Battle Log

Again the weekend saw two outreaches in the city.

On Saturday I was in Cathedral Square and I had two highlight conversations.

The first was with a homeless guy who wanted to know what the flip chart was all about.  He was very open to the law and Gospel presentation.  I could see that he really wanted to change, but there were things in his life he didn’t feel he could clean up.  He talked about trying and failing.  I had a wonderful opportunity to explain what repentance and faith were.  Because of what Christ had done on the cross, our sin debt is completely paid.  We need to trust in Christ, and not our works for salvation: faith alone.  I also explained that because it had all been done by Christ, repentance couldn’t mean: try.  It is a change of heart, a change of mind from sin to God (including will and emotions) that, ultimately, only God can give us.  I challenged him not to try harder, but to surrender to Christ: to repent and believe the Gospel.

The second conversation started in an interesting way.  A group of people were walking past, and one of them turned back, curious about the flip chart.  As he asked me questions, and I responded, the whole group of people stopped, and I had a mini open air going!  Sadly, the group quickly lost interest, and they all moved on… except one.

A young lady with a child in a pram wanted to engage, and we had a great conversation.  She seemed to know a lot about Christian things, and so I tested her by asking her why she would be going to heaven.  I was amazed when she responded with “I wouldn’t deserve to be in heaven”.  So I probed further by asking why she could, and she said: “because of what Jesus did for me on the cross”.

She seemed to believe, but sadly, it seems that she wasn’t willing to repent.  As our discussion progressed, we touched on some subjects that triggered her to put her shields up.

But we parted ways on good terms, which is good because later she came back wanting a tract and to continue chatting for a little longer.  She asked me if I gave away million dollar notes (which I did), because someone had given her one five years ago, and she still had it on her fridge today - that was very encouraging to hear!  But a tract on the fridge is no good, if it’s not read and responded to.

Sunday saw rain, but it stayed away while we were out - and it wasn’t cold.  A team of three had Gospel conversations in Cashel Mall and Cathedral Square.

Some of us had frustrating conversations, but some great ones were had as well.

I had three stand out conversations, one of which got started with: “excuse me, may I ask you a question, it’s a deep question”.  It turned out that one of the couple was an atheist and the other a Christian.  The Christian was keen to try the good person test, but the atheist wasn’t.  But as the discussion continued, the atheist started to feel challenged, and some great dialogue was had.  Both heard the law and Gospel, and were challenged to respond with repentance and faith (I had no idea where the Christian really stood).

The team enjoyed fellowship over coffee afterwards.  And I’ll be enjoying a day off tomorrow.  Praise God for rest.

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On Thursday we had some light rain, but it did not impact ministry, actually there wasn’t really any period of down time for the four hours of outreach in the city and at Eastgate.

In the city, we decided to move from Cathedral Square to Cashel Mall, but on the way we got into a conversation with a young man who had seen our flip chart before and wanted to understand what we were all about.  Due to the rain, Andy offered to buy him a drink, and so we were able to sit down at a table to discuss the Gospel in depth - it was a wonderful opportunity (incidentally, we saw him the next day to be able to continue the conversation, and it’s likely we will see him more often in the future).

As always, the Eastgate outreach was a busy time of ministry, having quick law and Gospel conversations with people, and also opportunities to follow up with people we have talked to before.

Friday dawned as a nice, sunny, hot, late autumns day.  Today saw a marathon of eight hours stretched over three distinct outreaches, including people of all ages, experience levels, and from various local churches.

The first outreach was the Gospel + abortion outreach.  18 people (including 3 families) turned up to hold up signs outside the hospital, and to dialogue with people about the horror of abortion, and the hope found in the Gospel.

All eight of our signs were in action.  And Andy was able to focus on conversations, having a very fruitful time of ministry.

As always, we got a mixture of very polarised responses.

Some great support, including a man who (if I heard him correctly) was shot in the recent mosque shooting!  He gladly took a tract, and then came back wanting to take a photo with us (included in this report).

But there was the inevitable attacks.  We were accused of child abuse (having our children involved) - which is ironic considering we are standing against the abuse and murder of children.  We were told that we should be educating our children - which is exactly what we are doing, it’s called social studies.

We also had two instances where young women would yell at us.  One claimed that we supported rape - which is ridiculous.  We responded firmly, but gently in all cases.

