Battle Log
Friday 21 June 2019
Posted 22 June 2019, 7:45 AM by Glen Richards. Permalink
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.
View previous Christchurch (NZ) report (19 June 2019)
Christchurch (NZ) Team
Weekly outreaches:
Tue 3:30pm - 5:30pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Fri 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (Bridge of Remembrance)
Sat 11am - 1pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Sun 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (corner of Colombo St and Cashel St).
Contact Glen Richards or Andy Barlow for more information.