Battle Log

Thursday saw the team back at the bus stops: first at Northlands, and then at Eastgate.

At Northlands, I re-encountered some of Jehovah’s Witnesses.  I was talking to them about how effective the question: “Do you ever think about what happens after life?” is.  At that moment, a young man was walking past, and so I asked him that exact question to demonstrate.  The response was, “Yeah, I think about that a lot.''!  He then engaged me in a Gospel conversation - right in front of the Jehovah’s Witnesses - so they all heard the Gospel.  I praise God for that.

In the morning, I had been praying for the salvation of one particular young man I often encounter at the Eastgate bus stops.  Well, as I arrived this afternoon, the very first person I encounter is this young man!  I had two minutes to chat with him about the Gospel before his bus arrived.  He took a type of tract he hasn’t received before.

Pretty much all the interactions with people at the beginning of the Eastgate outreach was with people I have already shared the Gospel with at some point in the past.  I feel a bit like a bus stop chaplain!  But with the stops constantly refreshing with people waiting for buses - there are always many opportunities for sharing with new people.

Friday saw a turn in the weather.  It was wet.  We proceeded with our Gospel + abortion outreach outside the hospital in the morning.  But the rain was heavy, and mixed with the cold it made sense to end the outreach early.  But in the time we were there, we showed how serious we are about this very important issue.  We had one person stop to talk with us.  We also had a few people show their opposition by firing some choice words at us as they hurried past.  We continue to pray that God would use our feeble efforts for His glory.

In the afternoon, I reverted to letterbox dropping, until the rain finally stopped.  This gave us an opportunity for outreach in the evening in the city.  A team of four gathered.

In spite of the cold, and a lack of people about, we still managed to have many opportunities to share the love of Christ.  Hereford street was a very fruitful place of ministry.

I engaged with a young homeless guy, who upon learning I was a Christian, disengaged expressing an alligance to Islam.  But to my surprise, he came back five minutes later and apologised, and wanted to know what I had to say.  It was wonderful being able to share of the grace of Christ - that our salvation is not dependent on our works.

We also had some fruitful ministry time at the bus exchange.  By this stage, the heavens had opened up again.  So we ended up venturing inside (as well as outside) to spark up Gospel conversations.

One of my conversations ended up being with a guy who Andy had shared the Gospel with at Eastgate the previous day.  Christchurch is small enough that this kind of thing happens all the time.

I thank God for the support He is providing through you to enable the Christchurch team to have so many wonderful opportunities to share His love.  I thank you also.  Join us!  Till the nets are full.
 

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On Tuesday, in Riccarton, I had some competition.  Unicef were out in force working to get “sign ups” (pictured).  Apparently they need to get two a day to keep their job.  If I needed to get two converts a day, I would have been fired a long time ago.  Either that, or I would have started compromising the truth of the Gospel and start manipulating people to get “decisions”.  I’m glad I don’t have that pressure.  It’s God who saves, it’s our job to faithfully share His Gospel.

In spite of the competition, I still had a fruitful time of ministry, handing out many Gospel tracts, and having some very timely conversations…

My first was with a political science major from the university.  It was a respectful clash of worldviews.  I succeeded in sharing the law and the Gospel.  And it was wonderful having one of the Unicef team listening in as well.

My last was a heated exchange with a young man and his friends who had gone past me (back and forth) four times during the outreach - not showing any interest.  But eventually his girlfriend decided she wanted to talk, and listened to the Gospel.  This drew him in for the heated exchange - there seemed to be a bitterness towards what I would call hypocrites.  Similar to last week, the outreach went overtime by fifteen minutes as we sparred.  I would love to talk to him again, without the heat.

During the outreach, I had many responses similar to: “all the time”, to my question of: “do you think about the afterlife?”.  I’m finding this a wonderful lead in to conversations.  I even had one lady say: “well, it’s about time I started thinking about it” - and gladly took my tract - thanking me.  She didn’t stay for a chat, so I hope she means it and reads it!

