Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Christchurch (NZ) Team

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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 12:30pm - 2:30pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Sun 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (corner of Colombo St and Cashel St) - only 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays of the month.

Contact Glen Richards or Andy Barlow for more information.

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I love the winter months.  For me, all the special outreaches have been completed, and I can get back to a normal routine - I love routine!  Like clockwork, I can get out and share the gospel, both on the street and online.  Routine helps with discipline, and without discipline we simply won’t get done the things we need to do, like: personal devotions: time reading the Bible and prayer, family devotions, church gathering, and, of course, intentional evangelism!  So, if you don’t have a routine, build one!  Set regular times during the day where you do the things you need to do - no matter what.  Just think, no Bible, no coffee!  Just do it! ;)  Oh, and if setting a routine like this is new to you, start out small and grow.  E.g., Maybe start with reading the Bible for 10 minutes and prayer for 5 minutes each day before, or while you have your morning brew (and then increase gradually from there).  Or, maybe join a church outreach once a month, instead of every week - to begin with.  (Your church has some kind of outreach, right?  If not, talk to your elders, maybe you can start one!)

 

In March, I was doing some online evangelism training with Fran.  She lives in NZ too, and she just so happened to be coming down to the city I live at the beginning of April, and so we organised for her to join a street outreach.  On Friday the 4th, she joined Roger and I on a sunny afternoon outreach on Cashel Mall.  We had a great time having gospel conversations and giving away tracts.  Roger had his flipchart going, and Fran was able to see how it worked.

 

Fran was interested in getting a flipchart for herself, and since I have 6 of them, and only use all 6 on special outreaches, I said she could borrow one.  This she did, and took it back with her up north.

 

Well, much to my encouragement, Fran has been able to lead her first street outreach where she lives, with others in her church joining her, and using the flipchart.  I’ll include the photo she shared, and here is what she said:

“Today I took the Are You a Good Person flipchart into town for the first time. I managed to get a few people from my church to come along too. I was quite nervous as I usually only share the Gospel online. However, there were a few people praying for today and God answered. The flipchart drew quite a bit of interest and I ended up having six good chats, three of who had never heard the Gospel. This is now something I intend to do regularly. God is so good”

 

My prayer is that God would continue to raise up labourers like this, from amongst the churches, who will be in it for the long haul.  Jesus sacrificed his life for us.  I now want to sacrifice my life for his glory.  Be encouraged to use your gifts to the best of your ability!  He is worthy.

 

The only special outreach for the month of April was the Easter outreach.  For a very long time I’ve been leading hot cross bun and gospel tract outreaches over Easter weekend.  But, I just didn’t have the energy for it this year, and I didn’t want to drag people out that didn’t want to be there.  Instead, my wife, son in law, and a couple of friends spent 2 hours in Riccarton giving away Easter eggs and tracts.  All I needed to do was go to the supermarket, buy a few packs of eggs, grab a pack of tracts and go.  I had a good time.  Although people were a bit suspicious of why we were giving away chocolate, we ended up giving them all away.  May God use our feeble efforts for his glory!

 

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It’s been a busy month.  I’ve just enjoyed going through the photo’s and remembering.  Some of them might seem a bit odd to you, but they have special meaning to me.

 

The one of Daniel and Bobby-Jean praying is special because they instigated a 6 am prayer time while we were in the Philippines.  Of course we were all praying anyway, but it touched me that they would make this extra effort.  We are so dependent on God, and prayer is so vital to everything we do.

 

The one with the green field & trees and the blue sky with the white clouds was taken on our last day in the Philippines, down at the University of the Philippines Dilliman - where we did all our ‘street’ outreach.  And then the one with the thrown away gospel tract in one corner, and then a discarded coin in the other corner - some people don’t realise the value of the treasure they are discarding.

 

Our site at the Oxford A&P Show outreach (29th March, one week after getting back from the Philippines) was between 2 sites both selling jewellery.  3 sites with treasure - 2 selling, and 1 giving away.

 

And then finally, the video.  I don’t think I’m going to be able to attach the video to this report.  If I can successfully upload it to Facebook, I’ll link to it here. <-- (if there is no link, then I haven’t done it yet, or I wasn’t able to upload it).  The video is amazing.  Taken at the Oxford A&P Show.  Daniel and Andy are in gospel chats, when a pipe band comes down the road.  Amazingly, they stop and start playing the classic hymn “Amazing Grace” - I’m not sure if they realised the significance?  But it was a special moment that I caught on video.

 

So, enough commentary on the photos.  What happened this month?  We spent a week or so in the Philippines.  And then the Oxford A&P Show.  In between that, our regular work has been happening.  Street outreaches, online outreaches, and we are continuing to distribute free gospel tracts across NZ via the web store (outside NZ here).

 

While in the Philippines, we spent 2 hours in online outreach, and 4 hours in street outreach.  There was a team of just under 20 from all parts of the world: NZ, Aussie, USA, Indonesia, and Chris from Norway!  Also, many from the Philippines who follow needGod.net via social media came to join us as well.

