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