Wednesday (today) was unseasonably warm.  In the morning I was in Cathedral Square.  I didn’t bother setting up my flip chart and used tracts to start conversations.  I had some wonderful conversations with people with Christian backgrounds who weren’t Christians.

The highlight was with a young man who was thinking very seriously about the things of God.  He expressed remorse for his sin (his words), but didn’t think he had repented and trusted Christ for forgiveness yet.  Although he asked good questions around this area.  He is connected to a good local church, although not going regularly.  I encouraged him to read Mark and Romans in the New Testament.  And, with Biblical authority, commanded him to repent and believe the Gospel today - he might not have another!

Before lunch I open air preached.  I was interrupted half way through as I recognised someone walking past whom I ended up talking to one to one.  It turns out he had recently been in a bad car accident and so the discussion about the Gospel was timely!

Once I got back to preaching, I ended up having three people come, sit down, and listen.  I was able to follow up with all three afterwards!

After lunch, I headed to Ara, but it was strangely quiet there - I wonder if the students are on holiday?  But I ended up having a good conversation on my way there.

I moved back to the city, and ended the days outreach in Cathedral Square with a Gospel conversation there.

I’m very encouraged by encountering all the people who are thinking about the afterlife.  Oh that God would raise up preachers (you) to bring the law and the Gospel - and to turn that thinking into conviction and salvation.  All for His glory alone!  Join me.
 

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Saturday saw a team of one out in the sun in Cathedral Square sharing the Gospel.  Plenty of people were out and about and there were multiple occasions where I was sharing away from my flip chart, and I’d see others walk up to the flip chart showing interest, but there were no Christians available to share the Gospel!  So this is a call to anyone reading this who has an hour or two spare on Saturday mornings, in Christchurch to come and join me on this outreach.  I will happily provide training.  :)

A highlight conversation from the outreach was with a young couple, both of whom had connections to local churches, but had not yet trusted Christ.  One of them believed in reincarnation.

My opening question was: “Do you think there is an after life?”  The guy said, “we are going to talk about that at our next church meeting!” (I assume a youth group).  Them coming across my path seemed more than a coincidence.

So we discussed the after life, and I shared the law and the Gospel with them.  They both took After Life tracts.

The outreach ended just after a guy, that I have shared the Gospel with at least twice before, had an accident, coming off his skateboard in dramatic fashion!  I had just started a flip chart presentation with two tourists from Boston, USA, but when I saw the accident, I had to head over to make sure the guy was ok.  Thankfully he was - but the two tourists had moved on without hearing the Gospel. :(  Yet I had a brief opportunity to follow up with the skateboarder - we actually talked about how death could come suddenly - a bit like the accident he had just had. He said he didn’t have the tract I gave him last time, so I gave him another one - I hope he reads it this time!

Sunday saw a team of three head to Cashel Mall and Cathedral Square for a couple hours of outreach after morning church meetings.

Sophie had some difficult conversations (pictured).  The guys on the bikes didn’t stay long.  And the older lady was very bitter about God and had many unpleasant things to say about Him.  How very sad.

In contrast, Greg had two wonderful conversations (pictured)!

Gospel conversations can be a bit like a box of chocolates - you don’t know what you are going to get!  But God is always glorified when we obey his command to go - no matter what we encounter.

An encouragement came after we had finished the outreach and were walking back to our cars.  We bumped into four uni students who had received “Are you a good person?” tracts earlier in Cathedral Square (they wouldn’t stay to try the flip chart, one of them said, “I’d fail”, to which I responded with “I fail too”).  The encouragement was that they had actually read the tract, and appreciated the simplicity of the message presented in cartoon style.  One of the guys had a question about what blasphemy was, which I was able to briefly respond to before they disappeared into the picture theater.  The silent missionaries went with them.

One month of winter outreach down, two more to survive.  Your prayers are appreciated! :)

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God uses all things for the good of those who love Him.  Today I can testify to that.  You see, initially, the fact that we lost our free city parking was not good.  I do a lot of outreach in the city, and parking is not cheap!