 

As I reflect, some of the memories are coming back.  I’ll highlight one.  Edson from the USA was a big encouragement to me.  There was a big group of students down in the ‘sunken garden’ and he challenged me to approach them.  He said he would take one side, if I do the other. Big groups can be very tiring, and I was tired!  But since he was keen, I swallowed my fear and just ‘did it’.  Normally with big groups you get people in different places, and 1 person will kill the dynamic so the rest don’t get to hear the gospel.  But that didn’t happen this time.  Instead, the whole group engaged.  Glory to God, it was like a Holy Spirit moment, where I had all their attention for about 10 minutes as I was able to minister the law and the gospel and then work through all the checks to make sure they were really understanding.  Thanks Edson for your boldness that enabled God to minister in that moment!  Glory to God alone.

 

There was much openness among the students, in spite of the intellectual environment that stands against the gospel.

 

I also had a random gospel opportunity on my day off.  I was at the mall with my youngest daughter (she joined me for this trip).  She was getting ice cream, and because the mall was so crowded, we ended up sitting close to a young guy.  He started the conversation, and it just naturally turned into a good gospel chat.  He accepted a gospel of John and a gospel tract in the end.  God is sovereign and uses us where we are at.

 

The Oxford A&P Show was a long hot day.  Plenty of people, but I wasn’t as busy as I normally am at outreaches like this.  Maybe that was God’s grace in knowing I was a bit tired?  Anyway, I still had plenty of chats.  But one in particular stands out in my mind as very special.

 

It was right at the start of the day with two young ladies who go to a local church - one even had a Bible on her sweatshirt.  They weren’t clear on the gospel, and yet they were very engaged in the conversation, so I was able to slow right down and work them through it.  One of the girls in particular seemed deeply impacted.  It was so good to see.  I treasure moments like that, because the gospel is such a treasure to me.  God is amazing, that he would die on a cross like me - it just brings me to tears.  I rest in this grace, and yet I’m driven to get out and share it!

 

Yet, I’m looking forward to a day off tomorrow ;)

 

This month we have Easter coming up.  We normally do a couple of hot cross bun outreaches for Easter, but we’ve decided not to do the hot cross buns this year.  Instead, I’m just going to do regular street outreach.  I guess I’m craving a bit of a ‘normal’ routine.  I’m looking forward to a winter with no ‘special’ outreaches and to recharge for the next year that God brings, if he wills.

 

Please continue to pray for us - we so need it and appreciate it.

 

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I like the quote: “preach the gospel; die; be forgotten”.  It’s not about me primarily, but it’s about God and his glory.

 

I write these reports to encourage.  But, do you need the encouragement of these reports?  Don’t we already have the book of Acts?  Is that not sufficient?  It is sufficient.

 

Yet, I also appreciate the prayers of the few of you who read these reports, and so I will continue.

 

When I was in Dunedin, I read Matthew 6:1-4.

 

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 

- Matthew 6:1 (esv)

 

And then, once back from Dunedin, during my last weekly bible study with my local church small group, we were studying the very same passage.  It’s amazing how subtle we can be in stealing glory from God and boasting in what we do!

 

And yet, the balance can be found earlier in Matthew:

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

 

- Matthew 5:16 (esv)

 

The bible study leader summed it up brilliantly: if you are tempted to hide it, you probably need to show it; but if you are tempted to show it, you probably need to hide it.

 

So, in writing these reports, there has been great temptation for me to boast in my efforts (which is crazy, because it’s only by the effort of Jesus that I’m even alive, saved and able to do anything at all).  I’m aware of this when I go back to the Facebook post and see how many ‘likes’ the post has had.

 

Rather than writing these reports, I could be telling more people about Jesus (one of the reasons I’ve dropped down to monthly reports).  And, rather than you reading these reports, you could be doing the same.  Something to consider, right?

 

And yet, all things in balance.

 

That all said, the team has had a very encouraging month.  The focus of this report will be on our week down in Dunedin, but we have also been busy on the streets of Christchurch and online.  There is *unlimited* opportunity for the proclamation of the gospel.  All glory to God alone.

 

So, we went to Dunedin during the University O (orientation) Week.  Dunedin has a big university, and is 1 of 2 medical universities in New Zealand.

 

We went in conjunction with Cornerstone Church, and also worked alongside members of OAC and other like minded ministries.  There was a lot of work in preparing for this trip.  I had to coordinate with the elders of the church, the local student ministries (who were working independent of us) and the other evangelists I would be working with.  That was hard work!  It led to much prayer on my part.  And did God answer that prayer!  As far as I know, the week went really smoothly from the coordination perspective.

 

But God also answered the other prayer: that He would be glorified in many hearing about Him and His gospel.

 

There were about 10 of us on the team.  Each day we would generally split into 2: half down at the Museum Reserve, where a big Uni O Week event was happening.  And the other half at the Octagon and everywhere in between (George Street, bus stops).

 

I’m going to relate a few experiences from my perspective.

 

Saturday morning we were in the Octagon, the foot traffic was a bit light, and so I ended up approaching everyone that came close.  This included 2 separate conversations with elderly people.  Generally, older people can be pretty resistant to new ideas.  This was no different with these 2 conversations, but I was encouraged that they at least stopped and continued talking with me in spite of the resistance!  We sometimes have no idea what’s going on in the heart.  I didn’t use my usual ‘script’ with them, instead I went at their pace and challenged them with where they were at.  They both took tracts for follow up.

