Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Christchurch (NZ) Team
• Page 30

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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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On Saturday I was in the city, and there were two separate Muslim groups out evangelising.  One group from Auckland in Cathedral Square, and Two guys from the UK in Cashel Mall.  The reason for this is that it has been one year since the tragic mosque shootings in Christchurch a year ago.

I started the outreach in Cathedral Square with a chat with a construction worker.

Then I had a whole lot of teen guys come past my flip chart and show a lot of interest.  There would have been at least twelve of them, plus a couple of adults.  I was engaging them with the first page of the flip chart, challenging them on how we know right from wrong when the adults said the tour guide was ahead and they had to go.  Some of the teens wanted to stay and talk, but they couldn’t leave the group - so they took tracts instead.

Many of them were holding copies of the Quran, and related literature, which is how I first learned about the Muslims being out.

Later in the outreach, I decided to pack up my flip chart and went to talk to the Muslims, to express my genuine sympathy, and to engage them out of love.  Two young men were happy to talk, and one of them gave me a Quran - which I accepted.

I asked them the key question: how do I go to heaven.  This led to a conversation where they talked about the mercy of God.  So I asked how God can be merciful and just at the same time.  They basically said that God is not like a human judge, he can forgive if he wants to.  So I asked if God could forgo justice for the mosque shooter and just give him mercy.

After listening for quite a while, I tried to show them how God can be both just and merciful: through sacrifice.  They had mentioned Moses, so going from there I started talking about the passover lamb - and then one of the guys, knowing where I was going, became super defensive.  The shields went fully up, and the conversation ended there.  But we parted on good terms.

I moved to Cashel Mall, and that is when I came across the second Muslim group (pictured).  These guys were in Christchurch just under a year ago - and one of them remembered me as the “Ray Comfort” guy.  I was honoured that he remembered me!

I also asked this guy how God could be just and merciful but, same as last year, his answers were windy and intellectual sounding without any content.  I challenged him on this, and asked him for clear answers.  Our conversation finished up a few minutes later, and we parted on good terms.

They were on one side of Colombo street, so I decided to set up my flip chart on the other side.

I had a quick follow up conversation, and then I had a crazy guy have a go at me before getting into another good follow up conversation.

Sadly, while I was having that follow up conversation, I had two sets of people keen to try the flip chart - but there were no labourers to share the gospel with them.  Please, pray for labourers.

The outreach ended with a conversation with a man who had talked the Muslims, and then was keen to talk to me.  He was very smart, and very blunt.  Two ladies interrupted us to ask if they could ask a quick question.  I smiled and said yes.  They guy I was talking to said no!  

After directing the ladies to the tram stop (and giving them tracts), I pulled they guy up and said he didn’t need to be rude.

But the gospel conversation continued.  He processed the logic, and didn’t like it.  He heard the law, but I can’t remember if he heard the gospel - I don’t think he wanted to hear it.  It was a tense conversation, but we parted on good terms.

On Sunday I was back in Cashel Mall, and my Muslim friends were in the same spot as yesterday.

I had some good gospel conversations but, again, other opportunities were missed due to a lack of labourers.

I had a quick follow up with a guy I had first talked to a month or so ago at Northlands.  I had a great gospel conversation with an Indian couple.  And another couple were keen to talk, but had to go - accepting tracts.

A friend had recently given me some NZ million dollar tracts - I love these, but haven’t used them for a long time as Operation 513 doesn’t sell these in NZ.  To finish the outreach, I had fun handing many of these out as I walked back to my car.

Looking forward to a day of rest on Monday and then getting back to work, God willing, on Tuesday.  Thanks for your prayers!
 

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It’s been a super busy Thursday and Friday for the Christchurch (NZ) team!  I’m reflecting back on my notes for Thursday, and I can barely remember some of the conversations I wrote about!  But this is good, because it shows that God has been blessing us with many opportunities to talk about Christ.

I had seven conversations in two hours at Eastgate.  Some long, some short.  A few follow ups.

I saw an elderly gentleman for the third time.  The last time I had talked to him (at Northlands I think) he said he didn’t want to talk about spiritual things.  So when he walked towards me, I decided to take a different tack: I just spent time getting to know him - and he certainly enjoyed that.  From time to time, we would subtly touch on spiritual matters, but it was driven by him.  God willing, I will have more opportunities to see him and talk further.  God willing, he will become willing to a gospel conversation - but it’s not something I can force.

