Battle Log

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

As I was driving into work today, I passed Ara and had the idea to scope it out as an outreach spot. Andy had the idea in the past and we had scoped it then - but it didn't come to anything. Can't hurt to try again! But as I made it to the campus - there was no one around, and then it clicked - the students will be on holiday! I had a walk around any way and prayed.

But heading back out to the street, I ended up having 3 great sets of gospel conversations right on the side walk - for just under an hour. 1 of those chats was with a group of about 7 guys.

The rest of my 4 hours out was fruitful. Some highlights: I had a long chat with a very thoughtful high school graduate, I bumped into some old work mates, and I preached in the Square which led to some follow up chats (Photo credit Damian).

I'll try 4 hours again tomorrow (Thursday). Prayers appreciated, and join me if you can (PM me).

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

First day on the job (yesterday). 6+ hours. A bird pooped on my hand! Note to add hand san to my outreach kit!

Steve the Athiest heckled my preaching. Had lots of chats with people. Had some time when not much was happening too.

Beforehand I had a meeting with the person helping me with my CV - ended up discussing the gospel, and why God allows evil! And on my way back to the car at the end of the day, I was handing out tracts and I was very surprised when a young "suit" took one and launched into a conversation with me (people in suits rarely take tracts or want to talk).

This guy asked deep, genuine questions, like: why does hell have to be eternal? He had to leave for an appointment, but asked for literature, and gratefully accepted a booklet! I hope to see him again, and will be praying for him!

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On Tuesday evening for the first time in a number of days the rain had ceased and as a result the crowds were enormous! This resulted in many tracts being handed out and great opportunities for the Gospel to be shared. If you're wondering about what time of year you should begin sharing the Gospel, this is it. This year, if you've struggled to share about Christ before, could be the first year you do so! Maybe it is by door knocking your neighbourhood, maybe by speaking to your friends and family or it could be by coming out and joining the team these next few days! You will be glad you did!

Four conversations in a row were had with people whose names started with the letter A. Andy the Hindu, Andy the Catholic, Ann the Mormon and Amy the Australian.

Andy the Hindu man loved the "freedom" that Hinduism allowed for, people being able to worship any god, how they pleased. He was shown his sin by the law and pointed to the one who came to save sinners. Andy took a tract and said he would read it.

Andy the Catholic was a natural Spanish speaker from Brazil and knew about Jesus and actually was interested in talking and asking questions. It was a privilege to share the Gospel with him both bad and good news and Andy then said, "So how can I apply this to my life?" or in other words, "What must I do to be saved?".

He heard what it means to repent and believe and was seriously left and encouraged to count the cost of following Christ and to trust in Him alone for salvation!

Following this, Ann the Mormon wasn't really interested in talking but she was challenged on one question, "When you read the Bible to you read just a verse here or there, or do you read whole books, whole chapters and seek to understand what the authors meant when they wrote it?"

"Just verses here and there mostly" she responded. She heard that the easiest way to convince someone of something that the Bible doesn't say is by taking pieces of it out of the context. She was encouraged to read Romans 1-8 this coming week and to spend serious time in it, seeking to understand what is the Spirit intentioned meaning of the words!

Lastly Amy the Australian was quite a normal Aussie, she had heard the name Jesus and when pressed could tell you how he died and that Christmas was about Him coming but that was the limit of her knowledge. 

That very quickly changed as she came face to face with God's expectations of her, her failure to upload these standards, their due penalty and her only hope, found in God's saviour, Jesus Christ.

It was a rather brief conversation as she had to leave but Amy was encouraged to seriously consider who Jesus claimed to be this Christmas and to take a read of the Gospel of John.

One final conversation was had with Daniella. She too was Brazillian and shared about some of her history, why she had rejected God and why she was angry with the Catholic church (and rightly so). But through the conversation, she was challenged. She was told that it is foolish to judge God on the basis of the evil actions of wicked and selfish people who claimed to represent Him.

She also heard the true message of the Bible and how it was not about being good enough, praying enough, donating enough money or anything like that to get right with God but rather it was about trusting what God had done to save the rebels who had so arrogantly and sinfully rejected Him.