 

In the afternoon, I started with a 45 minute gospel chat with a young man from Germany.  He was a carpenter on a working holiday.  His name was Mathias.  He resisted the building builder analogy, but I stuck to my guns, attempting to pry his hands off his suppression.  He opened up, and I was able to go through the law, the gospel, and all the checks.  Yet, he couldn’t help going back to his suppression.  I didn’t let him, reminding him of the certainty of the things we were discussing.  He said he needed time to think (which is fair to a degree – I can’t force him!), but I warned him he could die today and what I was sharing was simple.  I urged him to repent.

 

On Sunday we were at the church gathering in the morning, and then rested in the afternoon.  From Monday till Thursday it would be 6 hours a day of gospel labour.

 

It was wonderful to have a newbie with us Monday and Tuesday.  Xavier was paired with me on Monday morning.  We were in the Octagon.

 

We ended up getting into a very long chat with a high school student.  Early in the chat, I mentioned that I didn’t want him to be late for school, but he just said, “it’s okay, I’ve got an appointment”.  Near the end of the chat, he looked at his phone, so I checked again, “do you have to go?”.  “Oh, no”, he responded, “I’ve still got time to talk”.  So he was very engaged.  He was partly resistant, and yet partly open.  There were certain sticking points for him that we needed to labour on.  It was a wonderful chat.  As he finally left, Xavier turned around and rejoiced!  He was so encouraged.  And I was encouraged that he was encouraged!  From then on, you couldn’t hold Xavier back!  In the afternoon, he was paired with Roger, and Xavier ended up taking over his flipchart in his enthusiasm!

 

There are so many more stories I could write about like this.  I would encounter people in the Octagon on one day, and on another I would be able to follow up with them down at the Museum Reserve.  The bus stops were amazing.  In the late afternoon, they were teaming with fish - all in a barrel and I had a gospel shotgun to fish with.  So good!

 

This is where I have to be most careful about boasting.  A young man came up to me to say that the conversation I had had with him a year ago had impacted him - esp. The Fireman analogy.  He is now a Christian, being discipled by one of the student ministers and connected with Cornerstone church.  He wanted a selfie with me, I wanted to refuse - he should get a selfie with Jesus instead, but I conceded.  We already know this, but the gospel is truly the power of God for salvation, the Holy Spirit is truly active today!  All glory to God alone!!!

 

This report is long, and I have so much more to write.  I’m going to let those words drop.  Instead, I’ll finish up with this.

 

Andy and I have a good friend, Thomas, who has just moved to Timaru to take up a Pastoral role at a local church there (Covenant Grace Baptist Church).  On Friday, we did 2 hours of outreach in Dunedin before starting the long drive home.  We were going to do 3 hours, but instead we arranged to stop in Timaru for an hour of outreach with Thomas.  We parked on the top of the hill and prayed together before moving down the main drag to start gospel chats.  I was paired with Thomas.  There were 2 guys from a local high school walking towards us, and so I started a chat with them.  We talked for the whole hour.  And it was the best chat of the whole week.

 

One of the kids had already been learning about Jesus online, and had been reading the Bible.  Our conversation seemed to join the final dots for him.  We had to labour longer with the other guy.  We used all the analogies and check questions.  Before the chat was over, they had shaken our hands at least 4 times.  Thomas gave one a tract with his # and the name of his church.

 

Thomas let me know that they both came to church on the Sunday, and the sermon was just what they needed to hear.  The last I heard Thomas was going to be catching up with them again on the Wednesday following.

 

Oh, that they are good soil, oh that those seeds won’t be plucked away.  That God would not only be glorified through his justice, but by his greater mercy in their lives!  May they grow up and be able to continue the task of making disciples: proclaiming the gospel.  Either way, God will be glorified.

 

Please continue to pray for this feeble ministry.  We are weak, but He is strong!  In a couple of days we are flying to the Philippines for a week and a bit of ministry there.  We need God’s help!

 

All glory to God alone.  SDG.  To Him be all the glory, forever and ever!  Amen!!!

 

Edit: I have to mention the picture with the guy holding the pro life signs.  Lovely guy, been laboring for the cause of life for decades.  I think he mentioned since the '70s!  But, he is Catholic.  He said he was earning brownie points for heaven.  I spent 30 minutes with him, as I left, he was at least correctly articulating the gospel.  Pray that God would save his life, as he endevours to save lives.

 

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It’s been an encouraging month.  I actually have a few details to talk about for this report (rather than general memories and pointing to the pictures).

 

So, I took 2 weeks leave, which was refreshing.  I watched a lot of cricket (because it’s free to air on TV in NZ at the moment) - which I find very relaxing.  I even went to a local game to sit on the bank and chill.

 

But, we are back to work again.  It was wonderful to have Carole from the UK join us for a couple of outreaches in Riccarton this month - I hope you got home safely!

 

I want to start with the biggest encouragement.  It occurred 2 days ago, during our Friday afternoon in the city.  Roger was with me.  Due to the loudness of the Buskers Festival event happening at the Bridge of Remembrance, we moved down to the other end, corner of Cashel and Colombo.

 

I ended up in a long conversation right at the end of the outreach.  So I was blessed with an extra 30 minutes of gospel ministry.  A young guy went past whom I stopped with the polite but deep question: “can I ask you, what do you think happens after life?”  He was keen to engage.  We were in the hot sun, and so we moved back into the shade - he was leaning against a shop window for the whole chat.

 

He was resistant, yet open.  He was trying to play the Atheist card, and so a lot of the conversation was spent reasoning with him on that.  But he also hated the idea of punishment (understandable because we love our sin).  Instead he thinks people should be given therapy (amazingly, there is mercy available instead!).  I didn’t let these issues distract from the meat and potatoes: the law and the gospel.

