Battle Log

We were on the streets of Christchurch for outreach, 4 days this week.  On Tuesday afternoon, Roger and Graeme were in Riccarton.  On Thursday afternoon, Andy & I were in Riccarton.  On Friday afternoon, Roger, Andy & I were in the City.  And on Saturday lunchtime, Corin & I were in Riccarton.

 

Roger gave me some details of their time on Tuesday.  What I remember is that a guy Roger was talking to made the comment, “You know, you guys really make some sense”.

 

Yes, the gospel makes complete sense, but people try to drown it with complexity and absurdity.  Why?  It’s because of our nature, which loves sin and so hates God.  It’s not that it doesn’t make sense; it’s just that we don’t like it (with that nature)!  So, why do we bother?  Because God is merciful, and changes hearts, giving us a new nature.  And the means he uses to do that is weak people like us, through our feeble prayers and our basic, yet logical, reasoning with people about the truth.  By his spirit, the simple gospel message is the power of God for salvation.  Only when God convicts and changes a heart will it truly make sense to anyone.  And so we persist because God is seeking and saving the lost for his glory.

 

On Thursday, I turned up to the outreach spot, and Andy was already there and already in a chat (pictured).  I didn’t wait for him and got straight to work.  It was a very busy afternoon of outreach for both of us.

 

I went around the corner to start my usual loop.  And it took me an hour to complete that first loop (due to all the interesting chats I got into on the way)!  And then it took me 30 minutes to complete my second loop.

 

My first chat was with 3 guys from Japan.  There was a bit of a language barrier, but they were engaged enough for me to share the gospel.  It took me time to build up to the gospel because it was obvious they hadn’t spent much time thinking about what happens after life before.  It was interesting observing their resistance, and yet their interest at the same time.  May this be the first furrow in their hearts, and may other believers have the opportunity to continue that work.

 

Next up, I had a huge group of high school-age kids cross the road in front of me.  I was able to hand out tracts, and one even stopped for a short chat.  Then another wave went past, and this time a young couple stopped to engage.

 

It wasn’t long before the deeper questions were asked: evil and suffering, and then homosexuality.  Honestly, the issue of homosexuality doesn’t come up much at the moment.  Not sure why, the fickle nature of the world?  But it turns out the young man had leanings this way.  And so we were able to work through it, starting with “How do we know what is right and wrong?”, and being faithful to the reality that homosexuality is sinful, yet Christ died for sin.  Those given a new heart, by grace, won’t continue in sin, and a practical discussion about that (life is short, life is not all about sex, singleness is a blessing promoted by the Bible, the true motivation and power for doing good).

Next up, I had a conversation with a man from Saudi Arabia.  Again, there was a language barrier, as well as resistance and openness at the same time.

 

I could go on, but suffice it to say, Thursday was a busy but blessed outreach.

 

It was great having Corin with me on Saturday.  She enjoys using the flipchart, and she has enough experience now to run it on her own.  I left her to it and worked on the other side of the street, so I was close enough to help out if she needed it.  Also, I need to protect her from myself.  I can’t help getting involved in gospel chats when I should be standing back and letting Corin experience and learn on her own!

 

Even though it was a slow outreach, I still managed to have a couple of solid chats of my own on my side of the street.  And later, Corin and I had a great chat with 2 young guys - one in particular seemed deeply challenged by the gospel (in a good way).

 

If we are patient in practice, anyone can get good at communicating the simple truths of the gospel.  May you be encouraged by Corin (see pic) to face those unreasonable fears and share the gospel with those around you!

 

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It was a cold, wet, and miserable day on Thursday, so we decided not to head to the streets, and I worked online instead.  It was still an amazing day, because my first grandchild was born!  What joy!!

 

Friday was still cold, so we didn’t go out that day either.  But we did hit the streets on Saturday in Riccarton - Roger and Corin were with me.  And on Sunday afternoon, I spent some time on the streets in the city after my regular morning church gathering (by this stage, the Sun was out and bright).