But here are some of the good things that have come from that.  Firstly, it’s forced us to re-evaluate where we do outreaches for the better.  On Thursday we normally spend two hours in the city, and then two hours at the Eastgate bus stops.  But to save on parking, we decided to two hours at the Northlands bus stops instead of in the city before moving to Eastgate.

So Thursday became a very busy time of outreach, with the bus stops constantly refreshing the people available to talk to.

At Northlands, Andy had a special conversation with a very lonely older man.  He had no family or friends, and he spent his days riding the city buses.  He was overjoyed to have someone approach him to talk - even if it was about the Gospel, but what’s better than that to talk about? :)

Of all the conversations I had in those two hours, one of the highlights would be a conversation with a young high school student.  She denied the logic of creation being evidence of a creator, which wasn’t a good start, but rather than debate, I decided to just move on.  But she also denied that there was a universal conscience.  Again, I parked the debate, and moved on by appealing to the conscience she claimed she didn’t have.  I reasoned with her about the moral law of God.  She listened and seemed to understand, so I shared the precious good news of Christ.  Afresh I had the realisation that it’s the Gospel that is the power of God to salvation, and the law that brings the knowledge of sin.  Apologetics is secondary.

Eastgate was, as always, a wonderful time of ministry.  And we have so many opportunities to follow up with people previously talked to, as well as many fresh faces to share with.

I was very encouraged to re-encounter two young high school students, one of whom shared a testimony of how God was changing his life!  I encouraged them to get in touch with me, and to join me in outreach.

Andy & I also had a long Gospel conversation with the guy who converted to Islam after the Mosque shootings in March.

The second benefit of losing our free city parking is that I’m now doing more outreach on Fridays, and I’m realising that my outreach stamina is greatly improved since moving into full time ministry.  Because I now have to pay for parking, it’s cheaper to pay for all day.  But that means I would have to pay twice if I was to go home between the afternoon and evening outreaches.  So the solution is to just stay out and share the Gospel between outreaches!  This has also led me to discover that the dusk period is great for outreach, as I have the opportunity to reach many people as they leave their jobs to head home.

So last Friday I managed to do ten hours of outreach.  And today I managed eleven!  I admit I was very tired for the afternoon outreach - but I pushed through ok.  I appreciate that I probably won’t be able to maintain this pace long term, but it is very encouraging knowing that God is sustaining me.

It was very encouraging having six people involved with the Gospel + abortion outreach outside the hospital - including two newbies.  Four held signs, and two were free to try to engage people in conversations.

I thought this would be the first outreach with no major attacks from people who disagree with us.  But five minutes before the outreach was scheduled to end, a passionate hospital worker came out to give us a piece of her mind.  I was sad, yet encouraged.

The afternoon outreach started with both Andy & I having opportunity to open air preach.  We then headed to Ara to engage students with the Gospel.  Andy had a wonderful opportunity to minister to a lady who had, sadly, lost her sister two days prior.  Death was at the forefront of her mind.

As I walked from Ara back into the city I had some wonderful follow up conversations with people I had shared with on previous outreaches.

A team of three were involved with the final outreach of the day.  In spite of the cold, many wonderful opportunities were had to share Christ.

I got to see Mr Angry again (he won’t give me his name).  I haven’t found a way to get past his bluster and start having a real conversation with him.  I will add him to my prayer.

As always, thank you for your continued prayer and support of the Christchurch (NZ) team.  All glory to God alone!
 

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On Tuesday afternoon I was back on Riccarton road with my flip chart.

The first hour of outreach saw some great interaction with high school students.  First, three guys heard the law and the gospel.  Later three girls heard the law and the gospel.

Lastly 2 other guys showed interest.  It turns out one of the team had already shared the Gospel with one of them a few days earlier in a different location.  He had a reasonable understanding and had obviously been thinking about it.  But he said he needed to ‘thank’ Jesus rather than ‘trust’ him for salvation, so I took some time to further explain salvation through faith alone.  They had to get going - but they both took tracts from me (different from the one he had received days earlier).