Security were called out again, but soon left.

We have no idea what impact our feeble efforts are having.  But in our weakness, we are doing what we can.  Please join us in prayer that the Lord would use it to see abortion ended in our nation, and for the furtherance of the Gospel for his glory alone.  If you live in Christchurch, please join us on this very important outreach.

Our regular Friday afternoon outreach in the city was very busy.  There were eight people involved (including two from the OAC team, and a newbie).

I had a wonderful opportunity to open air preach, as there were no buskers about.  One of our very vocal hecklers was there, but he wasn’t able to stop the proclamation.  Marty, from OAC, also preached (see picture with the wizard in the background).

The team then moved to Cashel Mall for a busy afternoon of ministry.  It was nice to be able to enjoy a coffee together afterwards.

The marathon ended with a two and a half hour evening outreach, led by Mike.  The food trucks in Cathedral Square draws people for conversations.  And to finish the outreach, we did a circuit around the pubs and bars, providing opportunities for tract distribution and conversations.

As we were walking down Hereford Street, we started talking about ways to start conversations again, and I remembered the last evening outreach where I had used the question: “excuse me, may I ask you a question, it’s a deep question”.  And so I suggested Mike try it this time.

We looked up, and two guys were walking toward us, and so Mike jumped in and said exactly that.  They both stopped and one of them said: "sure, you have 22 seconds" (or something like that).  So Mike asked “Will you go to heaven when you die?”, and then launched into a law presentation (see picture).  The two guys became so engaged, that they forgot time and the conversation ended up going for 45 minutes!  Praise God for that.

And praise God for all He is doing through all of you who head out, weak as you are, and share His precious Gospel.  Be encouraged!  Take the step, get involved: for the glory of God alone. :)
 

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On Tuesday I normally go to Riccarton which is west of the City, but I decided to try a new outreach location: Northlands Mall in Papanui, which is north of the City.

I like routine, and so this broke it.  I ended up feeling as nervous as I used to feel when I was first getting involved with street outreach.  It’s good to feel that, as it gives me empathy for all you Christians who are just getting started!  But I went out anyway.  I consoled myself with the fact that I could just hand out tracts, which helps me with my nerves.

But as I walked down the street, towards the mall, and the bus stops, I was surprised at how many people there were.  So I started saying “Hi” to people and working on getting a conversation started.

Admittedly, it was a bit awkward initially, but I was quickly into a Gospel conversation with a young man.  It turns out he was heading to the doctors with heart concerns!  So the conversation was timely.  He was happy for me to walk with him, and I was able to share the law and Gospel - which he seemed to understand and appreciate it.  I challenged him to respond to the Gospel.

The outreach then proceeded from conversation to conversation.  Praise God, my nerves had evaporated.  And I had “broken soil” at a new outreach location.  It seems to be a wonderful location, with more bus stops than at Eastgate (east of the City).  Please join me in praying for this new outreach location.

Wednesday was back to routine, with an outreach in Cathedral Square, and then to the Hospital for a regular (not abortion) outreach.

In Cathedral Square there were two stand out conversations.

The first was a brief chat with a Christian tourist.  Very early on he said: “I try”.  Instantly I had concern, and so I stopped him and explained that, for salvation, we don’t need to try.  It is a completed work done by Jesus, on our behalf, on the cross.  Salvation is a gift.  He then mentioned something about “regret”.  Which is great - we should all regret our sin.  But regret, alone, does not remove our sin: we must place our faith in Jesus.  Yet he still didn’t seem to grasp what I was saying until I explained a third time.  He seemed to appreciate our chat and smiled as he left, after we shook hands.  He gladly accepted a tract.

The second was a complete contrast.  Firstly, the conversation went for an hour!  But the key difference was that the guy I was talking to completely rejected salvation by faith alone, and insisted that works were required for salvation!  He seemed to accept the Bible (including the OT, the Gospels, the general epistles, and Revelation), but he rejected the Pauline epistles!  He insisted that repentance was required for salvation, and that it is a work.  I agreed the repentance is required for salvation, but had the opportunity to explain that repentance is not a work at all, but a change of mind away from sin and to God that leads to obedience (works).  We are saved by grace, through faith and not by works, but for works.  This issue is critical to get right.  If you think you need to do any works to be saved, then you can’t have your faith in Jesus alone to save you!