 

So, on Saturday, we had two flipcharts up and running.  Roger had his up at his regular fishing hole at the corner of Riccarton Road and Rotherham Street.  And diagonally opposite, Corin was running a flipchart at the corner of Riccarton Road and Rimu Street.  And I floated in between, catching chats and handing out tracts where I could.

 

For me, the standout chat was a very short interaction.  A group of late teen guys went past, so I offered tracts and tried to engage them in conversation. They all pretty much ignored me, except one guy, who asked what it was about.  I said, “It’s about Jesus”.  He took the tract, but with his friends walking on, he couldn’t stop to talk.  I let him go.  But then, about five minutes later, he and one of his friends came back past in the other direction.  This time, I was able to get them to stop.  The kid who had taken the tract was very keen to chat, and so I started my usual gospel presentation.  Sadly, his friend was uninterested - more than that, uncomfortable, he split and left his friend with me.  I instinctively knew I had to be quick and give an overview of the gospel, and I decided to put my emphasis on grace, knowing that most people misunderstand this bit the most.

 

A moment later, I heard a shout.  It was his friend calling from down the street.  He had to go, but he turned and genuinely thanked me for explaining.  I could tell he was touched.  I don’t normally give out Bibles, but I had a copy of John in my pocket, and so I offered it to him as he left.  He stepped back and took it, thanking me again, and was gone.

 

What a joy and privilege it is to minister in the harvest field of the Lord and plant seeds for his glory!  May there be much fruit.

 

On Sunday (today), I went to my usual spot on the corner of Cashel and Colombo.  After prayer, I started handing out tracts and attempting to start conversations.

 

I had two wonderful conversations.  The first was with a couple of older teen guys.  One took the offered tract but wasn’t going to stop, so I said, “It comes with a question if you have a moment”.  It worked, he stopped, and from there I was able to keep the conversation going.  They both became engaged.  One of them went to a Catholic school, and so he thought he knew the drill.  They heard the gospel, and then I moved into checks, and then one of them started asking good questions.  In the end, they both received tracts and walked off with gospel seed in their hearts.

 

It was getting cold in the shade in my usual spot, and so I decided to cross Colombo to where the sun was on the other side.  It was there that I had my second chat of the day, again older teen guys - three of them this time.  Again, they were Catholic (or at the very least went to a Catholic school).  They were very forthcoming with Catholic vocabulary.  I simply stuck to the script in the chat, and they became engrossed as they came to understand the subtle tension between true faith and works.  The check questions did their job to start to cement the good news into place in their thinking.

 

They were impacted and appreciative.  It was a short chat, but as they left, they each gave me a firm handshake.  And of course they all also received follow-up tracts.

 

Our job is to plough and sow; it’s God’s job to bring increase, in his timing, and for his glory.

 

What an honour I have to represent Christ to people.  Please pray that we stay humble and faithful in this task before us.  All glory to God alone.

 

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This week, there were four street outreaches in Christchurch:

 

Tuesday: Roger and Graeme were in Riccarton in the late afternoon.  (By the way, Roger is continuing to lead the Tuesday outreach, while I switch to Thursday to start a new outreach on that day.)

 

Thursday: Andy and Corin joined me in Riccarton in the late afternoon.

 

Friday: Roger, Andy, John B, and Corin joined me in the city in the early afternoon.

 

Saturday: Corin joined me in Riccarton over the lunch period.

 

I’ve included a picture Roger sent me from the Tuesday outreach.  Graeme is in full swing!

 

As I arrived at the outreach location on Thursday, Andy and Corin were already there, and Andy was already into a chat (that went long).  So Corin and I decided to set up the flipchart on the other side of the street.

 

The flipchart can be great at attracting fish, but on this day, it was a bit slow - no bites.  I could see heaps of fish down a bit, by the bus stops, and so, I decided to leave the flip chart near Andy (who was still deep in conversation) and Corin and I moved out to where the fish were.  We put our tracts in our pockets and started to approach people.

