Battle Log

The last 2 days of outreach (Thursday and Friday) have been very encouraging - filled with follow up conversations.

For 3 out of 4 of the last Thursdays, as I head into the city for our regular outreach starting at 1 PM, I have encountered the same construction worker sitting enjoying his lunch.  The first time I shared the law and the Gospel and he was very receptive, accepting a Bible and Gospel booklet.

The 2nd time I saw him, I challenged him if he had read any of the Bible - which he hadn’t, and I again communicated the urgency to respond to the Gospel.

Well this Thursday, he said he had started reading the Bible, but he didn’t take my advice and had started with Genesis.

I again took the time to explain the need to respond to the Gospel, again taking special note to highlight the law (which brings the knowledge of sin - without which there can be no conviction, and without that there will be no urgency for the grace of salvation).  I pointed him back to the New Testament, and the Gospel booklet.  He seems so close to the kingdom, and yet so far - and it’s completely out of my hands.  Salvation is of the Lord.  I will start regularly praying for my new friend.  He has my contact details and the contact details for my local church.

Later, in Cathedral Square, two guys that have heard me preach, and I have seen - and talked to -  multiple times before crossed my path again.  I asked if they had put any thought into the Gospel - which they hadn’t.  Knowing that this may be the last time I see them, and having talked to them many times before I felt a need to be direct with them about sin and the justice of God: Hell.  They both lowered their heads, looking intently at the ground as I urgently pleaded with them to "wake up".  Of course, I reiterated the hope there was of forgiveness of sins, only found in Christ.

I also preached in the Square, and Andy and I had other conversations.  A very encouraging outreach.

We then moved to Eastgate for two hours, which is always a busy and good outreach.

Good Friday!  What a wonderful day to be in the city to talk about Christ.  A team of 4 were involved.

The highlight conversation for me was yet another follow up.  But this time it was with a guy I had been talking to a year ago.  He remembered me, but initially I didn’t remember him.  He too seems close to the kingdom, but knows he has not entered it.  I had a good long chat with him, while Philip talked to his friend.  It turns out he lives around the corner from me, and is not far from my local church.  He accepted a Bible, and I challenged him to read Romans (esp. The first 3 chapters).  He also took my contact details.  I pray that Christ would show him his sin and “wake him up”!

Looking forward to the first of our two Hot Cross Bun and Gospel Tract outreaches tomorrow.  Your prayer is appreciated!
 

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Tuesday and Wednesday saw the Christchurch (NZ) team try something different: door to door evangelism.

It’s the school holidays, and apparently this is a good time to do it.  I had the experience of Kim from OAC guiding me (always a good way to learn evangelism skills).

Kim fielded the first few conversations, and I noticed he’d sometimes say: “We are not Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons”.

So one of the first conversations that I fielded, I had a man come to the door, and I said who we were and what we were doing, and I clarified by saying, “We are not Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons”.  Well, the guy at the door said, “Oh, I’m a Jehovah’s Witnesses”!

Internally, I was laughing at myself hard. :D

But externally I ignored it and quickly asked if he would be keen to discuss.  He said, “I’ve got my own beliefs thanks”.  It struck me that that is exactly what Christians often say to religious groups coming to the door.  The roles were reversed!

Safe to say, I haven’t used that line again! ;)

But some wonderful conversations were had over the two days of outreach.

Afresh, I realised how many people the team are reaching in this city.

We were talking to a mother and her younger children, when an older son came out.  He instantly recognised me and said that I had talked to him in the city (I don’t remember it)!

Later, we knocked on a door and a lady I had talked to at the Eastgate bus stops (maybe a month earlier) answered the door (we were door knocking very close to the Eastgate bus stops).  She pulled out the Bible I had given her, and we had another opportunity to share the gospel.

We had two wonderful situations where we were invited in and were allowed to discuss the Gospel in depth.

It was a wonderful experience, and I’m very keen to try it again (which I’ll do next week).

Your prayer is so appreciated.  And if you live in Christchurch, let me encourage you to get in touch and get involved. :)
 

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Saturday is an interesting day to come to the city to witness because so many other religions / cults are out on this day of the week too leading to some interesting conversations for the team!

Sunday saw a team of four set up at the corner of Cashel and Colombo for what was a fruitful time of ministry.

I spend a lot of time each week having Gospel conversations.  And sadly I’ve become quite used to people being completely unmoved by the seriousness of sin, and the amazingness of grace.