The last hour was wonderful.  A young man that I shared the Gospel with earlier in the year had contacted me via email, and we have been in communication ever since.  Earlier in the day, I had sent him a brief email in response to his last one.  Well, now he walked past with a friend!

We had a long conversation (that made the outreach go fifteen minutes over time) where we were able to discuss his questions in depth.  The only thing that ended the conversation was the cold and the fact that it was getting dark!  He is a very thoughtful young man.  I did my best to come back to the Gospel as often as I could - as it is the only thing that is the power of God to salvation!

Wednesday saw two outreaches: in Cashel Mall (instead of Cathedral Square - for a change) and outside Ara.  It was wonderful having Graeme join me for the Ara outreach.

In the mall, one conversation that didn’t go so well, rolled into a wonderful conversation with a lady who had been listening from a distance.  She couldn’t stay long, as she needed to get back to work.  But she said her brother had become a Christian and this was causing her to think deeply about the important questions of life.  She had been listening to me present the law in the previous conversation, and she mentioned that it made sense.  She gladly took a Gospel tract.

Later, a busker went past and we ended up having a long conversation.  During that conversation, the funniest thing occurred.  A wonderful older lady walked into the conversation and gave us both Gospel tracts!  I’ve never had that happen before.  I was incredibly encouraged.  Oh for more Christians to do that. :)

Ara continues to be a place for talking to very open hearted young people (pictured).  I’m surprised at how often I’m getting the response “all the time”, to the question: “do you ever think about the afterlife?” and then moving into a wonderful Gospel conversation.  Long may it continue - until the nets are full!
 

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As I reflect back on all these logs I write, I realise that often all the reader sees is the highlights, which can sound exciting and encouraging.  But, of course, an outreach often has long periods where it is hard to get a conversation started with anyone, or where conversations are difficult.  The reality is, Gospel outreach is hard work - like any other job.  It’s great to have encouraging conversations, but it’s about Jesus and for Jesus - and so we shouldn’t give up on hard days!

Saturday’s outreach to the city was one of those harder days.  But it was wonderful worshiping Jesus in my availability to share the Gospel with people anyway.  Only three Gospel conversations occurred for me over a two and a half hour period.  One of them was quite difficult.  But the other two are worth mentioning in a bit more detail for their encouragement.

The first one was with an asian lady.  Often people of this demographic don’t stop - so I was surprised when she did.  It turns out she had a Buddhist background, but that she was also going to a church.  Although generally unpopular, this lead to me being able to address the exclusivity of Christ (He said He was the only way) as I was presenting the law and the Gospel.  She seemed to understand what I was communicating, and even seemed to appreciate my frankness.  She took three tracts from me: “After Life”, “How we know God exists and why it matters”, and “Which one is right”.  She also wanted to know what good churches there were in her area.  It was an encouraging conversation.

The second was with a young lady, who saw me sharing with a couple (who didn’t stay long enough for me to share the Gospel), and waited to talk with me.  She was a Christian, and initially she interrogated me (gently) - I guess she was trying to work out if I was a nutter or not.  As we talked, we quickly got to the subject of what was needed to inherit eternal life.  She seemed to have a good grasp of the fundamental concept of Christianity, but she seemed slightly confused on what was meant by salvation through faith alone.  The discussion then moved to Ephesians chapter two in the Bible.  Now, I’m not too sure what was going on, but at this point she burst into tears.  I was taken back, and confused.  What had I said?  She looked up and said, “I have no idea why I’m crying, but can I pray for you”?  I didn’t know what to think, we talked a little more, and I found out what church she was connected to, but then she became emotional again, and again asked to pray.  So I let her, and I was really encouraged listening to her ask God to help me share His Gospel with people.  She moved on after that - but not before taking a tract from me with an explanation on how to get in touch.  God knows what was really going on in that conversation - may He use it for His glory.