I ended up getting the guy to say something amazing.  I asked if I needed to be circumcised to be saved, and he hedged.  So I asked if I needed to keep all the food laws of the OT to be saved.  He ended up admitting that we did need to do both!  So I asked him, assuming I knew I was dying in a few day, what I needed to do to be saved.  He seemed stuck and then said: “Well, I would recommend you give $1000 to the first charity you can think of - that should help”.  I was shocked.  This guy was trying to earn his way to heaven by his own effort.  Something Jesus clearly explained that is Impossible to do (see Matthew 5:21-29 and Mark 10:17-31).

It was a very friendly conversation, but at the end, I had to call this guy to repentance (ironically).  He was wrongly trusting in his works to save him, which would lead him to damnation.  I told him he needed to change his mind and only trust in Christ to save him: to accept the gift by faith.

He lives out of town, but I made sure he knew how to get in touch if he wanted to discuss further.  I hope to hear from him.

The Hospital outreach was surprisingly active, with some really good Gospel conversations: including a man who regularly went to the mosque to pray - but had not been there on that fateful day.

Later, while I was talking with someone else, suddenly an angry lady broke into the conversation.  She was angry that I was outside the hospital doing what I was doing.  She stormed off before I could really interact, but she made it clear she had called security.

Sure enough, a security guard came past five minutes later.  He walked up the steps and watched me for a minute (I know because the person I was talking to told me) - but they left me alone.  I’m on the sidewalk, which is public property, and I have every right to be there and talk to people about my religious convictions.

Yet, the intensity of her anger unsettled me.  I need to get used to this, our next abortion outreach will be Friday morning…

As always, your prayer and support is much appreciated.  All this work would not be able to happen without it.  It is truly amazing what God is doing in getting regular outreaches established in Christchurch.  Thank you!
 

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The weekend saw two outreaches for the Christchurch (NZ) team, both in the city: Cathedral Square on Saturday, and Cashel Mall + Preaching in Cathedral Square on Sunday.

I thought Saturday’s outreach was going to be quiet, but as I patiently handed out tracts, God saw fit to bring Gospel conversations.

I had a fascinating conversation with two guys.  One who needed an emphasis on grace, and the other needing an emphasis on the law.  Both of them gave facial expressions at different times that showed they were listening and understanding, but, sadly, both seemed to reject the Gospel.

The first guy clearly stated that he deserved hell for what he had done and expressed a hopelessness.  He seemed to struggle as I explained grace: that Jesus had died for the worst of sinners.  But he soon recovered his composure and raised his mask and defences, and started talking crazy stuff.

The second guy looked into the distance as I explained the law to him.  His self righteousness was being challenged: he admitted he would be guilty and deserved hell, and so I turned the corner and started to explain the Gospel of Jesus, and then he raised his mask and defences by cutting me off.  He didn’t want to hear it.  He then started talking about Islam - he was obviously recently listening to it’s teaching.

For both of them, I could see that I wouldn’t be able to convince them.  So I patiently listened to them till they decided to move on.

But there is still hope for both of them!

I also had some very encouraging conversations with Catholics.

One was with a guy I had had a long talk to outside the hospital about a month ago.  It was great to see him again and have the opportunity to call him to faith alone in Christ alone again.

The second was very providential.  On Thursday Andy & I were debating whether someone claiming to be a Catholic could be saved.  I was on the side of no, because a “born again Catholic” who believed in justification by grace alone through faith alone would need to move out of the Catholic church which does not teach that.

Well, God sent along a man and his wife, to challenge me!  The man was very keen to chat, and claimed to be a Catholic who emphatically stood against Catholic doctrine in claiming to believe in justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone!  It turns out he doesn’t attend mass too often, and he does have some contact with a local church.  We had a great chat, but I did call him away from Rome completely and to commit to a sound local church.

The Sunday outreach saw a team of 8.

The family of three again joined us for the second time.  And today one of them gave out their first Gospel tracts with some polite interaction!  He was very encouraged.  I captured the moment in one of the photos.

At one point all three flip charts had Gospel conversations running - very encouraging.