 

Near the end of this conversation I heard someone say, “Glen, is that you?”.  I turned and looked at a couple of guys.  One of them said, “It’s me, Byron, do you remember me?”.  Initially I didn’t, but then slowly my memory came back.  It must have been about 2 years ago.  Byron had been in Cathedral Square listening to the preaching (of other ministers, not us) and had made a profession of faith.  Later (or was it the next week?), he was at the Bridge of Remembrance and I was able to have a gospel conversation.  I was able to use our standard check questions to make sure he was really understanding the gospel.  Things were clicking for him.  He even came to my local churches gathering the following Sunday.  I remember my Pastor and I were encouraging him to join a new believers small group.  But sadly he moved to Ashburton (I think it was) and we lost touch.

 

Anyway, he said to me, “We were talking about you this morning.  I want to let you know, I just got baptised, I’m going to Grace” (I assume he means Grace Vineyard, a local church).  I was overjoyed!  He introduced me to his friend, and he wanted to talk more, but he could see I was in the middle of a gospel conversation with someone else and decided to leave me to that.  But he said he would catch up with me again and wanted to know what my street schedule was.

 

Glory to God!  One person ploughs, another sows, another waters, but God brings the increase!  We can rest in our labour and leave God to His.  I hope to see Byron again soon and learn more about his journey.

 

Going back to the young man that I was talking to, he had watched this whole exchange.  I think it impacted him too.  He ended up by saying, “actually, I’ve really appreciated this conversation”.  And then he said something that surprised me, “I’m thinking of joining a youth group”  I was very surprised by this change of heart!  Even in the face of resistance, we just don’t know what’s going inside of a person.

 

Another very encouraging conversation this month was with a young lady at the Riccarton bus stops.  She watched me approach a guy and listened to our brief exchange, so she knew what I was about.  When I approached her, she was polite but hostile.  I wasn’t put off, and she was happy to talk, so I sat down next to her (you often spend time sitting on the pavement when you do street outreach).

 

She tried to shock me, by saying she was a Satanist.  I didn’t flinch, I just asked her, what kind of satanist she was, a philosophical one, or a spiritual one.  From there we had a decent chat.  She was still hostile, and I had to do a lot of listening.  But slowly I was able, with God’s help, to help her think through some of the things she was saying.  By the end of the chat, she was calm (glory to God), and yet challenged.  It turns out she is also ‘gay’, and using Psychedelics (a very deceptive sin).  I rejoiced over this chat, because she also came to understand the serious nature of her sin and the amazing mercy of Jesus.

 

Of course, there were many other wonderful chats over the month.  Just one more that I want to mention.  I think it occurred on the same day as the previous chat I mentioned.  I was talking to 2 bright University students (they were girls).  One was studying communications, and the other biology.  Their world views were of their own creation (idolatry), but they were a mix of atheism with eastern influence (reincarnation, etc).  The conversation centered on how we know God exists.  They came at me hard, but I stuck to my guns.  At multiple times I would say, “fault the logic”, and they would go silent as they could see I had already addressed their arguments (all glory to God).  I was able to touch on the law and the gospel, but they weren’t open to it at all.  Eventually one of the girls said to the other, “hey, we have an appointment at five thirty, right?”.  The other girl looked at her strangely and said, “No”.  She didn’t get the hint, she wanted out of this chat.  I understood and so I gave her the out, I think my job was done for the time being, they had plenty to consider.

 

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that.  We are still very busy with online outreach: responding to an endless stream of conversations via Instagram and TikTok Messenger (and other social media platforms), training people for online evangelism, and having online video chats of our own.  This is all via needGod.net, led by Ryan.  I leave one TikTok comment (as a picture) I captured during the month, for your encouragement.

 

Next month we have 2 special outreaches coming up: a week of outreach in Dunedin in conjunction with OAC and Cornerstone International Bible Church, and then a week or so in the Philippines.  PLEASE pray: 1) that we would be a blessing to the church, 2) for favour with authorities, 3) that the lost would understand the gospel, and finally 4) that God would be glorified.  Please also pray for the interactions between Christians in organising and conducting these outreaches, that there would be understanding and love in spite of disagreement on secondary issues and methods.

 

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Okay, this report was supposed to come out on Sunday the 5th of Jan.  But at the last minute I decided to take some R&R to recover a bit from the spring of special outreaches.  I’m back on deck now and so let me update you with how the outreaches for Dec 2024 went.

 

But first, I just want to take a moment to remember Stephen Ripley, who sadly passed from this earth on the 16th of December.  Stephen and his wife Margaret regularly joined us for the abortion/gospel outreach we used to run outside the hospital.  It was an honour to be able to serve next to Stephen, and am looking forward to seeing him again when I join him in graduation to heaven!  My condolences to Margaret & family at this time.

 

So, I can’t really remember the details of my gospel conversations during December.  So, I’m going to let the pictures I dredged up do most of the talking instead.

 

We had one special outreach.  It was the boxing day gospel tract outreach.  It was great to have Martin from Hamilton with me again.  He is usually in Christchurch for holidays around this time of year.  Between us we were able to hand out about 3 to 4 hundred Christmas tracts in 2 x 2 hour outreaches: Riccarton in the morning, and in the city in the afternoon.  It was pouring with rain in the afternoon, but that didn’t stop the people out bargain hunting - and getting a bargain they didn’t expect too: the gospel!  Even though the focus was on distributing tracts, I still had many gospel conversations too.