I offered a tract to a young man which triggered a conversation.  He said he was a Christian, so I used the “dagger in my back” scenario to try to find out what he understood about the gospel.  It was clear he understood that good people, that did good things would go to heaven - which was very concerning.  And so I reversed the conversation and told him what I would say to someone dying: I took him through the law and the gospel.  And he looked genuinely stunned.  His bus came, but he was torn, because he wanted to stay and talk.  I said, “hey man, I don’t want you to miss your bus, you better get going”.  But then the bus pulled out and left!  He didn’t seem too concerned, so we talked some more about the gospel.

An elderly lady was sitting waiting for a taxi, I said hello, and we fell into an easy conversation.  She was lovely!  She spoke softly, and there was a fan running just behind her, making it hard for me to hear her.  But I persisted.  We talked about wisdom (actually I listened to her share some wisdom), but the gospel was at the center of our conversation.  Her taxi arrived, and she gladly received a tract, promising that she would read it.

In my report last Thursday I mentioned that I had a follow up, at Northlands, with a young man who had been reading a tract, but still didn’t have a grasp of the gospel.  Well I saw him again at Eastgate this week - and so I was able to explain the gospel to him.  Praise God.

At Northlands, the conversations were more difficult than at Eastgate.  Many conversations I started would be ended by a bus coming!  Yet I was able to share the full law and gospel with a few people.

The highlight conversation was with a young lady who was considering being baptised.  She said it was required to be saved!  So starting with the gospel, and tracking back to the law, I explained that baptism was not required for salvation - we are saved by grace through faith.  But if we were saved we would want to be baptised.  She listened intently, and took a tract as she left.

On Friday, a team of six stood outside the hospital protesting abortion, and bringing the hope of the gospel to any who would listen.  Right from the beginning we were under attack.  Literally in the first minute three people showed their disgust with strong words!  And this continued throughout the outreach.  Yet, we did get support too, and we were able to have a number of conversations.  Andy did a wonderful job in engaging many people in conversation and handing out “Life is Precious” tracts at the hospital entrance steps.

As usual, we then moved to Cathedral Square for open air preaching.  Andy preached.  And he had some initial push back from at least one heckler (note, the sign in the picture is held by a heckler and not endorsed by us).  I had a great conversation with a young man who listened to the preaching for a bit.

In Cashel Mall, the first hour went really well.

I had a wonderful follow up conversation with a young guy I last talked to over a year ago!  As that was happening, a man who saw the Dalai Lama on my flip chart stopped and wanted to talk.  I managed to share the gospel with both of them.  But the original guy, although it was great to see him and catch up, is simply not interested (now anyway).

I had a number of other good conversations, people seemed interested in the flip chart and were keen to take tracts.

But in the second hour, I started to flag.  My legs became very tired.  How I was feeling was probably reflected in my body language, as I wasn’t able to get anyone to stop for a chat.

Eventually I saw a homeless guy I’ve been getting to know sit down to start begging in the sun.  So I went over to sit with him and talk.  I hope to write more about this guy in a future report.  I’m feeling hopeful about him.

A team of two were back in the city for the Friday evening outreach.  The highlight was an hour long conversation with a guy from the revival center - they believe baptism and speaking in tongues is required for salvation, and it was clear to me - through the conversation - that works play a role in maintaining their salvation.  We had a wonderful chat about how we are justified.  I, of course, demonstrating that it is by faith alone.
 

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I turned up to my usual spot in Riccarton and set up my flip charting, wondering and praying about the afternoons encounters.

First up, I received some encouragement!  A bus driver had stopped in traffic directly opposite me.  The driver opened the door, and pulled a Gideon’s Bible out of his pocket to show me.  I smiled and gave him a thumbs up.  He nodded, closed the door and drove on.  To me, he was saying: “well done, I’m proud of you, keep up the good work”!

Then a guy walked past and took a tract and said that someone had already talked to him on Friday in Cashel Mall.  It was Jason!  Christchurch is a small world - encouraging.

Next up I had a young high school student surprise me by articulating the gospel quite well right off the bat - I was impressed.