And I had a wonderful opportunity while I was taking a photo of two of those conversations.  A young man (you can see his knee in the photo) walked over and stood there with an expression on his face that said: “please talk to me about the Gospel”.  I gladly obliged!  :)

It turns out this man had a Catholic school background, and had a school friend who had suddenly become a Christian.  It’s obvious he had been watching the change in his friend and wanted to understand it.  I had a wonderful time discussing the law and the Gospel with him.

It was clear he was understanding grace as he made the comment: “so I can just keep sinning and do what I want”.  No, if we have received God’s grace, our life will change and we will no longer want to sin, even though we will.  And I was able to continue discussing the concepts with him.

He seemed appreciative, and took a tract.  I hope he discusses the Gospel conversation further with his friend.

We finished the outreach with preaching in Cathedral Square.

All glory to God!
 

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Please pray.  Pray for labourers for the harvest and for God to use us for his glory: the salvation of the lost, and the saving of lives.  As we were leaving our second Gospel + abortion outreach, we afresh had the realisation of how desperately we need God’s help in the battle to bring the Gospel to the lost.  In our own effort, we won’t achieve anything.

As we turned up, again the media were outside the hospital.  This time, sadly, it was because one of those injured in the mosque attack had died, bringing the toll to 51.  And again, we had no idea this had happened, and we were not planning our outreach for media attention.  But it was a poignant reminder of the sanctity of life.  Murder is wrong, and there is hope in the Gospel of Jesus.

So, as planned, we pulled out our new signs, and took up our positions.  There were four of us over the two hour outreach.

It again had a polarising effect: many in support, and many against.  Tracts were accepted, and conversations were had.  Andy had a wonderful opportunity for a follow up conversation from last week with someone who works in the hospital.

Today I was called judgemental, and a purveyor of hate speech, all this while holding the sign that says: “There is hope, we will help, talk to us.”  Ironically, this came from people who were judging and hating me.

An hour and a half into the outreach, all of a sudden, security staff started to appear.  There were at least six of them - it felt like they brought the army out (see pic).  I was nervous and started praying.  Finally, after they had all found positions, two of them approached from the side.

Thankfully, the spokesperson was great.  We had a friendly chat, he confirmed we were fine doing what we were doing, as long as we didn’t block any paths.

Eventually, the security staff dispersed, but one stayed.  At the end of the outreach, I thanked him for his protection - and he smiled.

But I think it shows that we are being noticed - which is encouraging.  If so few can get a reaction, what would happen if more Christians started standing up and joining the line?  In our weakness, God shows Himself strong.

If you are a Christian, PLEASE join us!  Required ability: standing with a sign.  This is something that families can get involved with.  The more sign holders we have, the more other Christians will be able to talk to people about the Gospel - our only hope for ending abortion.

After the Gospel + abortion outreach, we moved into the City for flip charting, and tract distribution.

And on the previous day, Thursday, we held our regular City and Eastgate outreaches.

I’m out of time to write about some of the interactions of those outreaches, but we encountered some strong opposition (see picture of man pointing), talked to a rugby player from South Africa, and (as always) had wonderful conversations at Eastgate: the highlights of which included multiple people realising that good works were not the way of salvation, but instead it's grace, through faith in Jesus.  And I had a wonderful follow up conversation with a guy I had talked to for “about an hour outside the hospital” (which I can’t remember) - praise God that people continue to be reached with the Gospel multiple times.

As always, may God be glorified through our feeble efforts!  Thanks to all who are supporting us.  I really mean it: thank you!

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Tuesday saw outreach resume in the Riccarton area & Wednesday saw outreach in the township just north of Christchurch called Kaiapoi for the first time.

The Riccarton outreach was dominated by one conversation that went for about an hour.  It was with an Italian man who I would describe as... passionate!  Although it was a good and friendly conversation, multiple times I had to clarify that I wasn’t there for an argument, and to ask him to calm down.

He was very linguistically focused (knowing 4 languages) and would want to discuss the meaning of certain words in the Old Testament of the Bible to try to prove certain points that I wasn’t too clear of.  I would listen for good periods, and then try to steer the conversation back to the simplicity of the law and the Gospel.  But he would listen for a while, and then pull the conversation back down a rabbit trail.

In the end, I never really got a chance to talk about the Gospel (sadly, he wasn’t interested).