 

We had a short chat with a couple of young guys, and then we found ourselves at the bus stops on the other side (I have a usual circuit I walk down both sides of Riccarton Road), where I got into a chat with a young Afghan guy.  It was a great chat.  He was a Muslim, so the conversation focused on the false ways: being good and asking for forgiveness won’t remove the punishment.  I had an opportunity to move to the gospel, and when I started talking about someone else taking our punishment, he became very adamant: Someone else can’t take our punishment.  And so I calmly replied, then we would all have to go to hell.  It was at this point that he started insisting that we would go to hell for a time, and then go to heaven.  But I pointed out that that wouldn’t be merciful. And then I showed him 2 Surahs from the Quran that say that hell will be eternal.  He was struck.  He took photos of both of my quotes so he could auto-translate them to read in his own language, and then he went very silent as he opened an app on his phone and started to hunt for some information.  He was so focused that my attempts to continue to talk to him were ignored.  That’s okay, we need to be patient.  Eventually, he gave up, and we continued to talk for a little bit more, but he hardened: “I will never stop being Muslim” – and apart from the grace of God, that’s true.  We parted on good terms.  And I’m glad he had received a gospel tract from me early in the conversation.  Maybe, under his initial hard exterior, his heart is softening?  I hope he keeps that tract.  When he is ready, it will be ready to tell him the gospel again.

 

Corin really likes the flipchart, and so, she left the conversation long before I finished to go back to it.  Later in the outreach, I snapped a shot of her using it on her own.  So good to see her growing in confidence.

 

I also encountered Andy’s daughter down at a bus stop.  She honoured me by introducing me to two of her friends from school, and the four of us were able to talk about the gospel and related questions.  It was so good!

On Friday, two of my chats stand out in my mind.

 

The first was with a Seventh-day Adventist leader.  He was excited to encounter people doing evangelism, but then, he became really angry when I started evangelising him.  He couldn’t give me a straight answer to my question: “Do you have to be good to get to heaven?”  Instead of reasoning with my argument, he started attacking me by saying I wasn’t listening to him (I was, I just wanted to talk about the deeper issue he was avoiding).  In the end, I had to walk away.

 

But then I encountered 2 engineers (1 mechanical and the other software).  With a technical background myself, I love talking to engineers – we seem to click when it comes to logic.  So, using logic alone, I was able to explain the gospel.  The mechanical engineer was humble enough to say he couldn’t fault the logic (very rare), but he wasn’t currently willing to accept it.  What a great chat that was!

 

The team had a robust conversation about “the sinner's prayer” over coffee afterwards.  Iron sharpening Iron!

 

Saturday was really warm!  It was like summer in the middle of winter!

 

I had a fascinating chat with a young man who was using very Catholic language, and yet he claimed to be going to a Christian church close to the university.  The longer the chat went, the more Catholic he seemed.  I was trying to work out where he had learned the language he was using (mortal sin, Eucharist, penance, etc), but he wasn’t willing to tell me.  It fascinated me that he was both engaged in the conversation and yet at the same time didn’t want to be there.  In the end, I let him go.

 

Corin continues to grow.  I took a couple of great pics of her sharing the law and the gospel with a young guy.

 

Glory to God alone!

 

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Okay, last week's monthly report was a bit crazy, trying to dump all the chats from the last month into a single hour-long report.  So, I’m going to try going back to weekly reports.  This report will cover the street work for the week just completed.

 

I was on the streets of Christchurch four times this week:

 

On Thursday afternoon, Corin joined me at the corner of Riccarton and Rotherham (and Roger and Graeme were also there on Tuesday afternoon).

 

On Friday afternoon, Corin, Andy, Roger, John Langan, and I were in the city.

 

On Saturday lunchtime, Corin joined me again at the corner of Riccarton and Rotherham.

 

And then finally, I went back out to the city this afternoon (Sunday) after my local church's morning gathering.

 

On Thursday, it was a bit slow initially, and then very busy.  I had a long chat with a young Muslim (but it started as a conversation with a group), and Corin was handling the flip chart on her own while that was happening.

 

The young Muslim started by saying he would go to heaven because he had asked for forgiveness.  That obviously doesn’t make sense, so I gently pushed back, which caused him to become very engaged in the conversation.