Daniella understood the Gospel for the first time and like many others over these past few weeks was seriously encouraged to consider who this child in the manger is and to not miss Christmas!

As you read this report, may you be encouraged, as hopefully a person who hasn't missed the real meaning of Christmas, to not miss this opportunity to share with others its beauty!

Please can you be praying for those the team was able to speak with that God would continue to use these conversations and tracts to work in their hearts and that they would open their Bibles and come to understand who this God is, that came as a baby!

Please also be praying for the thousands of tracts handed out that God may use each one, exactly as He pleases!

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Through the Christmas season, as well as the usual outreaches in the afternoons, there are also nightly outreaches (except Friday) in Brisbane city. You are invited to come along to hand out tracts and share the Gospel with the masses, blindly celebrating the "family time" that is Christmas, missing all together, the King that was born.

Over this weekend, Saturday was a quite busy night despite the rain, meaning thousands of tracts were handed out. On the other hand Sunday due to the rain was almost dead but God, in His usual providence bought around just enough people to keep the five team members in conversations continuously throughout three and a half hours.

Two quick conversations on Saturday were had with Ben a young Muslim and an older man who had created an idol.

Ben the young Muslim didn't know much of the teachings of Islam and knew basically nothing of the Bible.

He left after the conversation with a better understanding of his own religion and serious criticisms of it, explaining why only the Jesus of the Bible can bring any hope. He was left this Christmas to consider the serious question, "How can God remain, good, righteous and just and humanity be anything other than eternally damned?"

The older gentleman on the other hand declared that he did not need Jesus, he was a good guy and if he needed it on judgement day that his uncle in an Archbishop in London. It was quickly shared with him that on judgement day will be alone with nothing and no one to hide behind and this his only hope would be this baby, born in a manger, who came to save sinners.

On Sunday the conversations were far lengthier and there were many more. Three of note were with Joshua, Roman and Dan and Asia.

Firstly, the conversation with Joshua was interesting. He had many ideas and thoughts and was happy to engage. He is a German and so much of the conversation was spent using examples from German history and him being encouraged to read specific German Christians, most notably, Martin Luther. 

The main point of his argument was that naturally a human if their follow their heart will live a good life. This was clearly shown to be foolish and untrue and Joshua was left with a knowledge of sin, the serious penalty it deserves and was encouraged, as his name declares, to trust in God, who saves.

Roman, in a similar boat, thought that his goodness was his ticket into Heaven. When he saw, through God's perfect standard and law that this would be of no use Roman was then open to hearing who Jesus is and what it means that He has come to save sinners.

He came to understand the Gospel after a few different ways of it being explained and was seriously challenged to read the Gospel of John before Christmas and to trust in this humble God, who came to save proud sinners.

Lastly a surprising conversation was had with Daniel and Asia. It was surprising because it isn't often that you deal with people so self-absorbed that they can't even see it.

Daniel (a name that fittingly means, God is my judge) and Asia claimed to be skeptics BUT clearly showed they were nothing but willful rebels. They asked question after question after question and without letting a single answer finished being given they would raise another objection. 

What made this all the more baffling was that at the very beginning of the conversation and numerous times throughout it was clearly pointed out to them that the issue was not one of intellect but one of pride-fueled, sin-loving hatred of God. Before they even began asking questions they were told what topics they would raise to try and argue against Christianity. The reliability of the Bible, the prophecies it claims, the miracles it records, the Creation account, the goodness of God, the ability of Christ to save and a number of others. 

Sure enough, almost as if they "tried" to argue against these things, despite not really listening long enough to hear the entire list, they then proceeded to raise objections, as many as they could as quickly as they could.

Through the conversation this absolute commitment to rejection of God was pointed out. It was shared with them that this was obviously not an issue of intellect. They weren't rejecting God on the basis of anything they knew about this world or about God. Rather, it was clearly a wicked and sinful heart. 