 

Well, I’ll leave it at that.  No special outreaches for the rest of January.  Instead I’ll enjoy getting back into my regular routine of street and online outreach.  Please continue to keep the Christchurch outreach team in prayer!

 

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When I wrote my last report (a month ago), we were a few days into a week of outreach with Phil and his church in Whangārei.  So, this report will cover the rest of that outreach, plus everything we’ve been doing since then.  This includes the big Canterbury A&P Show outreach, plus the regular street and online outreach we have been doing.

 

I’ve just finished going through the photos I’ve taken for the last month.  I’m going to let them do most of the talking for this report.  They bring back very good memories for me.

 

Going back to the outreach in Whangārei.  It was a wonderful week of outreach!  The highlight for me would be a conversation I had with an older gentleman.  I encountered him twice - on different days.  I first talked to him on Saturday, across the road from the World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCoG, a cult) Zion (meeting place).  He had become a member of this cult, and so in his conversation he was vehemently defending their doctrines.  I decided not to take a direct stand against this, but instead took the tactic of side stepping his emotional attacks and politely asking questions and responding in such a way that the important issues would be touched on: the law and the gospel.  After a robust conversation, we parted ways on good terms.

 

Well, a few days later, I saw him again, in a different part of town.  I approached him with a friendly greeting, and was able to sit down to start another conversation.  Glory to God, he had obviously considered some of the things I said, and he was in a much better position to reason with.  He opened up about wanting to become a JW.  But when he had asked to be baptised, they resisted.  And so, when the WMSCoG came to his door and offered to baptise him on the spot he was elated!  And so, I was able to spend a lot more time with him labouring on the law and the true Gospel of Jesus’ mercy (and not working for salvation).  I remember it still being a difficult conversation, but the gospel is simple, and it is the power of God for salvation.

 

Not only did we do outreach in the town centre, but we also spent a day up at Kamo and the last day of the outreach included a bit of a road trip: we spent some time in outreach at Kerikeri & Paihia before heading back to Whangārei to catch our flight home.  So many wonderful conversations from that week are passing through my mind, but I don’t have the time to write about them.  Thanks so much to Phil and Emma for hosting us (Roger, Andy and myself), and for Maungakaramea Reformed Church and Clark Road Chapel for allowing us to serve alongside you for the week.  It was so encouraging having so many members coming out to be involved with us.

 

The next big outreach, starting only a week after we got back from Whangārei was the Canterbury A&P Show.  A 3 day event for the farming community with many stalls and entertainment.  The weather was mixed - on the last day we had to suffer some interrupting rain.  But generally, the outreach was a massive success.  We ended up having just the right amount of labourers for each part of the outreach - so God answered that prayer!  He also answered a prayer in regards to some loud music from the first day - it didn’t end up being an issue for the following days - glory to God!

 

The 2nd day of the outreach was the busiest.  I ended up going till 2 pm without a break.  We have 5 flip charts running, and there were times where they were all busy, and we even had people queuing to come and try it out!

 

My four prayers were: God would be glorified, favour with authorities, Christians would be encouraged, and the lost would hear the gospel.  I feel like those prayers were well and truly answered!  I esp. enjoyed having many conversations with Christians.  One of them even joined Andy and I on the streets a week later (pictured).  God is so good.

 

We are still active in Christchurch city and in the Riccarton area.  Cashel Mall is now ramping up for Christmas, and so I’ve cracked out the Christmas gospel tracts.  I’m handing them out with a cherry “Merry Christmas!” and any who stop I ask: “what do you think Christmas’ greatest gift is?” and then get into a gospel conversation from there.

 

On the Tuesday just gone, Roger and I tried a new spot for outreach in Riccarton.  We moved up a block to be closer to the bus exchange.  It worked well.  We had a very busy outreach, that even went a bit longer than usual.

 

Please keep the Christchurch Operation 513 outreach team in prayer.  For the upcoming month it will be mainly regular outreach, with the only planned special outreach being a gospel tract give-away on Boxing Day - the streets are flooded with bargain hunters - pray that they get a bargain they didn’t expect!  Thanks so much.

 

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It’s been a month since my last report.  I’ve decided to move to monthly reports - I’ll aim for the first Sunday of the month.  This will mean I’ll have more time for evangelism, but for the few of you that read these reports, you’ll still have fuel for prayer (which is so vital!), and knowing that we are still active out there!  Thanks so much for your support, it’s very much appreciated.

 

In the last month, the usual weekly street outreaches have been happening: Tues & Sat in Riccarton, and Fri & Sun in the City.  We have also had a few special events:  I ran a Saturday morning training session in Christchurch, and then the following Saturday we were at the Ellesmere A&P Show.  And as I write Roger, Andy, and myself are in Whangārei with Phil & Emma Tunstall and their church: Maungakaramea Reformed Church for a week of street outreach.  Today I ran the training session in the afternoon, after the usual morning gathering.

 

It’s been a wonderful month - with all the special outreach opportunities - and yet, it was a difficult month as well - having a major setback in regards to a future planned special outreach.  I know God uses all things for his glory and our good, and so I’m going to rest in that truth, and continue to bring our future plans to him in prayer.