Sunday had a team of five involved.  The highlight conversation for me was with a young lady attracted to the flip chart as she walked past with her friends - she wanted to know what it was about.  Her friends were not interested at all, and left her with me.  I figured I wouldn’t have much time, so I didn’t muck around in taking her through the law and the Gospel.

Her responses were incredibly encouraging.  When I asked her if she had lied, she said “countless times”.  And when I explained that anger was murder of the heart, and lust was adultery of the heart, her response was: “Wow!”.  She really seemed to understand what it meant right off the bat and she was humble in accepting it.  She knew she would be guilty on judgement day, and freely confessed that she would deserve hell.

So it was my pleasure to share the Gospel with her.  Again, her response was: “Wow!”.  Her friends were long gone, but she didn’t seem to care.  I challenged her to place her faith in Christ’s sacrifice for her today, and then talked about the change that would occur in her life if she did so: a change of heart away from sin and to God which would result in a change of action.

She gladly received a tract, and I gave her some for her friends too.  As always, I leave her in the hands of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to convict and convert.
 

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Thursday’s outreaches started with Andy preaching in Cathedral Square, while I had “walk up” Gospel conversations with people.

We then decided to make our way down to Ara (a tertiary education institute).  On the way, I had three wonderful “walk up” opportunities with young men.  The last one started with a guy on a skateboard going past, and we came side by side waiting at the lights to cross the road.  So I asked him: “Do you think about what happens after life?”.  And his response was: “Yeah, I think about it all the time”.  We ended up sitting down and having a wonderful Gospel conversation (pictured).  He gladly took a Gospel booklet, Bible, and contact details.

Andy and I both had other wonderful opportunities outside Ara to engage young minds with the Gospel.  It is a new favourite fishing spot!

Because of this, we spent thirty minutes longer in the city then normal, but we eventually made tracks to another favourite spot: the Eastgate bus stops.

My time there was mainly filled with follow up conversations with people I have previously shared the Gospel with.

Andy had a wonderful conversation with a young man claiming to be a Christian, but didn’t have any understanding of the Gospel.  When asked what the hope of eternal life was - he couldn’t answer.  Andy was able to explain the Gospel, and the young man seemed genuinely grateful for the conversation.

Near the end of our time at Eastgate, I had a long conversation with a young man who seemed to understand the Gospel, but who was not ready to submit to it.  But he asked many wonderful questions.  This conversation ended up occuring right in front of one of the bus shelters, and there was a handful of people who were listening to the dialogue, and hearing the Gospel as well.

I had ended up starting my outreach on this day ten minutes late, and I was determined that I would make it up.  But as it was getting dark and cold, I decided I would do it the next day.  But as I was heading back to the car, I changed my mind, and went back.  And I’m glad I did.  I ended up approaching a young man who suddenly looked familiar.  It was a guy who Andy & I meet a year and a half ago during a summer mission.  He had been living on the streets at the time and had been open to the Gospel.  The great news is that he is now off the streets.  He had a friend with him, and so I was able to briefly touch on the Gospel with them, before their bus came and they had to go.  But I let them know how to get in touch with me.  I was very encouraged to see him again - I’m grateful I decided to go back!

One last encouragement from the Eastgate outreach was a brief conversation with a lady who said she already had one of the tracts I was handing out.  It turns out she had received it a week early as a result of the letterbox dropping I am doing.  I was very encouraged to learn that she had read some of it, and that it had caused her to start thinking on the important questions of life.  It had partly prepared the way for me to continue the conversation with her.

Friday.  I ended up doing ten hours of outreach (one hour of which was letterbox dropping).  When I first got started in full time outreach, on Friday (usually my longest day), I would be exhausted, and could barely get myself out to do the evening outreach.  But after six months, I seem to have adjusted, and I have better physical and mental stamina now.  I thank God that He is sustaining me!

