Battle Log

Three street outreaches this week: Tuesday (Riccarton), Friday (City) and Saturday (Riccarton).  I ended up not using the flip chart on the first 2 outreaches, and so I decided to make it a no flip chart week!  Nice spring weather, it was just me in Riccarton both days (more fish for me!).  And Andy and I had a marvellous time together on Friday - climate change protests always lead to wonderful gospel conversations! :D

But on Tuesday, I rocked up to my usual spot, bowed my head in prayer, and then looked up wondering what the outreach would be like.  It was one of the busiest outreaches I’ve ever had!  Glory to God.

I walked down Riccarton Road and a small group was approaching me, so I offered tracts which were completely by them all, except one.  He stopped and turned to accept it.  I quickly took the opportunity to engage him in conversation, and to my amazement he stopped and fully engaged in spite of the fact that his friends kept walking.  I was able to share the law, the gospel, and a couple of checks before he started to think about his friends again and had to go.  I was really encouraged.

As he walked off, another guy was passing.  He looked vaguely familiar.  He accepted a tract and kept walking.  I followed at a distance and watched his friend approach him and start discussing the tract I had given.  So I caught up with them and the three of us ended up having a long chat on the street corner.  The first guy knew all the answers, and was really supportive - one of the team must have talked to him before.  And so my focus was on his friend.  The first guy is going to a Roman Catholic church, but doesn't have a bible.  So I gave him a contact card for my church and them both a New Testament.  Another great chat.

I crossed the road to buy some mints and then came out and approached a couple waiting for a bus.  Another great chat that started with one of them saying, “I hate Christianity, it ruined my life”!  The conversation was amicable, and progress was being made, but their bus arrived before I could share the gospel.  They left with tracts.

I instantly turned and engaged another couple.  He was a Satanist, and she (or was it a he?) wasn’t, and yet they heard the law and the gospel before their bus came.

That’s how the outreach went, from one conversation, straight into another, with a little bit of walking down Riccarton Road in between.

Next up was a chat with 3 guys (early 20’s).  2 Believed in God, 1 didn’t.  Initially they had little engagement in the chat, and yet the 2 believers quickly became really engaged when the flaws in their existing philosophies were exposed.  Sadly they were resistant.  Yet, they all heard the law and the Gospel.

A chat with a young guy who turned out to have a Jehovah Witness background.

And finally a chat with a young man called Sam who went from thinking his being good would get him to heaven to understanding the gospel.  I left him with a bible too.

By this stage there was only 10 minutes left in the outreach!  I was excited by, and praising God for, all the wonderful opportunities. But I was feeling tired, so I used that last 10 minutes to pump out some tracts.

Thank you to all those that are praying for this ministry.  Our efforts are weak, and yet the simple gospel message, backed by the prayers of the saints, is the power of God for salvation!

Nice and sunny on Friday, and yet a cool wind.  There was an event happening down at the bridge of remembrance, and so Andy I spent our time in ministry down at the Colombo / Cashel Corner.

I was excited to hear a protest coming.  And I wasn’t surprised to see it was about climate change.

I started the outreach by pumping tracts out to the noisy protesters filing past.  Many were curious and took them, which was great.

For the rest of the afternoon, small pockets of people who had been involved in the protest would pass through where we were and we had a busy time sharing the gospel!

It’s so easy to switch a conversation about climate change into a discussion of deeper things.  Because we have the same goal: ultimately saving lives.  And yet, as worthy as wise stewardship of our environment is, we are all still going to die anyway.  Is there a life B?  Yes!

My first chat was with a group of 7 guys from a local high school.  I was fascinated to see that only 1 of them was really passionate about the issue of the climate - the others just seemed to be there for the experience.  The one guy became very engaged in the conversation, where the others not so much, in fact, one of them peeled off and started walking away, and sadly the others joined him.  But they all took tracts, and that one guy seemed challenged.

But soon after, I had a young couple from the same high school come past.  They became very engaged in the conversation and seemed humbled by the law and captured by the gospel - which they grasped quickly.  They both took New Testaments.

Andy was busy in conversations too.  And we even had opportunities to get into conversations together.  But once the conversation was rolling, I stepped back and let Andy continue.  I might as well see if I can catch a different fish!  After all, you can catch more fish with 2 nets in the water than just 1!  Hey, do you live in Christchurch?  Why don’t you join us?  Get in touch  :)  Come be a Manerman with us!

My final chat of the day was long, and hard.  It was with a guy, who heard the law and the gospel, and yet ultimately rejected it because of Idolatry.  How exactly?  He hated God for decreeing a world of suffering and evil.  By the end of the chat he openly said he would rather go to hell than have anything to do with a God like that.  I wasn’t phased, but just kept him faithful to logic and scripture as he kept trying to twist it to say something it’s not (if you go too far one side, you are in major error, and too far the other side: major error; and the balance point is very fine).  I realise that this is an issue of emotion more than logic, and I kept that in mind through the conversation.  But my attempts to convince him, of course, failed.  I’m trusting that, although there was no outward indication, his worldview was deeply challenged by logic and scripture.  The law convicts of sin, and the gospel is the power of salvation, for all those that believe!

The outreach went overtime, but it was well worth it.  It was good to be able to have a good catch up with Andy over hot chocolate afterwards.

Saturday’s outreach wasn’t as busy as Tuesday, but was still off the charts good all the same.

I’ll just highlight one conversation, as this report is way too long!  I was handing out tracts to people hopping off a bus.  A young couple went past and politely refused.  So I crossed the road and headed back down Riccarton Road.  A few minutes later, a large ‘school’ of people went past, low and behold, that some young couple was among them.  They again refused the tract, but the fact that we crossed paths again so soon caused a conversation to start.  And what a great chat!  He had a Christian background and was currently rejecting Christ, and she was encouragingly humble throughout the whole chat.  He hit me with all the hard questions, which I did my best to answer and proceeded to share the law and the gospel with both of them.  I was really encouraged by this chat :)  They moved on, but about 15 minutes later we crossed paths again!  She said, “wow, God is really on my case”.  He is.  He is seeking and saving the lost.  And we have the privilege to be involved in what God is doing, for his glory!

Pray for labourers for the harvest, and consider being the answer to your own prayer!  Need training?  We have some coming up.

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