As is often the case, his concern was with why God (whom he didn’t deny) allows suffering.  It seemed that a lot of his logic came from “new atheists” like Dawkins.

As we were not making any progress in the conversation, multiple times I tried to disengage and wish him a good day.  But he didn’t want to let it go for some reason.  At one point he said: “I answered all your questions, and now I want you to answer my question!”  Even after explaining that he was under no obligation to answer my questions, he insisted on staying and talking.  There were times when I just didn’t have good answers on hand.  And so I would be honest and just say so.

Eventually he did disengage, and oddly he apologised.  We parted on good terms.

Wednesday’s focus was on four hours of door to door knocking in Kaiapoi.  It was a wonderful time of ministry with some excellent Gospel conversations.

The stand out conversation was with a lady with a young family.  Initially, when we first knocked in the morning, she wasn’t able to talk, but she said we could come back - saying the afternoon would be fine.  And so after lunch we went back, and she welcomed us in for a chat.

We were able to share the law and the Gospel in some depth, asking checking questions multiple times.  There was no visible sign of contrition, but seemed interested in what we were talking about.  She gladly took a Bible and other literature.

A teenage son, who was home sick, also heard the Gospel and I had an opportunity to ask if he understood what was discussed, by giving him a checking question.  He answered well by saying: “I need to trust in Jesus to go to heaven” - I was encouraged.

We asked the mother what her partner though about spiritual things.  And she said he was very open, and that they would often talk about them.  We asked her to discuss these things with her partner and gave her contact details if they wanted to discuss further.

She thanked us for our time, and we thanked her for hers.

Another wonderful conversation was with two contractors on a break, sitting in their van, waiting for concrete to dry.  They were originally from the Philippines and were happy to chat with us.  After hearing the Gospel, they also gladly took Bibles and other Gospel literature.

Many other good Gospel conversations were had.  Something that interested me was that none of the people we talked to while door knocking denied the existence of God.  There is much opportunity to discuss the Gospel.  Please join me in praying that the Holy Spirit would use the plowing of hearts (by the law), and the seed (the Gospel) sown today, to bring fruit for His glory.
 

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Thanks for your prayers. I awoke Saturday morning refreshed and with a clear head. 

I started the days outreach with some letterbox dropping.  It was a hot day, with a strong wind (with autumn leaves that crunch satisfyingly). So for the second time (since starting this job) I had to discreetly change out of my thermals in the car! :o

I was then in Cathedral Square for 3 hours of outreach and God blessed me with 3 very encouraging Gospel conversations - all different.

My first conversation was with a teen, who claimed to be a Christian, and love Jesus and yet believed that self righteousness was the way to heaven.  What started as a conversation where I thought they would leave at any moment, turned into a one hour, engaged, Bible study.  They just couldn't see themselves as a bad person deserving of hell or in need of salvation.

So the focus of the conversation was on the law, and the study took us from Matthew 5:21 (the sermon on the mount - anger & lust), to Mark 10:17 (the rich young man), and then to Luke 18:9 (the pharisee and the tax collector).

I eventually got a response of "I kind of get it". But in spite of deep sincerity, there seemed to be a blindness to what the Bible says.

Yet I didn't give up.  They said they loved to read, and gladly took a Gospel booklet, and all the varieties of tracts I had.  I wrote a list of Bible passages for them to meditate on (the ones I gave above, plus Romans 1-3, and the whole of Mark). And I gave them a contact card for my local church, with my contact details, and encouraged them to discuss with their parents and to get back to a good local church (of which I listed some suggestions).

After an encouraging conversation with a Christian, I then had an elderly person stop and want to talk.

They seemed to know about Christian things, and so I asked why they would go to heaven when they died.  I was encouraged when they responded with 'faith', and with some probing, a clear understanding of grace and faith in Christ alone for salvation.

It turns out I had given a tract to them months ago in Hagley park (the reason why they stopped to talk).  Tears came to their eyes as they shared a moment that had happened years earlier that had put them on a path of searching for truth.  They were now on the 3rd reading of the Bible, and had a desire to be baptised.  Again there seemed to be a sincere desire to follow Christ (they even described themselves as a follower of Jesus), but there was something holding them back.