But today, I had a very encouraging conversation.  I offered a tract to a guy who I completely expected to ignore it.  But to my surprise, he was interested and took it - wanting to know more.  He was happy to try the flip chart (see picture), and indicated that he was the best person on the chart!

But then as I started to take him through the law, to my encouragement, a look of concern crossed his face - and didn’t leave.  I then proceeded to explain why we call Good Friday good.

He listened intently.

When I asked him if he had any questions, he wanted to know what church I went to, and said he wanted to come along.  From what I can tell, he has friends who are Christian who have been talking to him about church.  He gladly accepted a contact card for my local church, and I wrote my contact details on it.  He said he would be in touch if he had any questions.

It would be so wonderful if he did get in touch, but - as always - I leave him in God’s hands.

To finish the outreach we moved to Cathedral Square to open air preach.  We couldn’t decide who should go first, so we ended up trying something different: we both preached!  I introduced us, Andy went through the bad news, and I finished with the good news and a call to repentance and faith in Christ.  We both had opportunity to interact with people while we were speaking.

I’m looking forward to a rest on Monday.  Please keep the Christchurch (NZ) team in your prayers!  Thank you for your support.  SDG!

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In contrast to Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday & Friday was filled with many wonderful Gospel opportunities for the Christchurch (NZ) team, in spite of the weather (rain).

The city outreach on Thursday afternoon started with Andy talking to a man via flip chart who I had already spoken to at the Eastgate bus stops in a previous week.  He seemed really blessed by the follow up conversation, and took a Gospel booklet this time.  And we are so encouraged that the Lord is providing multiple opportunities to talk to the same people - even at different locations.

I open air preached.  It was very encouraging having people come over to interrupt me with good questions.  One of those questions were about how God felt about homosexuality, which I addressed biblically: God is the basis for knowing right and wrong; I don’t hate homosexuals (or anyone), but homosexuality is a sin of which there is forgiveness of through repentance and faith in Christ.

After the preaching, Andy & I had wonderful opportunities for ‘walk up’ Gospel conversations.

I spoke with a couple, one of whom I had spoken to before in front of the bus exchange (although I had no memory of it).

I also sat down next to a man who was very open to the things of God and talked about his need to ‘accept Jesus into his heart’, something he was giving serious consideration to.  But through discussion, it was clear he didn’t understand some of the important concepts of the Gospel: esp. the serious nature of sin or that we are saved not by our own effort, but what Christ did for us on our behalf.  He allowed me time to unpack some of this for him - as best as I could - and also explain why ‘accepting Jesus into his heart’ is not a biblical concept.

After our time in the city, we again headed to the Eastgate bus stops.  And, again, had a busy outreach with many Gospel conversations (see picture of Andy pleading with some young people).

I think I could write a book sharing the wonderful testimonies of the conversations had at this place!  I’ll give one.  I had a feisty conversation with a young man who thought the concept of God made no sense, and that the only logical conclusion is that nothing made everything!  As I was wrestling with him on this, suddenly another lady joined the conversation and started having a go at me.  I now was in a battle on two fronts at the same time.  I persisted, doing my best to answer the questions and objections coming at me.  Through it all, I managed to get an opportunity to start talking about the law of God - and the attacks calmed for a moment, as they listened (esp. The lady).  I then, very briefly, got to explain the solution to the dilemma of our sin in light of a holy and just God: Jesus Christ.  It was a testing and difficult conversation, but I praise God for it and the opportunity to share the main thing: the Gospel.  We all parted on good terms, I leave them in God’s hands and hope I will see them again.

Friday was a day of four seasons: autumn leaves, spring rain, winter wind and cold (in the shade), and summer heat!  Many times I had to switch between my beanie, and my sunglasses and cap.  But none of this stopped the Gospel being proclaimed.

Andy preached before having an early lunch and then setting up flip charts on the corner of Cashel & Colombo.

The rain did not stop Gospel conversations.  In one situation it started raining just after a conversation commenced, but it was important enough for everyone to ignore it.  I even had an extra person join in!  Please see the funny photo I took afterwards: the dry spots are where the people were standing.

The team had many wonderful conversations through the afternoon, and we then enjoyed some fellowship at a local cafe.

But the day didn’t end there, in the evening, we headed back out.

Initially, the evening outreach was a bit slow.  But then the Lord provided 3 wonderful opportunities to share the Gospel.  The last one is pictured.  The first one was a walk up opportunity in Cathedral Square, where the young man had been to a youth group, but was still pondering what life was all about.