 

The key issue is that we both agree God is just, and we both agree that God is merciful.  So the question that has to be answered is, how can God be both just and merciful toward us (at the same time) so we can go to heaven?

 

Sadly, the young man kept going back to the same answer over and over: “You simply ask for forgiveness; God can overlook sin if he wants to, because he is God”.  The problem with this answer is that it is merciful, but it’s not just.  And so, the correct answer is: “Jesus died on the cross to satisfy our justice, so that God gives us mercy without compromising his justice”.

 

And the fact that he kept cycling back to his logically incorrect answer is because that’s what he has been told over and over, to the point that he has suppressed the logic we all share.  I had to gently end the conversation, pointing out the dead-end cycle.  May he be challenged enough to be humble and honest about the logic.  The goal is not winning arguments, but lovingly having people face the truth.  May God have mercy on this young man!

 

We finished the outreach with a great chat with a young Filipino with a Christian background, but who didn't fully understand the gospel.  It was interesting because he noticed us as he went past, but he didn’t want to stop to talk. A few minutes later, he came back around the corner to talk!  God must have been tugging at his heart!

 

On Friday, Corin was with me at the corner of Cashel and Colombo.  We set up the flipchart.  Very quickly, we encountered two young, and very encouraging men.  They had a very solid grasp of the gospel, and they were passionate about sharing it.  One of them in particular was especially naturally evangelistic.

 

They stayed with us for a very long time as we got to know each other, and, as we were talking, people kept coming up to the flipchart, interested in what was happening, and so multiple real gospel conversations occurred naturally.

 

It fills my heart with joy to know the Holy Spirit is working independently of me (I mean, it’s obvious, but still), raising labourers for his glory.  I would love to work more with these young men, but that’s not up to me.  May God bless their effort!

 

Saturday was amazing!  So busy!  I set up my flipchart, and was pretty much straight into my first chat.

 

It was with a young man whose father uses a similar flipchart evangelism technique in another part of the country.  But, sadly, this young man was lacking assurance.  And it turns out he was subtly confused about what it means to ‘repent’.  He defined it as ‘turn from sin’, and when I asked him more questions, it seemed that he was defining that as, basically, ‘be good’.  So, we were able to talk this through and get everything in the right place: knowledge of Christ vs trusting Christ vs obedience to Christ.  The first and the last are so important, but don’t save - it’s critical that we get this right in our thinking.  Salvation leads to works, but works are not required for salvation.  The young man took out his phone at one point to take notes!  May he see his sin as serious, but that the grace of God is greater.  May he come to know the true assurance he can have.

 

I had three more great chats.  And then I encountered a young couple.  She has a Christian background, but my gentle check questions concerned me about her understanding of the gospel.  He wasn’t a Christian, but had tried going to a church last Sunday (I think via her prompting).  The conversation was delicate at the start, as I expected them to bolt at any moment, but gradually the conversation warmed, and then I was able to get them to come to the flipchart so we could have a full gospel conversation, which was wonderful, because I could tell they were both learning.  If they truly come to Christ, then I suspect they will have some tough decisions to make out of a desire to be obedient as a result.  But what a precious opportunity to minister.

 

Sunday’s outreach was slow, in spite of the good weather and there being lots of people.  I couldn’t get any bites for a conversation.  So, I decided to go for a wander and approach people for chats as I went.  I got 1 rejection, and then I found myself in Cathedral Square.  There was a young man relaxing, and I felt drawn to him.  I offered a tract, and was welcomed.  It was a very non-standard chat.  He was a little cryptic in his answers, so I decided to take it slow, listen hard, and wait for the right time to comment.  I was able to touch on the law and then focus on the gospel.  At one point, he became emotional as he reflected on his life – again, it was cryptic, he was saying things that hinted at something deeper that he didn’t want to reveal.  It was a good chat, and he received a couple of tracts, but then handed them back.  He said he already understood and that I should give them to someone else.  I’d rather he keep them, but I respected his wishes.  Seed planted?  Only God knows.