I gave them a contact card also.  It was a wonderful conversation, I would dearly love to just sit with this person and spend time with them.  There was a warmness about them.  I hope they get in touch.

My final conversation of the day came about by a man sitting down near to where I was handing out tracts.  He became curious, so he held out his hand for one - which I gladly gave.

He sat and read for a while before beckoning me over.  It turns out he needed help with reading some of the words.  It was my absolute pleasure to slowly work through the whole tract with him, helping him with the words he struggled with, and talking through what it was saying (see picture).  It was wonderful seeing him slowly agreeing with the logic.

When we got up to the heaven or hell part, it was clear that he understood that he deserved hell, but that he wanted to go to heaven.  So we read on to where the gift of eternal life was explained.  He seemed to understand it all.

But, at this time, he rejected the message.  He clearly articulated that his desire for a specific sin was greater than the gift of eternal life found only by faith in Jesus paying his fine.  Sadly, he wasn’t willing to change his mind.

Yet there is still hope while he is alive.  The Gospel is the power of God to salvation, and he seems to understand the Gospel now.  I leave him in Gods hands.

Sunday saw a team of six out for two hours in the afternoon.  It was great to have three people joining us for the first time (all from one family).

I had a good conversation with a tourist from Europe who had recently been in Australia (Melbourne), and had spent some time with a Christian who had been explaining Christian concepts to him.  I was able to go over the whole Gospel with him.  He asked about which books of the Bible would be good to start with.  I suggested Mark & Romans.  But I clarified that he already had enough information, today was the day to trust in Christ for the forgiveness of his sins.

At the end of the outreach, we headed to Cathedral Square and I was able to preach in the open air, something that I missed doing on Thursday.

But before getting there, I noticed something on the foot path.  It was a torn contact card for my local church!  I picked it up, and it had my contact details on the back.  It must of been one of the two that I had given out yesterday, they obviously have no desire to get in touch.  :(  Yet, I'm not discouraged.  I can't change people, I can't convince them of anything.  It's my job to share the Gospel.  It's God's job to change hearts.  But I do wonder who's it was.

As always, all glory to God for helping us through this weekend of outreach.
 

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Thursday was ANZAC day - a public holiday.  We headed into the city for our usual outreach with the plan of moving on to Eastgate.  But because of the holiday, there were a lot more people in town than usual, and so we ended up staying in the city for the whole afternoon.

And it was an odd afternoon.

Speaker’s Corner had a speaker playing loud music making any preaching difficult.

I was attempting to hand out tracts at the entrance to Cathedral Square without much luck, when a lady, seemingly out of pity, decided to come and take one.

I then had one of my hecklers come over for a chat.  We had been getting along well of late, but sadly the conversation “went south”.  But I was rescued by Sophie, who had come to join the outreach, and we decided to head to the corner of Cashel and Colombo.

But for me, I just had difficult conversations with people, who just wanted to mock.  And then a security guard asked me to move slightly, as technically I was on private property.  I gladly moved and the guy even took a tract.

Two guys then engaged the flip chart with Sophie, and a good conversation occurred with one of them, but his friend was not interested at all, and backed away a few meters.  I decided to approach him and try to start a conversation, but as he was talking to me, he just kept backing away, until there was a good meter and a half between us.  He really didn’t want to talk!  I tried one more time, but he just backed off down the street, and stayed there until his friend had finished hearing the Gospel from Sophie (see picture).

So it ended up being a niggly sort of day, from an outreach perspective.  But still, tracts did go out, and Gospel conversations did occur.  God uses our weakness for His glory.

But in contrast, the first outreach of Friday was incredibly encouraging! It was our first abortion + Gospel outreach outside the Hospital.

As I turned up, there were a whole lot of Police, the reason being that Prince William was visiting some of the Mosque shooting victims. We had no idea, but our timing was perfect. The Police wanted us around the corner - which was fine with us.

Then a lady came out of the hospital and I talked to her about what Prince William was doing and how that tied into why we were there. We are against all murder! And we want people to know there is forgiveness by the grace of Christ!

She blew me away when she said she had an abortion! My first conversation and I was able to minister exactly on the subject we were there for!

The signs arrived and we got started and there was an initial burst of opposition.  Security tried to move us across the road, which we politely refused, and then we had some brief opposition from pro choice people.