 

There is one conversation that has been burning in my mind all month.  It occurred on the 18th of October during our Friday afternoon outreach in the city.  It was with a Filipino man.  He was sitting on a bench near the Bridge of Remembrance.  I politely approached him with a tract and an offer to chat about the deeper things of life.  He was welcoming, and so I sat next to him to have a conversation.  It turned into a long conversation.  He had a Christian background, but he was very unclear on what the gospel is.  He pointed to keeping the commandments and asking for forgiveness as the reasons he would get to heaven.  And so, starting from there I proceed to labour with him coming to understand the law and the gospel.  I had to go over it many times, but it was wonderful to see the truth dawning in his eyes and thinking.  He seemed very grateful, and if my memory serves me right, I gave him a gospel of John and a church contact card.  I haven’t heard from him - but that’s okay.  He is in God’s hands.  Please pray for this man, that the Holy Spirit will bring conviction and conversation in his life, and that he will be knitted into a good local church somewhere.

 

The Ellesmere A&P Show was wonderful.  A nice hot spring day.  Andy & I were very busy all day, scattering seeds with the farmers passing by our hired site and flipcharts.

 

And the first outreach in Whangārei (2 hours in the morning) was off the charts good!  I had four wonderful conversations with people who seemed deeply impacted.  One young lad, who had obviously already been thinking about the deep things of life, even made a profession of faith!  But what was even more encouraging is that the young Christian who was paired with me was being encouraged in evangelism!  He seemed deeply impacted, and motivated to get into the harvest field, which is ripe!  Glory to God alone.

 

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A good week this week.  It felt more normal than the previous weeks.  I think this is the first week of the school holidays.  As a result, Tuesday’s outreach was busier than normal - very busy actually.  I went for about an hour and a half just rolling from 1 conversation to another.  There was engagement, and even openness from those I was talking to.

 

As I was talking, I noticed a young man walk past with a really dirty look on his face.  He obviously knew what I was doing and didn’t like it.  Soon after, I became aware of a raised voice across the road.  He was engaged in a conversation with Roger.

 

Well, I had just finished a chat and next thing I know he was with me.  He’d finished with Roger, been and bought something to eat, and then had come back to have a chat with me.

 

I knew I was up for a battle, but I felt like taking it on.  Apparently I’d talked to him before.  He was very intellectual, but he was using his God given intellect to suppress God.  Even though his arguments were unreasonable, he was at least polite enough to allow it to be a 2 way discussion - which was great.  But, the reason I say his arguments were unreasonable, is because he would deny absolute truth - which is a contradiction (to deny absolute truth is an absolute).  He would make absurd statements, but I held him to account, I didn’t let him hold on to that absurdity.  Not only that, I explained why he was doing it: He wants to deny the absolute God who brings moral accountability for sin.

 

It was a long chat, but I ran out of patience.  Without losing my cool, I told him there was no point in continuing the conversation - he accepted that.  I think he was a bit disappointed; I think he enjoyed the conversation for the sake of it.  But, I was tired, and I wanted to share the gospel with others, maybe others who would be open to it.  I had been able to touch on the law and the gospel with him.

 

Roger was busy on the other side of the street too.  He finished up with a conversation with a young man whose mother went to Rogers church and had been praying for her son!  I got to hear the very end of the chat, and the young man seemed so appreciative of the gospel conversation.

 

On Friday I was with Roger and Andy in the city: Bridge of Remembrance.  One of the streeties I see regularly came over to talk with me (his eyes seemed clear for a change, which is good).  As we were talking, a guy came over and gave him a pie - which was really generous.  I brought him into the conversation, and then, eventually, the streetie moved on and I was left talking with the pie giver.  He is from the US, and works down in Antarctica.  Eventually I was able to swing the conversation to deep things.  He said he normally wouldn’t have cared about the subject, but he had been doing a philosophy / ethics paper in his undergraduate degree which had made him interested.

 

Sadly, he became very resistant early in the chat.  I used the analogy of a builder requiring a builder to show how we know God is real.  But he came back with the “where did God come from” question.  Sadly, he wasn’t interested in answers and he would cut me off before I could finish.  He shifted the conversation to the source of morals.  He said there are no morals, ultimately.  And when I explained that God’s nature is the source of morals, he tried to say “but what’s the basis for God’s morals”.  Interestingly, the answer for both questions is very similar: God must be unmade, and God himself is the ultimate standard for morals.  In both cases, the alternative is an infinite regress, which is a logical fallacy and so can’t be true.

I decided to disengage.  Otherwise the conversation could potentially have turned nasty.  I let him talk from then on, just listening to him talk.  It was interesting that he opened up about his sister, who he said had been in a similar position as the streetie I had been talking to.  What was even more interesting is that his sister had managed to turn her life around, through a faith based program.  She was even now running this program, and helping others.  He left with a tract.

 

I had a great time in Riccarton on Saturday.  Lot’s of opportunities to talk with people.  I talked with 2 young ladies, one of whom was drunk.  I was a bit surprised that someone would be drunk at lunch time on a Saturday!  But the highlight would have been a chat with 2 young high school students with Christian backgrounds.  They were stoked that I was out preaching about Jesus.  I was able to work with them to bring some precision in their understanding of the gospel.