I had a follow up with a lady I first met last week.  She had read the tract I’d given her, but I could tell she really didn’t want to talk about it.  So we chatted about other things for a while, and then she decided to share about someone she knew who had turned their life to God about eighteen months ago - she talked about the dramatic turn around in their life, and how she talked about God but wasn’t pushy about it… I understood, I can’t push God on to anyone.  It was a lovely chat - I hope to see her again.

I then had a chat with a guy who claimed to be Bhudist, but really just had his head in the sand in regards to the difficult questions of life.  As opposed to my previous conversatoin, I decided to be a bit forceful to try to wake this guy up.  He heard the law, and also the logic of why God and hell must exist.  But he didn’t want the good news.  He took a tract, and we parted on good terms.

Last Tuesday I posted about an interesting gospel conversation I had on the Riccarton outreach where an Indian guy got all the way through my gospel presentation saying he wanted to trust that Jesus paid his fine - but then after considering the cost of accepting the gift (last page of the flip chart) backed away. It was the last conversation of the outreach, it was a "come back" (he left but came back), and it caused the outreach to "go long".

Well, this Tuesday, on my last conversation of the day, I had a "come back" (received a tract, partly read it, and came back), which caused the outreach to "go long". This time it was with a CBHS boarder (Catholic background), and this time, even after considering the cost, he still wanted to trust that Jesus paid his "fee" (for some reason he preferred the word "fee" over "fine").

Now I'm not getting excited yet. I challenged him, that if he was serious, he was to talk it through with his parents (if they want to contact me, they are welcome). And then he was to contact me about coming along to church. He took a Bible (pictured), and various tracts. Time will tell. He is in God's hands. My gut says he needs time to consider it further, and work the implications through. Please pray for Will.

Photos, courtesy of Roger Spicer - thanks.

On Wednesday, I was in the city, most of my time was spent in Cathedral Square.

Good news!  KFC is opening up in Christchurch city!  This is the first major fast food chain to open a store since the earthquake 10 years ago.  It's a sign that people are returning to the central city - this can only be good for evangelism!

The outreach started with some good follow up conversations with homeless, or ex-homeless people that I knew.

I then got into a fascinating conversation with a young man who wasn’t shy at hiding the fact that he hated God!  I thought the conversation would die early - but he kept hanging on.  And he started to soften.  He was trying to make a distinction between us, and effectively saying his truth was true for him, and my truth was true for me.  But I gave clear arguments for why that didn’t make sense.

I was convincing him that we were equals, brothers in the sense that we were one blood before God, when he suddenly got up and approached a stranger to be an arbiter in our argument.  The stranger took my side!  And I also had an opportunity to bring the new person into the gospel conversation.  They didn’t stay long, but they did take a tract.

Even later in the conversation, a fourth person got involved - yet another opportunity to share about Christ!  He also took a tract before moving on.

By the end of the conversation, the original guy wanted to know what church I went to, and said he would come along.  I made it clear that coming to church wouldn’t make him right with good, and reiterated the gospel.  Like I said: fascinating.

The outreach ended with a great walk up opportunity with a young man from England.  He heard and understood the gospel.

As I think about it, it amazes me how many people are open enough to hear the gospel if I’m just a little bit bold in asking them a question.  Sure, I get rejected a lot, but still…  come join me in the harvest fields.

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After the gospel + abortion outreach, which I wrote about here, we moved into Cathedral Square to preach in the open air.  There was loud music, and construction noise from the nearby convention center, but this did not stop two of the team preaching.  On this occasion, the hecklers were tame.

As we were moving to Cashel Mall, I stopped a young couple to ask them if they ever thought about what happens after they die.  They looked at me stunned, and then he said that they had only just been talking about it!  They were instantly engaged.  And I was able to go through the law and the gospel with them both.

In Cashel Mall, the wind became very noticeable, the buildings were forming a wind tunnel!  So we weren’t able to use the flip charts for the whole outreach, but before I packed mine away, I had a great conversation with two guys, one from Germany, and the other from England.  They were resistant, but they seemed genuinely challenged, and became engaged enough to want to hear the gospel.  As they walked away, I asked them another checking question, the English guy, with tongue in cheek, answered with “good works”... he knew that wasn’t the right answer - I was satisfied he understood the gospel!