Despite trying to claim that they were simply skeptics looking for answers, they would consistently cut off the answers. It was pointed out to them that they were the people described in 2 Timothy 3, "Always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth".

Daniel and Asia, were left with a very clear and strong warning about God's impending judgement and their need to turn from their foolishness to the Saviour of sinners. 

After the pair left, a while later Asia walked past again and was handed a Gospel of John and challenged to read it.

Please be praying for the many who had received tracts over these two nights as well as the many who heard the Gospel, were challenged by it to trust in this Christ and were left with the choice of Christ and life or themselves and Hell. 

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On Friday evening in Cavill Mall the team engaged with many people, despite the wet weather. Due to the rain the team moved around a bit for shelter, at the same rejoicing that they had found shelter in Christ, from the storm of God's wrath.

An early conversation in the evening was had with an almost unbelievably proud man. When you read of the Pharisees in the Bible you can often think they only lived in the time of the Jesus but there are people like that today. Whilst a conversation was going on with another person, this man standing nearby seemed to be trying to gain some attention his way. When the previous conversation finished he was offered a tract and it came with the question, "Will God let you into Heaven when you die?"

This man, absolutely dripping with pride asked, "Do you know who I am?" The answer was given, "Nope, no idea". He responded and said, "I am a deacon, do you know what that is?" The response was given, "Yes, supposedly a humble servant of God". It was at this moment it was explicitly clear that this was a self-righteous man. He was asked the question, "Why should God let you into Heaven on judgement day?"

Without even a moments hesitation he strongly, yet utterly foolishly declared, "My good works". With all the sincerity and sadness this man was told, "Then you have utterly no hope as you currently stand of entering Heaven, God requires perfection and you are a proud man. God will oppose the proud and give grace to the humble, your only hope is to come to the humble God who punished Himself to save wicked men like yourself".

This man sought to try and justify himself but was left no opportunity as he was left with those words ringing in his ears. Please raise him up in prayer that God would strike this mans pride, cut him to the hear, show him how incredibly foolish he is to hope in Himself and to lead him to Christ, the saviour of once proud sinners.

A number of rather encouraging conversations also occurred. One with Latrel and Jaiah and another with Conrad and a final with Jamie.

The first with Latrel and Jaiah was interesting. Latrel the young man was very disinterested. He was playing on his phone with no real desire to listen.

It was sad and despite being really challenged on this a number of times in the conversation Latrel paid very little attention and tried to drag Jaiah away, ultimately succeeding.

Jaiah on the other hand listened. She heard the law, saw her sin and came to understand that sinners deserve Hell. She then asked, "How can I be forgiven?". It was a privilege to share and Gospel and she was encouraged, as John 3:16 stated, to believe and Jaiah said she wanted to, tonight. It was at this moment Latrel tried to pull her away and succeeded. 

It was a sad moment but the team member then prayed that God would use someone to share the call to repent, the seriousness of counting the cost and how her life would change. That prayer was answered moments later when another team member further up the sidewalk stopped the pair again and was able to explain all of those things. Even more encouraging was the fact that when asked, "If you were to stand before God and He was to ask, 'Why should I let you into Heaven?' what would you say?" and Jaiah responded, "Because I have trusted in Jesus".

Jaiah heard the other half of the Gospel's call on her life and was seriously left to count the cost! Praise God for answered prayer!

Next conversation was had with Conrad. He took had friends that tried to drag him away and they ultimately left in frustration. During this time, Conrad remained resistant to their calls to leave and stayed for a lengthy conversation. He had Catholic background and through the conversation was able to grasp and Gospel and this Christmas was encouraged to read the Gospel of John and to seriously consider what Christ came to do, to save sinners.

Conrad said he would.

Lastly was a conversation with a lady named Jamie. She walked past early in the night and was challenged with the question, "Will God let you into Heaven when you die?". Later in the evening, she was standing around the team and was engaged in conversation. At first she expressed that she didn't think that was a great question. In response it was posed again and she engaged with it this time. 

As a result she heard the bad news of sin, that she deserved Hell and the good news that God can take that penalty so that she can be right with Him. Jamie didn't seem anywhere near as upset by the end and actually responded with gratitude for the discussion.