 

May he use our feeble efforts for his glory!  Thank you for your prayers!!

 

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For the month of May, I decided to write short notes of my most memorable chats on the streets so that I would remember to write about them in this report.  I’ve ended up with about 25 notes!  I’m not going to be able to write about all of them in this short report.  So, what I’m going to do is drop the whole list into this report, so you can get a feel for what I got up to on the streets for the month, and I’ll expand on some of them.  Here goes:

 

Saturday, 6th of June, in Riccarton, Corin was with me; she is new to street outreach, and she has a passion for it!  She gives out gospel tracts with pure delight in her eyes.  Such an encouragement.  Since Corin is new, I had my flipchart with me.  We started with prayer, and then we set up the chart. She mentioned, “We don’t have tracts yet”, so I turned to my bag to get some when I noticed that Corin was talking to someone.  I turned back, and a guy was standing right in front of the flip chart.  He had obviously just turned the corner and was instantly attracted by the flip chart.

 

I took control of the chat and used the flip chart, involving Corin, to take this young man through the gospel presentation.  It was like I was talking to a blank canvas, in the sense that they didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas that I had to correct.  When he heard the gospel for the first time, I got a visual reaction, which showed that it had clicked in his thinking – what a joy!  But we didn’t stop there, we moved into check questions, and very quickly it became clear that his thinking had moved to adding Jesus to good works for salvation: “Jesus does most of it, but we still have to be good to get to heaven”.  So, I went back to the gospel, and used the speeding ticket analogy: “If a friend pays your whole speeding ticket for you, how much left do you have to pay?”  “Right, none, same with Jesus, if he pays for all your sins, how much left do you have to pay in hell?”  I think the gospel re-clicked in his thinking at that point.

 

During the chat, there was a moment where a couple of tears escaped from an eye – tears?  I don’t know, but I know this young man was impacted, at the very least.  He took 2 kinds of tract, but didn’t take the Gospel of John I offered.  That chat filled me with such joy!

 

Thursday, 4th June, in Riccarton: chat with 2 Afghan girls

 

Thursday, 4th June, in Riccarton: chat with Jimmy, a teen kid walking past

 

Thursday, 4th June, in Riccarton: 4 people outside the yogurt shop: this chat was special, because 1 guy engaged in the chat and I was able to labour with him about grace (it’s amazing how long it can take for this concept to really sink in).

 

Thursday, 4th June, in Riccarton: 2 CBHS (Christchurch Boys High School)  guys at the bus stop - amazing chat.  These guys had Christian backgrounds, and we had a special 15 minutes together working through the tension of faith & works.

 

Sunday, 31st May, in the City: 2 kids - never thought about it before

 

Saturday, 30th May, in Riccarton: chat with 3 kids with a connection to Kaiapoi Baptist

 

Friday, 29th May, in the City: a young man with a Catholic background, but with a very Eastern worldview.  Hard chat, but he took a copy of John

 

Friday, 29th May, in the City: a chat with 3 girls from Parklands

 

Thursday, 28th May, in Riccarton: 17yo, Riccarton High student, had heard the gospel through YouTube, struggling with anger and anxiety, and lacking assurance.  A long chat after which I invited him to church.

 

Friday, 22nd May, in the City: 2 Mormon missionaries, long chat

 

Thursday, 21st May, in Riccarton: Asian couple - great chat.  Took a copy of John

 

Thursday, 21st May, in Riccarton: Regular Muslim we see - great follow-up chat, challenged him on how God can be just and merciful at the same time?  (Christianity has a logical answer.)

 

Saturday, 16th May, in Riccarton: 5 orthodox kids - 2 guys talking, a girl challenged, 2 guys that said nothing.  This was a great chat, where we talked about PSA and Christus Victor (atonement theories).

 

Friday, 15th May, in the City: Indian Orthopedic surgeon from Brunei.  Good deeds for heaven.  This chat was special; he took a tract, and I noticed him sitting down and reading it carefully after our brief chat.