The outreach ended up going long, with some late opportunities to share the gospel.  Jason had a long chat (pictured), and Andy & I got into a conversation with two Indian guys (also pictured).

As always, thank you for your prayer and support!
 

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Thursday afternoon was a wonderful time of gospel ministry out at the bus stops.

For me, the outreach started with a friendly chat with my two JW friends who I often see with their stand at Northlands bus stop.  The last time I talked to them, it was declared that we were only to talk about “the weather”.  But today, they couldn’t resist and had a go at me (politely) about the trinity.  We discussed this for a few minutes, me having the opportunity to touch on the gospel and why Jesus had to be man and God, before parting ways.  I continue to pray for the salvation of this lovely couple.

My next encounter was a follow up with a man I first talked to at Eastgate (I can’t remember how long ago).  He said he had been reading the tract I gave him.  So I asked him a checking question, and sadly his answer was that we needed to “be good” to go to heaven.  I was able to explain why that was the wrong answer, but his friend turned up, and he had to leave, so sadly I didn’t get an opportunity to explain the gospel fully.  God willing I will see him again - or maybe you will have an opportunity to share with him?

My next conversation was amazing.  It was with a deep thinking young man who declared himself to be an Atheist.  But he seemed genuinely interested in the truth.  The conversation didn’t follow the usual pattern, instead it was driven by his questions.  But throughout the conversation I was able to touch on all the key concepts of the gospel.

Half way through the conversation his bus came.  He looked up, thought for a second, and then said, it’s ok, I’ll get the next one.  How encouraging!  At one point he said, “you won’t be able to convince me in ten or twenty minutes”, but by the end of the conversation I could tell he was challenged.  I made sure he knew how to get in contact with me if he had further questions.  Oh Lord, save him for Your glory!

My next conversation was also amazing.  The young man had been involved with talking to the dead, etc. so this time I followed my usual pattern for sharing the gospel.  He was deeply challenged to understand the standard for entry to heaven, and he understood the cost of trusting in Jesus.  He didn’t see the joy of the gift of Jesus - yet anyway.

We moved to Northlands, and the outreach only got better!

I approached a young man, who was a bit overwhelmed by my deep initial question.  He decided he didn’t want to talk about it - which was fine, but he was happy to take a gospel tract.

There was an older lady who had watched this exchange, and I approached her next.  It turns out she was a Christian from a sound local church.  She was very encouraged by what I was doing - she said she had already received one of our tracts.  I was able to encourage her in return.

I had a number of other good gospel conversations - mainly with high school students.  I also had a brief follow up opportunity with a lady who first heard about us through a letterbox drop!

But my last three conversations were outstanding.

A young high school student accepted a tract from me and was keen to chat (pictured).  He said he had talked to me two years ago, and has seen me around the streets since then.  He said the kids at school talk about us - and it’s not very nice what they say.  He was intimidated by this, but at the same time he was very open to the gospel.

I took him through the gospel again, and I left him considering the amazing good news, but also the cost - which he has first hand experience of (considering his friends at school).  He took a copy of every type of tract I have, plus a New Testament plus Psalms & Proverbs.  He said he would start reading it.

While this conversation was happening, I realised that I was speaking directly into a taxi parked on the curb.  The driver had the passenger side window wound down and would have heard every word I said.

After finishing with the high school student, I crossed the road and had a wonderful conversation with a Christian - about high school age.  He couldn’t clearly articulate the gospel, so I went over it with him - he seemed impacted and appreciative.  I started giving him Bible verses to look up, and he pulled out a pen and started writing them on his hand.  He seemed very encouraged.  Praise God.

I then crossed back over the road to see if I could get a final conversation before heading home, and as I walked past the taxi, the driver who had listened to me earlier, came out of his car to ask for one of my tracts!

He had an eastern religious background (Sikh) and was actually quite resistant, but he said his wife had two people coming to talk about spiritual things.  I think he heard me talking about the many Christian cults that teach that good works are required for salvation - and this intrigued him.  I also gave him a “Which One?” tract before we parted with a hand shake (pictured - perfect timing Andy!).  A very encouraging end to the outreach!  
 

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It was so good to be back to my regular routine after a busy few months that included the NZ Summer Mission and time in Myanmar.  I’ve had a wonderful week of rest and am raring to go again!