Please be praying for the many who heard the Gospel, were challenged by its truth and were encouraged this Christmas to give up thinking it is all about them but to come and bow before this Saviour in a manger.

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On Wednesday the team had a longer outreach, the afternoon in the city and the evening followed on from each other. This was a wonderful time filled with many conversations! Some shorter and others very lengthy!

A few of the shorter conversations were had with Braydon, Ben and Stone.

Braydon was a young man that had a few minutes and so he stayed as long as he could. He saw in the mirror of the law how desperately wicked his heart was and was left with the severe and serious condemnation that the law brings. He was able to quickly that Christ came into this world to save sinners and was given a tract and was encouraged to read it.

Ben on the other hand was the man that served some of the team at Subway. He was posed the question about what he thought happened after we die and naturally, as most young Australians are gave a naturalistic answer, about his body going into the ground and that being the end.

Ben was given the simple apologetic, that buildings require builders and so too this universe requires a Creator. He said this made sense and it was explained, that just as everyone, even he in making this Subway had a purpose in doing so, God had a purpose for His universe. It was shared that God's purpose is to display who He is, to show His glory. 

Ben mentioned that sounds a little selfish and it was explained that it isn't wrong for God to create a world to show who He is because He is worthy of all worship and praise. It would be the same as Usain Bolt being praised as the faster 100m sprinter in the world or as the saying goes, "credit where credit is due".

It was pointed out to Ben that the reason this is a problem for us, is that as humanity God has given us specific abilities and roles (as image bearers) and asked us to use it for His glory and we have decided that we want to live for ourselves doing what we think is best, in direct rebellion against what God has said is best.

As the conversation had to draw to a close as he finished making the sub, it was explained that the only solution to this issue is found in that baby born in a manger on the first Christmas, as the Apostle Matthew records, "His name will be called Jesus because He will save His people from their sins".

Stone, was engaged with whilst waiting in the line at Hungry Jacks. It was an encouraging conversation were the Gospel was presented and he was left to consider who he would choose, Jesus or himself. One comment of note was that halfway through the conversation Stone said, "I am pretty sure God sent you here today to talk with me, I needed to hear this".

Please be praying for Braydon, Ben and Stone that God would use these short but straight forward Gospel conversations and the tracts they received as the start and beginning of their eternal love for Him!

Three other conversations were had with Noah, Rebecca and Karter.

Noah and his girlfriend were sitting on the bench and were approached with the question, "What do you think will happen to you after you die?". Very soon afterwards his girlfriend left saying she wanted to go but Noah, desiring to hear what was being shared decided to stay!

This lead into a lengthy conversation where Noah came to understand the bad news, the offer of salvation and how he should respond. He was encouraged to count the cost and was left with a tract.

Rebecca was a young lady who worked in a local store and had come out on her lunch break. She then proceeded to engage in a conversation about Christianity. She mentioned that she had a Catholic background and had rejected the church because of the hypocrisy and her frustration with the church was confirmed. The issue being that rules and laws are simply like trying to use a mower to keep weeds out of a backyard. It may externally and publicly be able to make the yard look good but in the end the roots remain and the weeds will always grow back. 

As the conversation finished she was strongly challenged to consider what Jesus had done and this Christmas to be able to join with many in history rejoicing that her Saviour had been born!

Lastly was a conversation with Karter, she and her girlfriend (Richel) had left Russian Orthodoxy and JWism respectively. For differing reasons they had left but had ultimately both ended up in the same boat, living life their way, in God's world.

They were explained through the narrative of the Bible, what it tells us about God and about humanity and encouragingly of God's plan to save sinful humanity. To finish, they too were challenged this Christmas to consider God's command to repent and believe because to neglect it is to choose Hell.

Please be praying for the thousands who received tracts today, as well as the many who heard the Gospel! Please continue to raise up the team in your prayers these coming nights until Christmas and if you have a spare evening, consider coming out yourself! The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.