Three outreaches: the Gospel + abortion outreach outside the hospital in the morning (with a team of four), a city outreach in the afternoon (with a different team of four), and a city outreach in the evening (with a team of three).  A total of eight team members were involved over the three outreaches.

For the Gospel + abortion outreach, 3 of us stood with signs, while Andy walked around having conversations with people.

At one point, a young lady ran out of the hospital (crying), down the steps past us on the footpath, and then across the road and down the street!  One of the ladies on our team went after her, and was able to take her back into the hospital where she needed to be.  That team member ended up staying with her: it was a wonderful ministry opportunity (note, the situation had nothing to do with abortion).

At the end of the outreach, 3 ladies who were angry at our presence outside the hospital took Andy on.  It was encouraging to me, because it shows that what we are doing is reaching people.  It also made me realise how much this abortion ministry really is a Gospel ministry.  Nothing removes the veil over human depravity than this.  The hatred people have towards God and the love for sin (people want to live life their way, not God’s).

Our continued hope and prayer, is that we will save precious pre-born lives from murder (by parent’s changing their mind about having an abortion), and to see souls saved through the Gospel.

This log is now too long, and I won’t be able to write about the encouraging preaching and Gospel conversations of the afternoon.

But the evening saw wonderful conversations with: three skaters, a guy from Zimbabwe, a lady who had sadly lost her husband recently and was now a spiritualist and training to be a medium, an atheist from Sydney, a young couple, a brief conversation with a man whose wife was a Christian.  All of whom heard the Gospel.

I then had a big encouragement when a guy I first met six months ago, and had talked about the Gospel with multiple times,  joyfully came up to me, gave me a hug, and said he had committed his life to Christ!  He is now connected into a local church.  How wonderful is that!  All glory to God.

The weekend outreaches are about to start.  Thank you for continuing to pray!  Our efforts will be fruitless without it.
 

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Tuesday and Wednesday saw a fairly constant stream of Gospel conversations - which was great.  On Tuesday I was on Riccarton Road, and on Wednesday I stayed in Cathedral Square for both outreaches of the day.

The most encouraging interaction came on Wednesday morning when I first entered the Square.  Although cold, it was very sunny, and I spotted some construction workers having a break and enjoying the sun.  I headed towards them intending to start a conversation, but then I noticed another guy also enjoying the sun, and so, for some reason, I ended up approaching him instead (I guess my reasoning was that one to one conversations can be easier?).

So I just walked right up to this guy, and introduced myself.  I know that is a very un Kiwi like thing to do!  But how else are we going to get important conversations started?  I could tell the guy was a little taken back by this, but after a few minutes of interaction, he got over it and started warming to the conversation.

Amazingly, it turns out he was taking a much needed break away from life in the North Island, and since arriving in Christchurch on Sunday - I was the third stranger to interact with him about God!

On Sunday he had heard someone open air preaching (not from our team), and someone else had also approached him to talk about Christian things.

So in hindsight, I think his initial reaction when I approached him, was shock at yet another stranger reaching out to him about spiritual things.  God is trying to talk to him!  And this in turn was very encouraging to me (and I hope to you).

So, of course, I shared the law and the Gospel with him.  And we discussed this, and other things, for a good while.

He took a tract, and a contact card for my local church.

But I am sad that I didn’t get to talk with and share Jesus with those construction workers.  Maybe they will come across your path?  Are you ready to share with them?

Another interesting interaction crossed both days of outreach.  On the Tuesday in Riccarton, I handed a guy a tract.  And then on Wednesday, in The Square, he came up to my flip chart and wanted to do the good person test.

Well, I was already in a conversation with two ladies from Iran, so I said I’d be happy to talk, but I would need to finish my current conversation first.

To my surprise, he indicated that he would wait, and so he sat down and waited his turn!  It’s not often that I get queue of people wanting to talk to me!