On Tuesday I was in Riccarton in the late afternoon, and on Wednesday I was in Cathedral Square / Cashel Mall in the early afternoon.  Riccarton seemed to have less people around - yet I had an eventful outreach that went thirty minutes over.  The city seemed busy when I turned up, but it ended up being a quieter outreach than usual.  It’s funny how that happens.

Turning up in my usual spot in Riccarton (cnr. Riccarton and Rotherham, outside the SBS Bank), I set up my flip chart across from a lady sitting in the seats enjoying her break.  She was curious as to what it was all about, and so I was straight into my first conversation!  Unfortunately she was nearing the end of her break and she had to go before I could really share any of the law and the gospel - but we had a lovely chat touching on the deep questions of life.  She took a gospel tract as she left.

Unfortunately, many of my interactions of the day ended up being cut short before I could really share the gospel - but most often, tracts would be taken.  God knows.  Praying that they will have other opportunities to hear the gospel… maybe from you? :)

But I did get to share the gospel a few times!  Like when a sailor from Croatia approached me for directions to a store.  After helping him, I was able to politely move the conversation to deeper things.  But I did have to go faster than I like as I could tell he needed to get moving.  I shared the bad news, and then said there was good news, did he want to hear it?  He did, which encouraged me, I gladly shared it.  I gave him two tracts, one for him, and one for his captain! :)

Next a guy came along who liked to talk about deep subjects - the conversation was going nicely till his girlfriend turned up - who was nice, but didn’t want to talk about deep subjects!  He was sad, and as he was leaving he said if he saw me again he would come and talk further… which isn't as doubtful as it seems, as I had a number of follow ups later...

Next up an Indian guy stopped, he seemed very astute and I could tell this was going to be a great conversation… but sadly, he too needed to move on, he had a bank appointment.  But he said he would come back afterwards…

I had two guys stop, one believed in heaven, the other didn’t believe anything happened after death.  I started explaining how we can know there must be an afterlife, and the conversation was heating up when two young high school students walked past, stopped, started listening, and then came back to join in the conversation.  I wasn’t able to hold the attention of the original two guys, but the conversation with the two high school students was fantastic!  In fact, one of them had partly done the flip chart before, but apparently it was interrupted by an angry bald man?  They heard the way to heaven, and were able to clearly articulate it back to me with the first checking question - encouraging!  I didn’t hold them for much longer as they also needed to go.

Another high school student stopped and heard the gospel, and while this was happening, the Indian guy who had to go to the bank came back!  He sat down and waited for me to finish with the high school student.

Once I had done that, I went and sat down with him and we had a long gospel chat (in spite of the rain that had started).  He was sharp and understood the analogies quickly - checking questions confirming.  I was feeling encouraged that this man may actually want to trust in Christ!  He even articulated so.  So I moved to the final analogy: the back pack - which explains the cost of following Christ.  He got it straight away, and his response made me sad, but also laugh… he wanted to put on the parachute (trust that Jesus had paid his fine), and then put the back pack on his front (the things he knew he would have to give up if he did so).  It’s not the first time I’ve had someone say this to me.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are many people actually trying to do that.  They understand the gospel, they want heaven and all its benefits, but they want their sin too.  They are trying to hold on to both - but it won’t work.  With the gift of faith, comes the gift of repentance.  Which will lead us to wanting to obey - no matter the cost.

I tried to work with the Indian guy to get him to realise the folly of what he was thinking.  But I watched him harden and start bringing up excuses.  I could only shake his hand and let him go.  And yet, while he has breath, there is hope.  He understood the gospel.  May the Spirit of God use that to bring a conviction of sin and change his heart.  May he have further opportunities to interact with Christians ready to share the gospel with him again.  Are you ready?

Wednesday's outreach ended not so well.  A scary guy dressed in black and wearing dark glasses took offense at some of the bad people on the front page of my flip chart.  He wasn’t all there and I just wanted him to leave.  I had flashbacks to when I had to call the police recently.  Remembering Proverbs 9:7 I didn’t intellectually engage him...  And, thankfully he, moved on!  It was the end of the outreach, and so I packed up and headed to my car.  I noticed that he had started talking to the two JWs just down a little further.  I gave one of the JWs a knowing look, and she acknowledged it.  I’m glad she wasn't on her own.