But the middle one, came about from a conversation between evangelists about how to start a conversation.  The technique being discussed was by starting with: “Excuse me, may I ask you a question?  It’s a deep question.”  And then the perfect opportunity presented itself with two men walking towards us.  So I tried it.  And, for me, it lead to the highlight conversation of the night.  The men were very engaged, and the important concepts of the Gospel were covered in depth. And they left with a challenge, not to just intellectually think about the Gospel.  But to respond!

 

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On Tuesday the outreach to Riccarton started with some letterbox dropping.

As I was walking around a corner, I encountered two teenagers and offered them a tract.  To my surprise, one of them said he had already talked to me before - at Eastgate!

It turns out we were only a few paces away from a small bus shelter, and there were more teens there.  I had a wonderful opportunity to briefly discuss the things of God with them before a bus turned up and they hopped aboard.  But before that, I was encouraged that when I shared the building = builder / creation = creator analogy, one of them said: “that makes complete sense” (or words to that effect).  They all received an Easter tract.

After the letterbox dropping, I went to a slightly different spot on Riccarton Road to have Gospel conversations.  And I also didn’t use my flip chart (I forgot it as I rushed out the door).  Well, for two hours, I wasn’t able get anyone to stop for a full Gospel conversation.  I don’t think it was the new spot - I was able to give away plenty of Easter tracts.  Or the lack of a flip chart.  Although I did see plenty of people I have talked to on previous outreaches.  Maybe I need to find a completely new spot for a while?

Yet I was not discouraged.  The outreach, at the very least, was a success, as I had obeyed Jesus in going.

On Wednesday conversations were, again, difficult to come by - but they did occur this time! :)  May God be glorified in our efforts, even when they don’t go as well as we hope.

As we march on towards winter, an added blessing is that the sun is now low enough that the hospital building is shading my prime spot in front of the entrance.  I thank God for this small blessing.

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The weekend saw two outreaches in the central city for the Christchurch (NZ) team.

Like Friday, both outreaches were conducted in cold and wet conditions.  But tracts were distributed and conversations occurred any way - to the glory of God.

Two highlight conversations from Saturday: an encouragement and a discouragement.

The encouragement was with a young man outside the bus exchange.  It turns out this young man had been in a Christian kids club I had been a leader of years ago.  Now from time to time I bump into these kids (now young adults) and feel discouraged as they don’t show the fruits of repentance and faith.  So I was expecting this young man to be the same.  But to my surprise he demonstrated an understanding of the Gospel and is involved with a local church!  Praise God.

The discouragement stemmed from a conversation with a lady.  As I was taking her through the law I asked her if she had ever murdered anyone, the conversation quickly moved to euthanasia.  She shared a sad, personal story where someone she knew was euthanized.  On the surface, the situation seemed justified.  And, in a way, she was looking for sympathy or justification from me.  I could not give it.  We have no right to take human life, even when there is suffering.  I briefly touched on biblical examples where God uses suffering for good.  The crucifixion of Jesus being the prime example.  I was able to explain the Gospel - that Jesus suffered the justice of God the Father so we could be forgiven of our sin and rose again, defeating death and giving us hope of eternal life.  But she was repelled by the exclusivity of Jesus being the only way to the Father and quickly disengaged and walked away.  It is hard, but vitally important that we are always faithful to the truth - as discouraging as the result can be.

The Sunday afternoon outreach started with prayer (as always).  And we asked that the rain would not hinder the Gospel going forth.

Straight after we finished praying, I headed out and started offering Easter tracts.  Two teen boys were biking past and they slammed on their brakes and came back to accept what I was offering.  They gave an interesting answer to the question of why we call Good Friday good.  Their answer was: so that kids would be able to enjoy the holiday - since it’s good!

Using this as my starting point, I was able to explain to them why we are not good, and the real reason why we call Good Friday good.  That Jesus exchanged our bad for His good on the cross so justice could be served and we could receive forgiveness.  They acknowledged that it was indeed good news!

In spite of the weather, other Gospel conversations occurred, and tracts were distributed.

Looking forward to a rest on Monday, before heading out again on Tuesday.  Your prayer is so appreciated.  Please pray for more labourers for the harvest field in Christchurch and beyond, and that God would be glorified in our obedience in sharing, and people hearing, His precious Gospel!
 