It calmed down after that, and the 2 hour outreach went amazing.  We had support and opposition.  And Andy & Jason had some wonderful conversations. Yes conversations, we are not there to yell.

Super encouraged that we are doing the right thing - as useless as it seems.

We want to see abortion end, that will only come through the Gospel of Christ changing hearts.

(We are working under the banner of Project 139 for this outreach.)

After this, we moved back to the city where Andy preached in the open air, and then Roger joined us for flip charting in Cashel Mall where some good Gospel conversations were had.
 

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The seagulls wanted hot cross buns... but they didn't get any! :) The Easter Monday outreach seemed to go well. Another 500 hot cross bun halves went out... plus the bread of life: Jesus - shared in Easter tracts.

I focused on flip chart conversations while other Christians watched to get a feel for sharing the Gospel on the streets.

I had two conversations, the first one was short, and allowed the Christians watching to get a good overview of a Gospel conversation.  The second one was an epic!  It tested my conversational and apologetic skills, while having to wrestle with illogical responses of a person resisting the obvious.  It was a wonderful conversation that ended well, but that had drained all my energy.

A brief report from Andy revealed the other team had some good Gospel conversations as well.

Like on Saturday, I was very encouraged to see so many Christians getting involved. We even had a family we haven't met before come join us - so blessed!

Thanks to all involved - you did an awesome job! Keep it up :)

After some rest on Tuesday, Wednesday was the usual marathon of 7 hours of outreach, including letterbox dropping, an outreach to the city, and an outreach outside the hospital.

I was again blessed with follow up conversations.

One was with the young man I mentioned a month or so ago, whose baby daughter had major complications after birth.  The good news, is his daughter is well!  He showed me some pictures.  He said he had read some of the Bible I had given him, starting at the spot I had suggested.  And he took one of the tracts I was handing out today (Jesus Shows Us God).

But the highlight conversation was a follow up with a guy who revealed some more information about himself, which allowed me to minister more specifically to him.  It turns out he had been involved with churches in the past, but had pulled away - seemingly due to something to do with suffering and why God allows it.  He used an analogy where his daughter had a thorn in her finger causing her pain, and how cruel would he be as a father not to pull it out.  He was clearly pointing at God being cruel for not dealing with the thorns in our sides.  So I responded with scripture:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me

2 Corinthians 12:7–9 ESV

But even though Paul understood why his thorn was not taken away.  I explained that we don’t always get to know why God allows suffering to come our way.  But that we need to trust Him no matter what, like: Job, Joseph, and Jesus.  Like Job, our attitude should be:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 

Job 1:21 ESV

In fact, believers are promised suffering:

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted

2 Timothy 3:12 ESV

He made reference to the murders in the Mosque a month ago.  But I made it clear that God did not do the killing, but the man who did it was responsible.  And God will ultimately give perfect justice (for all), but he is patiently holding off his justice so that people can receive mercy and grace.

We discussed other things as well.  I was really blessed to be able to call him to repentance and faith once again.  God willing, I’ll have more opportunities to talk to him.
 

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Saturday saw the first of two Easter Hot Cross Bun and Gospel Tract outreaches of the long weekend.  These outreaches are designed to be very easy for Christians to be introduced to sharing the Gospel on the street.  People love getting free hot cross buns and are more than happy to take a tract along with it.

From that regard, the outreach was a wonderful success.  Many Christians took the opportunity to get involved and share the law and the wonderful Gospel of God’s grace.

500 hot cross bun halves were given away, with nearly the same amount of tracts.

Flip charts were also set up, and many Gospel conversations were had.

Sunday was wet (again), but it wasn’t raining when we went out in the afternoon.  The shops were closed for Easter, but lots of people were in Cathedral Square and the outreach was filled with Gospel conversations.

Greg had a wonderful conversation with a young couple who gladly took a Gospel booklet.

And as I was in the middle of a conversation with four teens, another group of teens walked past, and one of them called out: “Hey, there’s that guy who had talked to us outside my house”.  I recognised two of them as guys I had approached while I was letterbox dropping just two days prior (in a suburb on the outskirts of Christchurch) and had briefly shared with them!

Praying that more labourers for the harvest would get involved and that the canvassing of this city with the Gospel would continue.  All to the glory of God.
 

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