And I’m glad God is always with us (Matthew 28:20b).  Thank you for praying for the Christchurch (NZ) Operation 513 team!  Join us! :)

 

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Sunday’s outreach to Cashel Mall was also the second “Outreach Sunday” for Redemption Church.  Over half of the church membership made it to this outreach - including all the Elders and Deacons.  It was so wonderful approaching people who had already been approached!  Because of this, the gospel was being shared with many.  What joy to the heart of an evangelist!

Some were boldly sharing for the first time.  Others were gaining confidence, bubbling about the opportunities they had, and wanting to know when the next outreach would be.

The two hours went really fast for me.  There were periods where I wasn’t in a gospel conversation - because there were so many evangelists out!  But that time was used in encouraging those around me.

Andy excitedly told me about the conversation he had with two ladies.  “It was better than any of the conversations in Myanmar” - and that is saying a lot!

I had two stand out conversations.  The first was with a young Christian who said he had to be a good person to go to heaven.  So I asked if he would like to try the good person test - he was keen.

Eventually he came to realise that his good works would not save him, so I challenged him on what God had done so we could be saved.  He then realised the answer was not good works, but Jesus.

In the checking questions, he got the “crossing the road” one wrong - very concerning, so I went back to explain the gospel again, and to clarify that if we are trusting the sacrifice of Jesus to pay the fine for our sins - that includes our future sins as well.  I then balanced that with the “fireman” question, explaining that there would be repentance that came with faith, and that would lead to good works - but the good works don’t save us.

I’m not sure how impacted he was by the conversation, but he took a tract, and I encouraged him to talk to his parents and pastor about this - it’s so important.

My second conversation is pictured, it was with two perceptive young people.  The lady made a profound statement: “how can God deal with bad stuff and still let people into heaven” (or something like that) - I said, that is a wonderful question, can I explain?  They were keen to talk.

But they struggled with the idea that they, themselves, were bad people, I had to spend some time labouring with them in that.

Eventually the lady received a phone call and had to go.  But they wanted to hear the good news, so allowed me some time to share - which I did.  They took tracts.

So, a very encouraging afternoon of outreach.  Thanks to all those from Redemption Church that joined us!  Keep it up!  Looking forward to having you with us again next month. :)

And to the other churches in Christchurch, a challenge to set up your own monthly outreach.  Operation 513 would love to help you with this - feel free to get in touch to discuss.
 

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After two weeks in Myanmar (you can read the reports here) I was back in NZ in time to make it to the Kaikoura A&P Show.

A team of five.  Two from Blenheim, one from Nelson, one from North Canterbury, and myself from Christchurch.

I missed this outreach last year, so it was good to be back!  It was great to be able to catch up with the other evangelists from up north, and discuss methods with them.

My first conversation of the day was with three teens.  My “do you ever think about what happens after you die?” line attracted their attention, and a conversation got started.  But two of the three of them quickly became resistant.  They didn’t want to stay to hear the gospel, and they didn’t take tracts - except the one who wasn't resistant - I hope he reads it!

The second conversation started really well.  The young university student was curious and engaged, and so I took the time he needed to work through the logic of the presentation.  He was following along, and I was just moving into sharing the gospel, when his brother stormed past and said “let’s go”.  His brother threw away a gospel booklet as he went - he had obviously been talking to one of the other team members.  The guy I was talking to complied and that was the end of that.  But, he did take a tract as he left, again - I hope he reads it!

Thankfully, I was able to have some conversations where I was actually able to share the gospel!

One was with a lady who was keen to know what the good person test was all about - when I said we were Christians and wanted to share good news, she was happy to try it out.  But after I made it through the law, time suddenly became short.  She wanted to hear the good news, but wanted me to hurry up. :(  She stayed to hear the good news and moved along.  But sadly she didn’t seem interested.  But God knows.

The best conversation came at the end of the outreach.  It was with four young adults.  Two were openish and keen to chat, One was resistant but keen to chat, and the last wasn’t keen at all - but ironically piped up at the end to express her disapproval of anyone who disapproves of her ways!

But I was able to explain the law and the gospel, and they all seemed to grasp it very quickly, clearly articulating the way to heaven in the checking questions.  The two openish ones took tracts, the other two refused.