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Thursday saw the team back in Cathedral Square and at the Eastgate bus stops.

Andy’s first conversation in Cathedral Square was with a young man from China (pictured).  This man was extremely engaged with the information he was learning about Jesus Christ, so much so that he accepted an invitation to join the Barlow family for dinner on Saturday night and to continue the conversation!  Praise God.

Later, I preached in the open air.  I used the coming of Easter as a springboard for my law & Gospel presentation.  I had one heckler who bizarrely accused me of hatred towards Muslims while he was walking past.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Out of love do Christians confront people with their sin, and share of the amazing forgiveness found only in Christ - and we are to do this with gentleness and respect.

The Eastgate bus stops outreach was, again, a time of non stop Gospel conversations!

I crossed the road and approached a young lady waiting for her bus, when she said, “Oh, you’re Glen right”.  I was surprised!  I had obviously talked to this person before and didn’t remember it.  It turns out she was the friend of a young man I had spoken to at the Sparks in the Park Outreach a few months back.  And in hindsight I remembered talking to them both briefly about 3 weeks ago.

This young lady remembered the building / builder; creation / creator analogy and starting from there, we discussed the Gospel in depth.  She accepted literature, including a Bible, and received a contact card for a local church before she had to rush off to catch her bus home.

The Eastgate bus stop outreach is providing many opportunities for follow up conversations - and I thank God for that.

Friday saw rain.  Heavy rain.  But we weren’t going to let it hinder us.  (I thanked God for the rain.)

We spent four hours in the central city.  And our go to spot in heavy rain is the bus exchange.  We prayed, as usual, before starting: asking God to provide opportunities to witness for Him in spite of the rain.

And God certainly answered that prayer!  Andy had 2 back to back Gospel conversations with people that were some of the best conversations he has had in months.

And I had a wonderful opportunity to briefly share the Gospel with a lady who was an “Atheist / Buddhist” that had cancer and was keen to know about Christianity.

After lunch the rain had eased, so we ventured down to the corner of Colombo and Cashel (a favourite fishing hole) where Roger joined us.  But soon the heavens opened up again, even including a hail shower at one point.  In spite of this, many wonderful opportunities to share Christ occurred.

At the end of the outreach, we headed to a coffee shop for some fellowship.  And then the sun decided to come out!

Nothing can stop the Gospel going forth, if God so desires.  Rain, hail or shine.

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There was a hint of winter on Tuesday: wet and cold.  I awoke listening to heavy rain and the first thought that came to mind was that I deserved the justice of God in Hell (but am not going there because of the Grace of Jesus).  I lingered on the thought for a while, imagining an eternity under the righteous wrath of God and felt afresh the desperate need to get out and share the wonderful news of forgiveness with any willing to listen.  God is sovereign in salvation, but we are the means He uses (by sharing the Gospel) to bring people to that salvation.

The days outreach was to Riccarton with Letterbox dropping and flip charting on Riccarton Road.

The conversations were good.  People listened to the Gospel presentations politely.  But it struck me that there was no outward evidence of alarm of the seriousness of sin in light of a holy (perfect) God.  Those that I can remember talking to seemed to be intellectually analysing what I was saying, appreciating it, and moving on.  Pondering this at the end of the outreach I felt sad.  But then, outward responses are no guarantee of what is going on in the heart.  I have to leave people in the hands of the Holy Spirit.

Wednesday saw the usual two outreaches in Cathedral Square and the Hospital.

The foot traffic in Cathedral Square was lighter than usual, and just as I was wondering if the day would be lacking in solid conversations, the Lord led a young tourist to me to share with and the outreach ended up being eventful from then on.

This young tourist, didn’t deny a creator but clearly didn’t like the true God; wanting to live his life his own way.  I could tell this because when I talked about anger being murder of the heart and lust being adultery of the heart, he became quite riled!  But he wasn’t unreasonable and stayed to hear the good news of Jesus - the only hope for eternal life - and then a call to surrender all and follow Christ.  After the previous day, this conversation encouraged me.

The foot traffic at the Hospital was the lightest I’d ever seen it.  And I was seriously considering finding a new spot to move to when the Lord brought a Catholic man, who knew his Bible well, to have a conversation with.  This conversation went for a very long time (an hour and a half?) with, as usual, the focus on salvation by works verse by grace.  It was great to be able to pull my Bible out and work through verses with this man.  The conversation went right to the end of the outreach, and then he ended up walking with me back through the city as I was going back to my car.  He wanted to know what church I went to, and how to get there.  I gave him a contact card with all the details.  It would be wonderful to see him again.