 

Friday, 15th May, in the City: group of kids, some of whom I had talked to in Riccarton before - they showed respect

 

Friday, 15th May, in the City: 2 young men from Motuaka - great chat.

 

Friday, 15th May, in the City: Older Englishman: very resistant.

 

Sunday, 10th May in the City: Mother's Day.  slow and cold, a few tracts and a half chat before heading home

 

Saturday, 9th May in Riccarton: slowish.  Chat with people trying to avoid the truth under the banner of peace.  Another chat with a guy and his girlfriend.  He didn't like the building builder analogy.

 

Friday, 8th May, in the City: Long deep chat with a guy - took John.

 

Friday, 8th May, in the City: Chat with 2 guys cnr Colombo and Cashel

 

Thursday, 7th May in Riccarton: A long chat with an intellectual.

 

Thursday, 7th May in  Riccarton: A kid who knew my name! He talked to me 2 years ago in the city.  He didn't want to go through it again! Haha.  He said he gave the tract I gave him to his brother, who likes to collect Chick tracts!?  I gave him another to give to his brother for the collection.

 

Thursday, 7th May, in Riccarton: Guy from Papua New Guinea - became an SDA, but didn't understand the gospel, not really 'religious'.  Heard the gospel, pointed to the Bible.

 

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I decided to start taking notes after I have interesting chats with strangers on the streets.  That way I’ll be able to remember to write about them in this monthly report.

 

Because of that, I now have four interesting stories to encourage you with.

 

I’m trialing a new schedule, and so this month Roger and I tried switching our Tuesday Riccarton outreach to Thursday.  The first time we tried this (April 23rd) I had a wonderful time of ministry.  Three of the stories will be from that outreach.  The last story will be from the Friday (24th) outreach in the city.

 

Often when I start a street outreach, I’m already feeling quite tired from earlier work online.  I always start in prayer, but, if I’m tired like this, I often don’t feel up to hunting for a conversation (walk up).  To get myself rolling, I pick a spot and just start handing out tracts to those that pass by.  Before I know it, I’m in a chat, and then, suddenly, I’ve had multiple chats and 2 hours have flown by!  So, can I encourage you, if street outreach seems too daunting to you, try doing what I do - lower the bar so it’s not so daunting, and before you know it, God has used you in ways you didn’t imagine possible.  God delights to show his strength through our weakness - we just have to be willing to take the first step, no matter what that step is (e.g., taking an opportunity to swing an every day conversation to deeper things).  If we practice, over time we will grow, and what was once daunting won’t be.  Jesus is worthy, so be encouraged!

 

So, it was like this on that Thursday.  I started by handing out tracts, to get myself going.  Next thing, I’m having a great chat with 3 teens who had been handed Gideon Bibles by someone earlier in the day!  Those teens had religious backgrounds, but weren’t clear on the gospel - so after I clarified that, I was able to point them to John in their new Bibles.

 

I walk a circuit on both sides of Riccarton Road, between Rotherham Street and the Mall - there are bus stops on both sides of the road, which are very profitable spots for gospel chats.

 

I was at one of these bus stops - it was very crowded - when I had an opportunity to engage some very interested school kids in conversation.  It was a short chat, because their bus came, and they had to dash (not without taking tracts first).

 

It was then that I noticed someone was standing right next to me, on the other side.  I assessed the environment, and I concluded that this person had been listening to the chat I was having, and wanted to talk to me.  And I sensed a trap, they were positioning themselves hoping I would start a chat with them and then they would give me a piece of their mind.  I weighed it up, and I decided Jesus was worthy - I was going to step into the trap and see what happened!

 

So, after I introduced myself, they cut to the chase: “I want to talk about abortion”.  I knew, in this situation, that that was actually a distraction from what we really needed to talk about.  They were expecting a fight.  They threw some punches (not literally), but I just dodged and didn’t fight back.  Instead, I tried to step the conversation down a level: “So, how do we know what is right and wrong?”  My tactic was to move the conversation to how we know God is real, and therefore God is the objective basis for right and wrong.

