Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Online Evangelism

The weekend was full of evangelism for Operation 513.  It culminated in a practical online training outreach on Sunday afternoon.  It was incredibly encouraging to have about twenty five connections into our initial virtual meet up!  And some of those connections had multiple people - including whole families.  There were people from at least four cities involved: Brisbane (AU), Melbourne (AU), Christchurch (NZ), and Timaru (NZ).  (Of those connecting from Christchurch, there were representatives of at least three local churches.)

Some were there to observe, and get a feel for it, which is fine.

We started with introductions, and then I led the team in prayer, before Ryan did an Omegle demo while everyone else watched.

Matt organised us into smaller outreach teams, and we moved into our own separate virtual meetings where one person would share their screen and audio with the rest in the meeting so the others could observe the Omegle gospel conversation.  And that continued, taking turns.

It just blows me away, how easy it is to get a gospel conversation started in the modern world.  With a few taps on your phone, and you are away.  I literally just tried it as I was writing this.  I pulled out my phone, I went into my web browser app, I typed “omegle.com”, and then I tapped on “Video”.  Instantly I was talking to a stranger, I smiled and said, “I can’t believe how easy it is to find someone to talk to”.  A conversation was away!  Soon after I asked, “Hey, I’ve got a deep question for you”.  They said, “sure, what is it?”.  And I said, “What do you think happens after life?”.  And they wanted to talk about it - because it’s such an important question!  After the chat, I just stared at my phone and marvelled.  It’s never been easier to get to the harvest field!

Sure, there are precautions we need to take - as there is no doubt we need to keep the principle of “stranger danger” in mind.  You need to be able to cover the video feed coming from the stranger (initially anyway), in case something undesirable comes up (easily solved).  And you need to be able to safely exit in a hurry if you need to (also easy).  But this is no different to any type of social interacting we do.  And we need to socially interact to be able to share the gospel.  And in these odd days of social distancing, due to Covid-19, online evangelism is a revelation.

I was also online on Saturday morning too.  I spent some time on the Internet Relay Chat interacting with people and sharing the gospel.  I then moved to Omegle and I had a fascinating video gospel conversation with a guy who responded only with facial expressions and hand gestures (I have no idea why).  But he listened to what I had to say, and I could tell he was comprehending.  He eventually started typing replies to my questions.

But the highlight of the morning was a text based Omegle conversation with a guy with a Christian background.  He was very smart and witty, but he became very engaged.

You: Do you think it's possible to work out which of your 3 options it is.
Stranger: No
Stranger: Mathematically speaking
Stranger: That isn’t possible
You: Logically speaking, I think it is.
Stranger: Prove it.
You: ok :)

I sensed that he partly understood what I was talking about (due to his background knowledge), but I could tell he really loved his sin too.  He seemed to be caught in this place of wanting what I was explaining (Jesus), but wanting his sin too.  He was open, but resistant.  I could see him closing up, and I pointed it out, and it irritated him.  At one point, I got frustrated with this guy (for being unreasonable) - I had to apologise.  This guy also liked everything set down in simple steps.  He wanted his gospel medicine that way, but I had to explain that it didn’t work like that:

Stranger: That makes 0 sense
Stranger: Yeah sorry I got annoyed by that but u should understand
Stranger: At least where I’m coming from
You: I want the best for you, I'm sorry if I've misunderstood you.
You: I confess, I got frustrated
You: Because you seem to be missing the deepest point.
Stranger: Which is what
You: That we will all die, we all know that God exists, we all know we do wrong. Logically there must be justice, but that God has done something to satisfy that justice, and give you mercy. JESUS. He is our only hope, trust in him, knowing it will change you.
Stranger: Ok stranger.
You: I want the best for you. I want you to know God's mercy. But it's a gift of God
You: Bless ya :)
Stranger: Tell me how to EXACTLY trust
Stranger: Like the step by step rules
You: I can't give you a formula, other than what the Bible says.
Stranger: No no
Stranger: U definitely know
Stranger: What do you do
Stranger: To show you trust him
You: Sorry, it's not something we can do or manipulate, it's something God does for us.
Stranger: That doesnt make sense
Stranger: There has to be like things we can show that we trust him or like a habit
Stranger: That u should be doing
You: TRUST that Jesus paid the fine for your sin, there by knowing 100% you will go to heaven, and knowing that your life will grow in holiness if you do.
Stranger: Wait wait
Stranger: That is easy to say but u still haven’t answered the question
Stranger: How do you TRUST
You: Wow, I'm learning so much from this conversation - thanks so much :)
Stranger: Do I just say it in my head 2 million times?
Stranger: Or what
Stranger: There needs to be a step by step instruction or manual or guide
You: It's not a magical incantation.
You: There is, the Bible. The Gospel message I've explained to you. There is not 3 easy steps, great I'm going to heaven, now lets enjoy life.
You: It's not like that.
You: Salvation is from God, For Gods glory. It's not about you or I. It's about Him.
Stranger: Ok how do I ask for salvation
Stranger: Then after salvation what’s next
You: He saves us, and then shows us the next steps. But he condescends to use weak feeble ppl like me to tell the message to others, God will do the rest.

This was the longest text based chat I’ve ever had.  In the end, I had to end it because I wasn’t making any further progress.  It was time to leave this guy in God’s hands.  I did my best to share the gospel.  I left him with plenty of reference links throughout the conversation, including the source itself, the Bible.

You: Dude, I gotta go :) Thanks for the chat. You know how to get in touch: needGod.net
You: God bless ya :)
You have disconnected.

So, a very encouraging weekend of outreach!  I’ve had a good rest today (Monday), looking forward to another week in the harvest fields - it’s never been easier for you to join me! ;)
 

View previous Online Evangelism report (17 April 2020)

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Online Evangelism

Here are the tentative weekly outreach times for online evangelism:

Sunday 1-3pm (Practical Training Outreach)
Monday 9am-5pm
Tuesday 1-5pm
Wednesday 1-5pm
Thursday 9am-5pm
Friday 1-4pm
Saturday 1-4pm

These times are all in AEST (GMT+10), so adjust them based on your own timezone.

How to take part

To watch any of our online outreaches, you can watch live on our YouTube channel or Facebook page. Or to take part in any of these outreaches, email us for the virtual room meeting link.

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