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Each week I set up the table 1 hour before Rick arrives as he finishes work at 12 pm.  It is quite a busy time of day, that was the reason we decided for me to start then. This week there were workers just across from where I set up the table on the footpath. They were busy at their work. I started to hand out Christmas tracts, saying Merry Christmas. I like to just add to the people that it is the true meaning of Christmas and not Santa stuff. Most people think that is good and smile with me, some stop and share their belief in Jesus so it’s an opportunity to ask them more about their faith.

One man pushing his bike, stopped and after a few questions told me he used to be born again but now does not believe. I shared the truth of how, when we are truly born of God that God will keep us in our faith. As this is one of His great and precious promises, even in our struggles He brings us through using His Spirit His Word and other believers to help us and we will remain steadfast in His love. So I said to this man that if he was saying he doesn't now believe, that it seems that he wasn't truly born again. So I shared the law and the hell punishment that we all deserve and my concern for him. I then went on to share the offer of God’s love through His Son Jesus, that this is his greatest need before he dies and the only way to be made right with God and set free from sin through what Jesus has done to pay for our eternal punishment.

This man said to me he could see my genuine concern and he was thankful but he said he doesn't believe the Bible. Please pray for C, he has a tract, pray God will stir his heart to receive Salvation and seek to be truly born again. 

Then a little boy walked up to the table and said “I am Christian”, his mum was standing back so I smiled and waved to her and crouched down to chat with this little guy. I gave him a kiddies tract and asked if he had heard of the 10 commandments,  he said yes (he was only 7) then I showed him the pictures that help memorize each one. I also gave him a tract to give his mum. For some reason she did not want to come over. Pray for this little boy and his mum.

As he left the worker said to me, what a nice little boy. I said yes it is so needed for the young ones to know that there is a God. I then said that sadly many are being taught there is no God and it will be terrible as they have no accountability and no hope either. 

A young man (A) approached me with some Bibles to donate, he said he has seen me over some weeks and felt to bring these Bibles to give as they are just sitting on his shelf. He told me a little about himself and I thought to share that Rick is here from just after 12pm if he would like to chat with him too but he had to go. I gave him a tract and a 'God of Wonders' dvd to say thanks.

After Rick had arrived we handed out lots more tracts and also had the chance to give a Bible to a man from Vanuatu. We asked some questions to see if he knew the Gospel, and to the praise of God he was fully relying on Jesus being the only reason he would be going to heaven. His words were of course so! He had been taught as a young child to trust in Jesus. In amazement he told us he was leaving to go back to Vanuatu in the morning, so we encouraged him about the ministry and to share the good news where he is going, in his reply “of course so.” How lovely to have the opportunity to meet other Christians as we share the joy in salvation as we speak. Pray for J. We were also thankful to meet and encourage S and give a dvd from 'Way of the Master' to watch and share with her Church.

Thank you for continued prayers for the ministry.

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It’s good to be back out on the street with my lovely wife Glenda sharing the Gospel with the people of Warwick. Our bible table is set up for giving away free bibles and resources to build up fellow Christians and equip and encourage them in sharing the good news and of course to give to anyone wanting to receive answers (for example) ”Does God Exist” and “Evidences for a young world” to plant seeds that God can use to draw some to Salvation.

I attended a funeral service just before joining Glenda for the outreach. The funeral was for a workmates family member. In God’s providence my boss sat next to me, and just before we all left I got to tell her that I was now going to join my wife in Warwick as I do after work each Friday, to hand out Gospel tracts, free bibles and talk to people about Eternal matters. Also I was able to plant a few seeds with some other work colleagues after the funeral about how short life is!!

Not long after arriving at the outreach location another workmate who was at the funeral happened to walk by and we engaged in a conversation about death in light of just coming from a funeral. During the chat with him he revealed a tattoo of his mother his brother and sister’s dates of when they passed away and underneath, said “Me -  Never”. I said that we are all part of the ultimate statistic that 10 out of 10 people die. After going through the Law, judgment and hell, then the flip chart, he didn't seem to be concerned at all, but who knows what our Lord can do with a few planted seeds!! He received a call from his upper management (wife) who had been waiting for him for some time and we said goodbye. Please pray for L.