 

But, the issue wasn’t intellectual.  Soon, the real issue bubbled up: 1) they hate God because he allows evil and suffering & 2) they hate God because God will judge them for what they love: sin (although this point was masked behind their first point).

 

I tried to address this intellectually, but that just caused an unreasonable eruption from them.  So I decided to move into listening mode – let them vent.  And they did.  Question after question tumbled out of them - but they didn’t want an answer, they just wanted to express their hatred for God.

 

I ended the conversation by saying, “You’ve asked a lot of really good questions, but I don’t think, at the moment, you are really looking for answers to them.  My name is Glen”, and I offered my hand.  They didn’t shake it, but gave me their name.  So I said, “, I really hope we get another chance to talk, but all the best for now, okay?”  And I moved on.

 

Now, to natural eyes, that conversation looks like a failure - they weren’t corrected in their worldview, they weren’t challenged in their sin, they didn’t hear the wonder of the gospel, they didn’t humbly come to Christ in contrition over their sin.  But to me, that conversation was Gold.  At the very least, their perception of the Christian worldview was challenged (we don’t hate those we disagree with), they had a chance to see how unreasonable their conduct was, they had a chance to hear what they think out loud, with some gentle push back from their ‘enemy’.  God can use that in their lives, and for his glory - ultimately, in either his justice or his mercy being magnified through their life.  Oh, let it be his mercy!  May they come to a place where they are ready to really talk about right and wrong, and hear the hope of forgiveness, through Jesus.  It may not be through me, but that’s okay.  God is in control.

 

Oh, wow, I’ve spent most of my time talking about that one, short, conversation.  But it was really special to me.  (Just so you know, I try to spend no more than one hour writing this report, I’d rather spend my time actually engaging unbelievers! ;)  This is also why you’ll notice heaps of spelling and grammar issues, I don’t really spend time reviewing what I wrote.)

 

So, I’ll skim over the other chats I wanted to write about:

 

Later, I got to engage 4 teens (at the bus stop on the other side).  They were firing so many questions at me, I couldn’t keep up.  But, for one of them in particular, I think they also weren’t really looking for answers, it was like she was trying to overwhelm or confuse her mind so she could avoid talking about the hard stuff: sin, death, hell, pain, truth.  The questions were like bad self medication for anxiety; rather than stopping, facing truth and discovering true hope and relief.

 

And then I encountered a guy, who was interested in what I was doing.  I asked him my usual question: “what do you think happens after life?”.  He said, “heaven”.  I said, “Why exactly can you go to heaven when you die?”.  He said, “because Jesus died for my sin”.  I said, “Good answer, so, do you have to be good to get to heaven?”.  He said, “no”.  I said, “Okay, so, out of 100, how sure are you that you’ll go to heaven?”.  He said, “100%”.  We quickly realised we were on the same page.  I was so encouraged to hear about his church, and the weekly outreach work they are doing: door to door, and on the streets.  So great!

 

The last chat I want to mention was on the next day: Friday, in the city.  I ended up in Cathedral Square and I was moving down Worcester Boulevard, when I passed a man sitting on a street bench.  I offered him a tract, but he ignored me – or, he didn’t notice me, because after I passed, he realised I had said something to him, and he looked up.  I stopped, and went back and offered him the tract, he took it, and made it obvious he wanted to know what it was about.  From there, I was able to sit next to him and have a very long chat.  By the end of which, he was asking the hardest and deepest questions – showing that, even in his resistance, he was hearing and understanding what I was challenging him about.  If my memory serves me right, he accepted a gospel of John from me in the end.  Wonderful!

 

May God use our feeble efforts, for his glory.  Only he can change a heart.

 

Thank you for praying for this ministry - it’s (the prayer) so vital and appreciated.

 

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Last month I wrote about a multi-’coincidental’ encounter with a man during our week of outreach in Dunedin.  Well, I have a follow up report.  He found me on Facebook and sent a friend request.  I initially deleted it, but then I suddenly realised who it was, so I sent him a friend request, which he accepted.  He messaged me, and we have been able to continue the gospel conversation, mainly focusing correctly interpreting various passages of scripture.  When doing street evangelism, you don’t often get to do a lot of follow up, so this has been nice!  God is good!