I thank the Lord for enabling me to be a fool for Him on the streets of Christchurch.  And I’m thankful to all those who donate their hard earned money to support me.  Thank you so much.  Soli Deo Gloria!

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Saturday saw our second to last special outreach of the summer: The Oxford A&P Show.

It was wonderful to, again, have many of the newbies who were involved with the Malvern A&P Show the previous Saturday.  It is wonderful to see them continuing to get involved with sharing the precious message of Jesus and growing in their confidence, in spite of some difficult conversations!

The site was very busy.  We had four flip charts set up, and an “observation test” sketch board (it has the same questions as the “intelligence test” tract).  Often multiple Gospel conversations were on the go!

Some of the conversations were with people we had talked to previous years, and so there was some good opportunities for follow up and to go over the Gospel again with them.

And some of the team had exciting conversations with open hearted people!

The highlight conversation for me was with two teenage girls.  It was late in the afternoon, and I was tired by this stage, and so my presentation was more mechanical than I like.  But one of them seemed especially concerned about her standing before a Holy God after I had shared the law with them.  I then moved to the Good News, and to my joy, I saw tears form in her eyes.  She seemed to be understanding the grace of Jesus taking the punishment for her sin and rising again defeating death!

I offered her a Gospel booklet, which she took.  And after a little more conversation, I asked if she would like a Bible - which she keenly accepted along with a local church contact card.  My heart was warmed by this conversation.  And I leave her in Gods hands.

There was nothing dynamic or special about my presentation, the Holy Spirit only uses the Gospel message as the power for salvation.  Every Christian can share the simple Gospel message.  I encourage you to get involved!

Sunday saw our regular afternoon outreach to Cashel Mall.

It was fascinating to see Muslims from the UK out sharing their message with people as well.  They had a literature table set up, and plenty of people seemed to be taking interest.

We approached them to talk… And they certainly like to do that!

The guy I talked to liked to say things in Arabic and then interpret them for me.  I could be wrong, but it felt like he was showing off.  I hope I never come across like this when I’m sharing the Gospel of Jesus with people!  It’s only the Gospel message that God uses to save, not my ability to appear intelligent!

I did manage to share the law and Gospel with this guy.  As soon I as I started to take him through the law he said “Oh, that’s Ray”.  He had obviously heard of Ray Comfort - and didn’t think very highly of him!  But I persisted in taking him through the law and Gospel presentation - which he allowed me to do.

The team set up flip charts on the corner of Cashel and Colombo and, unlike last Sunday, we had many Gospel conversations with people.

I thank the Lord for the opportunities He provided to be an ambassador for him, weak as we are.  May He be glorified as we worship Him in our obedience.
 

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On Thursday we had two outreaches: City & Eastgate.

Before getting to Cathedral Square, I encountered the same young man I had shared with exactly one week earlier, so I had an opportunity to follow up and reiterate the Gospel message with him.

It had been a while since I had last preached in the open air.  And today felt like the right time to get back into it.

Our two main hecklers were down a bit from speakers corner, and I expected them to come down and start sharing their thoughts - but they didn’t.  Fine with me.

I proclaimed the law and the Gospel using the recent shootings as a springboard and a focus on anger being murder of the heart meaning we all need justice and the grace only provided by Jesus on the cross.

One of the hecklers did come over as I was nearing the finish of my message. I completely ignored him, and to my surprise he ran out of steam quickly and left in disgust.

The Eastgate bus stop was as good as ever, with a steady stream of Gospel conversations occurring.

Friday saw Andy get back on the box, after he was attacked 2 weeks prior, before the team moved to Cashel Mall for 1 to 1 Gospel conversations and tract distribution.

The day ended with our evening outreach where Andy had a wonderful opportunity to speak with 3 Muslim men for nearly an hour.

And I had a wonderful conversation with a young man on his way to the bus exchange.  He didn’t have a Christian background, but he had obviously been wrestling with the important questions of life and was very receptive to the Gospel presentation, gladly accepting literature.

A wonderful two days of Gospel ministry.  What a privilege to be a part of the Kingdom of God, and then have the honour to be an ambassador of Jesus! I can't think of a better job to have!  Your prayer for the work in Christchurch is much appreciated.
 

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