We had a few short chats with some other folk - pray for S who is a believer as he helps his friend M with some Bible truths. We also were able to hand out lots of tracts.

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South-East England (UK) Team

Saturday, two from the Essex team  met in Stratford, London, for outreach on a cold, wet and windy day. Tract uptake was slow as many people rushed by in the rain, but we had some good conversations.  Jacob had longer conversations with Stewart and Erica.  I had a nice conversation with Sonny, a Christian from the Philippines. I engaged with a man handing out the Quran nearby. He was clearly trained to question all things related to Christianity. Jacob joined me in the conversation and asked for his contact details to continue the conversation.

Please pray for Samir that his eyes might be opened to the truth of the Gospel and salvation in Christ. Samir was adamant that his good works will save him. I was really moved by a young man from Italy, Salvatore, begging in the 4C rain. I gave him a couple of quid and two NT's which he happily took. He showed me his Bible, which had gotten totally soaked and fused into a solid lump. Please keep these people in your prayers.

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On Saturday night in Brisbane City, there were some markets on in King George Square, this meant that there were hundreds of people around all flowing through the area. With the increased people came the opportunity for more conversations but it also meant that the area was packed as well. One other exciting surprise was a mens group from a local church came out together to see what it is like evangelising on the street is like, so that they can begin to do some in their area. The guys each partnered with another team member and were able to engage in conversation alongside the others.

One conversation early in the night was with Nicholas, he was french and originally presented himself as skeptical but as the conversation went on he seemed less so. He was shown God as Creator and understood that God the Creator expects things of His Creation. He was then shown God's expectations, the law and saw how he had failed. Then he heard the solution, trusting in who Christ is and what He's done. It was encouraging to see him engage and discuss it.

He left in the end with a tract and said he would read it. Please be praying that Nicholas would give up his rebellion and trust in the humble Saviour.

A conversation following this was with two men that are often in the square. Both are from Africa but one is a professing Christian and the other from a man who worships his own ideas of God. The "Christian" didn't know the Gospel and was relying upon his good works to save him. This was worrying to hear but thankfully as Christian's Operation 513 is equipped with the Gospel to share and so this man heard the Gospel clearly. It was explained a number of different ways until he understood it.

Alternatively his friend was stuck in a pride-fueled rebellion against God. He had made up his own ideas and his own god and by no stretch was willing to acknowledge that he was a sinner, that God would punish sin or that Jesus would be able to save him. It was all about him and his ideas.

Sadly the conversation came to a close and he was left with a very serious warning, "Tonight God has offered you an opportunity to hear and heed His message of salvation but at this moment you've chosen to reject it, God may never give you another chance to repent and believe".

A final conversation of the evening was had with David and Bonnie. David had a Muslim background and Bonnie had a Catholic understanding but both had instead subscribed to agnosticism.

The conversation consisted of different points of challenge to their current beliefs. They were challenged on point after point that they raised in rejection of God.

As their questions were answered it was noted that their issue wasn't really an intellectual one rather it was a moral one. They wanted the ability to live how they wanted to live without any accountability. It was pointed out that pretending there is no judge, doesn't get you out of being guilty.

They were left with the good news of Christianity in comparison to the bad news of all other religions. All other religions give you laws and standards you have to follow by adherence to which you will be "good". The issue is that laws can only ever show flaws and faults. All it can do is condemn you and show you where you're guilty. Leaving you helpless.

Where as God's plan is far better than just a world of lost sinners, rather God came into His own Creation to redeem sinners. He came under the law and fulfilled it. He then took the curse of the law for guilty sinners and He offers everyone forgiveness of sin, they must simply repent and believe.

These two seemed to understand it, they took tracts and they headed back off to work.

Please be praying for Bonnie and David that God would use this conversation as a beginning to their right relationship with God one day.

Please also consider joining the team for the Christmas outreaches over the next few weeks, most nights there is an outreach and it is a very easy time to share the Gospel with people!

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