But sadly, when I came over to talk to this guy, he scared me a little bit.  He wasn’t being rational, and he suddenly became emotional at one point.  I could see that I wasn’t going to be able to reason with this guy at the most basic level, so I gently backed off.  He then mentioned something about wanting a hug - something I wasn’t comfortable to do.  This was one of those very few situations where I want someone to move along.  And he did, which I’m grateful for.  But it is a reminder that I really appreciate all those praying for my protection as I’m out on the streets each day.  Thank you!

I took my lunch break at this point, and I moved to another spot for this.  I noticed the guy come back into the Square, and he had 3 other people with him.  As he walked past the spot where we interacted, he turned and pointed at it and said something to those with him.  I do wonder what he said.

The final interaction I’ll mention in this report is some encouragement about the “man who gets very angry at us every time he sees us” that I mentioned in a report last week.  He came through The Square again today and so I approached him.  He had his usual insults about Christianity to share, but today he asked for one of my tracts!  I gladly gave him one.  He then proceeded to insult the art work of it (he mentioned something about comparing it to Michaelangelo).  I gladly soaked up the insults but, to my joy, the anger wasn’t there this time.  And even better than that, he walked on still holding the tract!  Very encouraging.  I’m looking forward to seeing him again (God willing), and getting his thoughts on it.

God is good, and I’m so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had, through your support, to share the love of Christ with the lost over these two days.  But I’d be failing in my job, if I don’t encourage you, Christian, to get involved with the great commission!  Join me :)
 

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Friday’s mist turned into a rain on Saturday and, sadly, this wasn’t conducive to people coming out - or if they did, to them being interested in stopping for a chat!

Yet tracts were received, and I did have two conversations.

The first was with a homeless guy I hadn’t met before.  I sat next to him and spend some time getting to know him and, of course, I shared the law and Gospel.

The second was with a young man who went to church, but didn’t seem to have any understanding of the Gospel - which I was able to explain.

I also open air preached in the rain to the few passing by.

Sunday saw the sun come out again, and with it people.  So tracts were distributed, and Gospel conversations occurred.

Two people walked passed and received a tract.  A while later, they came passed again, and before I realised it was the same people, I had offered them another tract (they responded with - “you’ve already given us one”).  Finally they came past one more time and this time I said: “I know I’ve already give you one of these, but can I ask you - will you go to heaven when you die?”.  They engaged, and we had a short conversation where I was able to reason with them about the realities of life and death - and the hope of eternal life found in the Gospel.

A man had walked past me twice on the previous day and had refused tracts both times.  But on the second time I smiled and said, “Will you get a third opportunity?  This is important.”  Well, today he came past again - his third time! :)  This time he smiled, took the tract and moved on.  But he then came back and we had an opportunity to chat.  It turns out he works in one of the shops close by.  He had a reasonable grasp of the Gospel already, but seemed to be in need of some discipling and encouragement.  He had to head back to work, but I asked him to contact me.

The outreach finished with open air preaching in Cathedral Square.  There were quite a few people about.  And I was encouraged to get a new heckler that asked some good questions.  I did my best to bring my answers back to the Gospel.  During the dialogue, I noticed a guy watching the exchange intently.  Later, one of the team was able to have a conversation with that guy, and I was very encouraged to learn he was open to the Gospel.

Yet, the preaching wasn’t without opposition.  One of the market stall owners decided to play harsh music loudly in an attempt to disrupt the preaching and later he had some ‘words’ with one of the team as they were passing by handing out tracts.

Thank you for your continued prayer for our Gospel efforts in Christchurch.  May “Christ” continue to be glorified by His “Church” as we obey His command to go.

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Thursday was even more encouraging than Wednesday.

Both Andy & I were out, and we had a wonderful time of ministry in Cathedral Square.  In fact, things were going so well, we didn’t even leave to go to the Eastgate bus stops.

I always carry a Bible to give away, and Gospel booklets - but I rarely give them away now - relying more on the wonderful Operation 513 tracts (you can now buy these in NZ via the new web store).  Well today, in just my second conversation, I had a wonderful follow up opportunity with a young lady who declared she wanted to trust in Christ!