 

I also had a chat with a lady who had seen me on a bus, and had hopped off to come talk to me.  She had just been over to the World Mission Society Church of God - a cult.  They are currently aggressively ‘evangelising’ in my city.  She was very confused, and so I spent my time with her to try to bring some clarity on the simplicity of the law and the gospel.

 

On Sunday, Mike joined me in the city in the afternoon.  I decided to bring my flip chart, and I had a busy outreach.  The WMSCoG were out in force, but I was too busy to engage them.

 

There is a guy that works in the city, and we see him often and so are having a long term gospel chat with him.  I was able to continue that today, but sadly, I’m so very aware of how blind he is to basic truths.  I’m totally failing to get through to him.  I decided to leave him with Mike.  But I’ve decided to add him to my prayer list, and ask God to open his eyes to see the truth.  Apart from the grace of God, I’m him.

 

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So, I know I missed last week's report.  A couple of reasons for that: 1) I didn’t end up doing any street outreach that week, mainly because 2) my daughter got married!  Congratulations!

 

Also, since the Wellington trip, I’ve been feeling usually tired.  It’s like I’m recovering from a cold, but I never actually had a cold?

 

Anyway, by God’s grace, I was able to make it to all 4 street outreaches this week.  This report will cover those outreaches.

 

So, going back to Tuesday afternoon, in Riccarton with Roger.  I was feeling flat, and it must have come across to those passing by, I didn’t get many bites.  Things were going the opposite way for Roger.  All he needed to do was blink and he was into a good gospel conversation!  I rejoiced at the good chats he seemed to be having!

 

I didn’t bring my flip chart, concerned about the wind, and so I decided to go for a wander up to the bus stops.  In the midst of the many rejections, I encountered a lady who, as soon as she saw me coming to her, said, “I’ve got no time for God”.  I crouched down next to her and  asked why, and she started to list all the loved ones in her life that had died.  It was certainly tragic listening to the list!  I decided not to try to take an intellectual approach to addressing this.  Instead, I empathised, agreeing that death is a tragedy.  She started to tear up.  She was wallowing in bitterness toward God for allowing evil - which is not the right response.  Sadly, I didn’t get to continue the conversation, because she took a phone call, and then her bus came.  I can’t remember if she accepted a tract.

 

But, what is the right response?  We rightly grieve death, but we have the sure hope that God is going to bring perfect justice upon all those that do evil, and the hope that that justice won’t fall on us in hell, because of the mercy of Jesus.  There will be resurrection and the hope of the new heavens and the new earth, with no more mar of sin or death.  Knowing God’s mercy allows us to respond to trials and suffering in our life with forgiveness, rather than bitterness.  We need to be patient for justice, grateful that God’s patience with us has led to us knowing his mercy!

 

Maybe my empathy surprised her?  Maybe the fact that I didn’t flinch at her bitterness will open the door for her discussing this deeper, grieving her losses appropriately, and hearing the gospel - from someone else?  Who knows.  What I know is, God delights to show his strength through our weakness.  I take much assurance from that, and am emboldened to persevere in my feeble efforts to proclaim the gospel.  May you be encouraged to do the same.

 

I found Friday’s afternoon’s outreach difficult as well.  I was with Andy and Roger.  My prayer was that I would be able to engage with people who really wanted to talk about the difficult questions of life.  I didn’t have the energy for battles.  God answered my prayer in a sense.  I had a couple of interesting conversations with young ladies, they were short chats, because they were honest about the fact that they were suppressing the reality of God because, basically, they wanted to be their own god.  They enjoyed life on their own terms and were happy to be ignorant of the consequences.  So, I didn’t end up having any battles, I just let them move on when the time was right.  One of them did take a tract, the other refused.

 

Saturday’s outreach was different.  I had a handful of wonderful conversations.  It never ceases to amaze me that what seems so foolish (standing on the street corner with a flip chart) can lead to something so powerful (someone grasping the wonder of the gospel of Jesus).

 

The first was with a young Chinese lady.  What was interesting was that she was getting baptised the next day, and yet, she still wasn’t clear on the fundamentals of the gospel.  Our short conversation cleared that up, I could tell, because she started nailing the check questions perfectly.  We fell into natural conversation about other things, in light of the gospel, and at one point she even teared up.  She wanted my contact number and later she sent me a text to thank me for the chat.

 

The second one was with a young Chinese guy.  A local pastor had actually contacted me about him earlier in the week, and we had been talking via Messenger.  A face to face chat would be easier, so I encouraged him to meet me during my Saturday outreach - so he did.  We were able to sit down and start chewing the Bible together.  It was a long chat.  Part way through, a couple of young guys took interest in my flipchart, and so I was able to share the gospel with them while this young Chinese guy watched.  You see, he is wrestling with complicated questions, and in turn seems to be missing the obvious stuff - I wanted him to see the simplicity of the gospel through the conversation with the other 2 guys.

 

He ended up walking with me to my car, and then I ended up giving him a ride home.  Although he is understanding key concepts, I don’t think he’s really got it yet.  I’ll be praying for him!  And I hope I get to talk more.

 

I spent an hour in the city on Sunday afternoon.  I handed out some tracts, but not many takers.  I had a brief chat with a Christian guy, and then an even briefer chat with a young Sikh lad.  May God prosper our feeble efforts!