After packing up, a song, and prayer, the team split to head back across the country to their homes.  Thanks to Scott Cameron from Blenheim for organising this one!

Such an interesting contrast to the many conversations I've been having with open hearted people in Myanmar.  Oh God, have mercy on our land!
 

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I ran out of time in my last report to write about Friday’s outreach, so this report will cover that, plus Saturday and Sunday.

Friday started with the gospel + abortion outreach, which was relatively quiet.

Things became eventful with the open air preaching in Cathedral Square at lunch time.  I went first.  I looked at the spot where Kelven (the Busker who died recently) and I couldn’t help feeling grieved and ended up mentioning him.  This caused one of the stall holders to come over to talk to me about him.  Was Kelven in hell?  I answered his question (and I was able to follow up with him afterwards).

Steve the Atheist turned up near the end and started to goad me.  He told me to hurry up and finish, so I decided to continue longer.  When I finally finished.  There were a few people standing around.  Two German tourists came over and wanted to understand what was going on, and why that man was being so mean.  Roger was able to share the gospel with them!  Steve aids the gospel.  He is a blessing from God!

One of the wizards ended up getting into a semi public debate with Andy over how we know things to be true.  The conversation simmered into a long private chat between them (pictured).

Marty preached as well.

The team then moved to Cashel Mall.  Roger was popular.  Note the picture where Roger is talking with one guy, and another guy stops to look at the flip chart - Roger was able to share the gospel with him.

Andy and I came back into the city in the evening for another outreach.  Right from the start, I walked into a guy who recognised me, and knew my name.  Apparently I had talked to him a few months earlier.  He had obviously been positively impacted, and said he was keen to come along to church.

Later, Andy and I were walking down Oxford Terrace.  There were three guys sitting down who we could potentially approach.  The usual doubt came over us - they will probably reject us.  But we discussed it - that is the worst that can happen, so we decided to approach them!  To my pleasant surprise, they were open to a gospel conversation.  They were tourists from the UK.  They came to an understanding of the gospel, and were challenged to respond.

Soon after, we were in the bus exchange, and I tried approaching two guys - they weren’t interested - we were rejected.  Oh well, we politely moved on.  But Andy was able to start a conversation with someone else nearby.

I was back in the city on Saturday.  The weather wasn’t the best, and it was quite a slow outreach.  But I had a great follow up with a young man who we have been talking to, on and off, for quite a long time now.  He seems to be opening up, I’m adding him to my prayer list.

I also had a fantastic gospel conversation with a young man from Holland.

But the highlight was the outreach on Sunday.  Nice weather, and lots of people in Cashel Mall.  A team of seven.  I set up my flip chart, and was just taking a drink of water when four girls walked past and wanted to try the good person test! (pictured)  It was a non stop outreach from there.

Two of the girls got cold feet once they understood where it was going, but the other two were really interested.  The first two were constantly disrupting the conversation, so I was glad when they left so I could share the gospel with the other two.

Right at the end of the conversation, Steve the Atheist turned up to disrupt things.  I’m glad they had already heard the gospel - they moved on and left me with Steve.  But again, Steve only aided the gospel.  A guy on a bike stopped to find out what the fuss was about.  I turned to him and asked if he would like to learn about Christianity.  Much to Steve’s disgust, he was keen, and so we launched into a conversation, ignoring Steve.  Steve decided to leave me alone and annoy other team members.

After I was finished with that conversation, I was straight into a follow up conversation with a passionate young vegan.  Steve came back to butt into that conversation too, but when he realised it wasn’t stopping the conversation, he got bored and moved on.  The vegan guy is a walking contradiction, and completely closed to reason.  As he is so passionate about life, I challenged him on abortion - which he supports.  I caught him in his inconsistency - and he knew it.

The outreach finished with a long conversation with a guy who had been listening to one of the gospel conversations Thomas was having.  I gave him a tract, and said he would be welcome to come and chat with me on the other side of the mall.  About ten minutes later, he came over (pictured).  He seemed challenged, and appreciative of the chat.

After the outreach, the team enjoyed ice cream before heading home.  I praise God for all the wonderful gospel opportunities!  Be encouraged to step out and join us in the harvest! :)
 

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There was much outreach on Thursday and Friday in Christchurch, NZ.  Some wonderful gospel conversations, some very hard gospel conversations.