I didn’t know what to do.  I never get into this situation!  But what a wonderful situation to be in.  So I took her through the law and Gospel again, to make sure she understood it, to make sure her motivations were right, and that she had counted the cost.  She took a Bible and a Gospel booklet, and a contact card for my local church.  Her salvation is in God’s hands.  If she is trusting Christ, I hope to see her again soon.

As I was recovering from that conversation, a young man approached - he seemed familiar and it turns out we had talked to him on Sumner beach during our summer mission, and also at the Sparks in the Park outreach.  It was great to see him again, and to see that he had really been wrestling with the Gospel.  He too took a contact card for my church, and also a Gospel booklet.

Straight after that, a man who gets very angry at us every time he sees us came past.  He started spewing his usual hatred, but I had an unusual calmness (I guess I’m just getting used to it) and love for this guy.  I took the effort to simply listen to him, and acknowledge what he said.  At one point I had to qualify that when I said “ok” it didn’t mean I agreed, just that I was acknowledging that I was listening.  I was so encouraged to see him soften ever so slightly.  And I started to get an appreciation for what motivated his hatred.  He didn’t stay too long.  But I’m hoping the next time he will stay longer, and that we would eventually be able to start dialoguing.

I was on a roll, and feeling bold.  I saw a young man sitting in the corner of The Square reading.  So I decided to approach and offer a tract.  Well, that young man was very keen to discuss the Gospel.  He followed, and even anticipated, the logic of the existence of God, conscience, justice, the law, the heart of the law, and the Gospel.  And then he said, “I want to start reading the Bible”.  I rarely give away a Bible, but today I had two opportunities to do so!  Andy came to my rescue, and was able to give the young man the one he carries to give away.  He also took a Gospel booklet.

It was at this point that Andy & I decided to open air preach.

By this stage, it was starting to get dark, and the outreach would soon be drawing to a close.  But Gospel opportunities kept presenting themselves.  I was bounding with energy and feeling unstoppable.

About six high school students walked into The Square, and I asked them: “May I ask you a question, it’s a deep question… will you go to heaven when you die?”.  They were keen to discuss.  And it turned into quite a captivating conversation.  I was sharing the Gospel, and they were quietly soaking it in.  I’d finish, and they were just staring at me, and so I would go through it again, in a slightly different way, and then again.  At this point I said.  Guys, I’m not going to stop until you leave.  So I just kept sharing the law and the Gospel, and calling them to trust in Christ.  Eventually, one of them broke the spell and said, “is this the point where we leave?”.  I smiled, shook their hands and gave them all tracts.  They all seemed appreciative.  Oh Lord, bring Yourself glory in saving their souls!

Friday saw a damp day -- it wasn’t raining, but there was a fine mist about.  A team of three faithfully stood outside the hospital making a stand for those that can’t save themselves: the unborn.  Andy had at least one solid Gospel conversation (the guy took a booklet).

We also had a situation where a young couple walked past, and we noticed them looking back.  The look on her face spoke volumes.  Andy tried to initiate a conversation, but they weren’t interested, and walked away.  I was holding the sign that starts with “There is hope”.  And I want them to know it.

After preaching in Cathedral Square, Andy and I decided to move outside the Ara campus on the south east corner of the central city.  The boldness from the day before was still with me, and I was handing out tracts to everyone that passed as we went.  And many people took those tracts.  Four ladies who were leaving a building took one, and it was wonderful hearing them start to discuss the tract as we moved on.

As soon as we got to Ara, I boldly started approaching people, and I couldn’t believe how receptive these young people were.  In about an hour and half, I reckon I had about 8 sets of Gospel conversations.  Andy had one long conversation - and the young man expressed a desire to visit our church.

Oh, may what’s happening continue to happen!  Thank you for praying.  Please keep praying!  And join us.  While we share with people, so many more walk past that we can’t talk to.  And we want to reach as many people as we can with the precious Gospel message - don’t we?

Till the nets are full! :)

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