 

Oh, I forgot to mention the protest at the Bridge of Remembrance on Friday.  It was an interesting mix of: climate change, racial rights, sexual ‘rights’, anti-government rhetoric.  But under it all seemed to be a root of ‘rage against God’.  I had an interesting conversation later with a pro Palestinian protester.  He was very quick to try to drag the conversation into a ‘fight’.  But I wouldn’t let him, wanting to go deeper to the root of why we ‘fight’ in the first place (sin), and the ultimate solution (Jesus).  Amazingly I was able to share the law and the gospel with him, and I was encouraged by that.  May God save him, and change him.  SDG!!!

 

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Glory to God, the week in Wellington, working with the Church: Calvary Wellington, seemed to go well.  A lot went on, so I won’t be able to write about it all, instead I’ll hit the high (& low) points that come to mind until the hour I have for this report is up.

 

So, from Monday to Friday, we were on the streets in the Wellington region for 6 hours a day.  Monday morning we were at Naenae (pronounced “Ni Ni”), then in the afternoon we went over to Wainuiomata.  On Tuesday we were in Upper Hutt all day.  On Wednesday we were in Wellington city: outside Massey University in the morning, and then in Cuba Street in the afternoon.  On Thursday we were in Lower Hutt: outside Queensgate Mall in the morning, and then in Petone in the afternoon.  Finally, on Friday we were back in Wellington city: Lambton Quay in the morning, and on the waterfront in the afternoon.

 

Not counting Craig, I don’t think there was a single outreach where we didn’t have local church members with us - except when we were outside Massey Uni.  So it was so great to serve alongside them for the week.

 

Also, on Sunday afternoon, I ran our regular Christchurch city outreach between church gatherings.

 

I have to admit I’m feeling sleepy now!  I’ve been sleeping really well since I got back (not that I slept badly while I was away – thank you so much Royce for letting us use your home for the week, that was super appreciated!).  I’m certainly looking forward to my day off tomorrow!

 

A big shout out to Roger, Andy and Craig - who were real troopers through the week!  Thanks for hosting us in your area Craig and Jan.  And Craig, thanks for all your organisation and coordination.

 

Okay, now for some details.

 

In Naenae I remember a lot of resistance, although I remember a receptive chat too.  It was with a young couple who had just jumped into their car.  The highlight chat among the resistant ones was the final one of the outreach.  I approached an older man who was walking towards the shops.  He thought I was going to beg from him!  Haha, I must fit in as a streetie!  Anyway, we got into a good chat.  It turns out he is an Atheist - although he went to a church for about 3 years, up until recently.  The reason he stopped, he considered himself a fraud, being there just for the fellowship, and even enjoying the songs, but still an Atheist.  He really liked to talk!  But I was fascinated by his story.  I was curious, how can an Atheist spend 3 years in a church community and not be challenged?  When the opportunity was right, I was able to gently challenge him, starting with the building / builder analogy.  He gently resisted, but I held my ground, not letting him distract himself from reality.  Sadly, he flared up, and he revealed the real reason for his Atheism: his hatred for God: “Why would he let all this death occur?”.  He moved on, not letting me respond.  So sad.

 

In Wainuiomata I was paired up with June.  There were not a lot of people around, but we moved down the street and walked into what felt like a ‘divine appointment’.  2 young people were sitting outside a shop enjoying a drink.  It turns out they are brother and sister.  June and I had a long chat with them, working through the law, the gospel, and all the check questions.  We then answered questions, and even shared our testimonies (they asked).  They were very open.  She seemed to have a few ‘click’ moments during the chat, and even made a profession of faith.  He wasn’t ready to commit, saying he needed to “tick some boxes” - what he meant is that he needed to work it all through in his thinking.  It turns out that the Mormons had been talking to them.  It was an awesome chat.  What was really cool was when I bumped into this young man again on Thursday in Lower Hutt!  We hugged, and then I popped him a check question.  He got it right!  So he remembered what was important.  I asked if he had “ticked all your boxes yet”.  He said he had, last night!  I pointed him to the Bible (June gave them a copy of the gospel of John each), and the local church.

 

I’m running out of time to write and I’m only on day 1 of 5!

 

In Upper Hutt I had a great chat with a young man who had been heavily influenced by the cult: World Mission Society Church of God.  The gospel really clicked for him.  In the afternoon I had a good chat with some Mormon Missionaries.

 

Outside Massey was great.  A really busy time.  The highlight chat was with a young agnostic: Tim.  He resisted all the way through the conversation, and yet I could tell he was challenged.  He asked all the hard questions he could.

 

On Cuba street there was much resistance.  I vaguely remember a chat with a young Chinese guy.  I say that, because I saw him again on Friday (2 days later) on Lambton Quay - he acknowledged me but didn’t stop.  But then on Friday evening, Craig, Jan, Andy & I went to a Chinese restaurant for fellowship before heading to the airport.  The guy at the counter was the same young Chinese guy!  He remembered me, although I only barely remembered him.  Later, he came to our table and said he really appreciated the way we worked while on the street.  He took another gospel tract.  May God convict him and convert him!

 

What a great trip, but it’s so good to be home.  I had a great time on the street with Elijah from my church this afternoon.  I gave Elijah room to have his own gospel conversations.  He had 2 opportunities to put his apologetics study into practice.  He was able to share the gospel with his 2nd chat.  Well done Elijah!  Keep it up bro!

 

Glory to God for allowing us to do what we do.  Please continue to pray for our feeble efforts.  May God use them to show his strength in saving many.

 

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