The highlight was a ten minute gospel conversation I had with a man at the Northlands bus stops.  He believed in God, heaven and hell.  He also thought he was good enough to go to heaven, but he was keen to try the good person test to confirm this.  So we went through the mini flip chart together.  Going through the law, and understanding the holiness of God was an eye opener for him, and then he heard the wonderful good news of justification by faith in Jesus sacrifice.

I then took him through the first checking question, and his instant response was: “I need to do good deeds”.  I was amazed, but not surprised at all.  So I wound back and took him through the gospel again.  He was really enjoying the conversation, and he got the checking question right the second time: “trust that Jesus paid my fine”.

I then proceeded to the second question: an analogy about a guy who trusts that Jesus paid his fine, but then sins five minutes later then dies.  Heaven or Hell?  He responded with Hell.  To my amazement, he articulated that the reason we go to heaven is by trusting that Jesus paid the fine… but he said, but you have to be a good person too.  He had gone from believing his good deeds would save him, to simply adding Jesus to his good works!  So I was able to explain that it was only by faith we are saved, and not by our works.

And then his thinking went to exactly what the mini flip chart was anticipating.  He said, “but that means we can trust Jesus paid our fine, and then do whatever we want, right?”.  He was finally understanding the grace of God!  It was my joy to turn the page and use the fireman analogy to explain that if we are trusting that Jesus has paid our fine, we will be a changed person.  If we understand His great sacrifice, we won’t want to sin any more (even though we will), out of thankfulness we will want to obey Jesus, and there will be a growing holiness in our lives.  He understood!

It was about now that his bus arrived and he had to go, he seemed to really appreciate the conversation, and took a tract before he dashed off.

Yes, the gospel message is a simple message, but I’m really appreciating that the concept of faith alone is very foreign and needs to be explained well.  It’s so natural to think we need to be good people to earn favour and reward.  But we are saved by grace, through faith in Jesus to the glory of God alone!

If you haven’t already got one, get a mini flip chart and try it out.  You can purchase here: NZ, AU

So many other gospel interactions occurred, but I don’t have the time to write about them: I had a follow up with a young man who said he went to church on Sunday.  He listened as I shared the gospel with two others beside him, and afterwards he agreed that it is truly good news.  I saw my regular JWs again.  They were happy to talk, but only if it was about the weather.  Our debates have been a bit “stressful”.  I continue to pray for them.

It didn’t all go well though.  I was sitting down taking notes of a conversation when a lady sat down next to me, once I had finished with my notes, I turned to her and offered her a tract.  She semi exploded: “no, I'm not interested, take it away!”.  I said: “no problem, you have a nice day”.  She wasn’t expecting me to react that way, and she calmed down: “you have a nice day too”.

Once I was at Eastgate, one of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had occurred.  A offered a tract to a guy.  When he saw it he gave a disgusted look and walked off.  But then he turned around and wanted to talk about it.  So we settled into a long conversation, where he challenged me, and, by God’s grace, I was able to give him reasonable answers.  He slowly started getting agitated, but I kept responding to his arguments.  And I think this was a mistake.  I should have backed off, as he wasn’t open to any truth or reason.  He just became angry.  Eventually he started getting out of control, so I said, “look, you need to calm down, I’m not going to answer if you get upset”.  Eventually I stopped responding to him, but this just enraged him more and he started getting abusive and racist.  I tried looking him in the eyes, I tried looking at his feet.  But it was out of hand and nothing was working.  So I said, “look, I need to go”, and I started walking off, but this just enraged him more.  He started standing in front of me so I couldn’t walk away.  I was left with no choice, so I pulled out my phone and called the Police.  When he saw that I was actually dialing the emergency number (I didn’t know what the non emergency number was), he left (thankfully).  I talked to the police, and I apologised for disturbing them, but they were very understanding, and wanted to take details in case he came back and I needed to call again.  I thank God for my protection.  And I was very grateful for the understanding of the police.

I was rattled.  But I wasn’t going to let this stop me.  I stayed and had two more gospel conversations before leaving.

So that was just the highlights of Thursday, and I haven’t had a chance to write about Friday yet - I’ll leave that to the next report.  Thank you for your prayers!  We don’t need to fear man, or the devil - the worst they can do is take our life.  Fear God!
 

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