 

I haven’t done an A&P show for a while now, but it’s been so encouraging knowing others are picking up the slack.  Daniel led an outreach to the Mayfield A&P Show this month.  Mike, Rebecca & Sam joined him.  Good work guys!  Also, Brian and Laura have been leading outreaches to various A&P shows in the area – at least 3 in recent times.  Great stuff!

 

It’s been such a joy reviewing the photos I took this month.  Some of them bring back good memories of gospel encounters.  I’m not going to have the time to talk about them all.  And I’ve probably forgotten some really good ones.

 

I was down at the corner of Colombo and Cashel one Friday afternoon.  I was with John when 2 kids, on Lime scooters, came up to me and stopped.  One of them said, “Hi Glen, how are you?”  When he saw my look of unrecognition on my face he said, “My name is Charlie, you talked to me a few years ago in Riccarton”.  That was super encouraging to have him remember my name after all that time!  But I checked, “so, if you’ve talked to me, can you remember why you can go to heaven when you die?”  He thought about it for a few moments before saying, “Because Jesus died on the cross” - good answer.  And so I followed up, “do you believe that?”.  And then his defenses slowly started to rise, he said, “Well, I’m not sure if it’s real”.  From there, we went into a discussion about how we know it’s real and why we reject it: ultimately out of a love of sin!  Sadly, at the moment, Charlie and his friend are rejecting Jesus at the moment.  I challenged him on the urgency, he may not get another 2 years to consider, he needs to accept the gospel now.

 

On a Tuesday, in Riccarton, I was pounding the streets handing out tracts and striking up conversations when a group of high school age kids passed.  I usually don’t have the energy to take on a large group (there were at least 10 of them), but I ended up in multiple conversations with them on the street corner.  Some of them were trying to shock me by how bad they were, some were mocking, but some were listening.  You know you’ve got their attention when the hard questions come out.  One kid in particular was doing that.  It’s pretty hard to hold multiple conversations all at the same time, but I somehow managed it - I’m not sure how effective my words were, but these kids were engaged enough to sit down and listen to the few snippets of gospel that was coming their way.  I was very encouraged.  During the conversations, tracts were handed out to most, if not all, those kids.  Sadly, as they left, I noticed a spread of finely ripped tract on the pavement.  I picked it all up and put it in the bin, but I rejoice, because even if one discarded the good news, maybe another will keep it, and one day read it.  The gospel is the power of God for salvation.

 

So many other wonderful opportunities over the month.  The last one I’ll mention was from last Tuesday.  Three young lads came past, they all went to different local churches, yet they weren’t clear on the gospel.  It was a fairly short chat, but a wonderful one, because you could see these kids really processing the gospel in a fresh way.  I challenged them to read John, Acts and Romans - don’t trust what a crazy old man, with a grey beard is saying, go to the primary source - your soul is at stake!  It turns out these kids were friends with Andy’s son!  It’s a small world; you just don’t know what God will do with your feeble efforts; step out in faith and talk to someone about Jesus today.  All glory to God alone!

 

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February is the last month of summer in NZ, and it also marked the last special outreach of the season for us.  Andy & I headed to Dunedin for outreach during O-week, or ‘Ori’ (university orientation week) in conjunction with Cornerstone International Bible Church, Shane Louie of OAC and a team he had gathered.  Our focus for the week was between the Museum Reserve (close to the university) and the Octagon (which included a major bus stop hub, and the main shopping area: George Street).  There were many opportunities to engage with students, but also people of all walks and seasons of life.

 

There was a lot of rain.  It was so heavy on Tuesday that Andy & I were forced to spend our time in our cabin in online outreach instead.  But the other days of the week were spent pounding the streets and talking to people face to face.  I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking, but I’ll give one story.

 

On Wednesday, at the end of the day's outreach, I was tired, so I reverted to handing out tracts on George Street.  A guy noticed what I was doing and came over to accept a tract and talk.  He said he had just talked to a Christian guy and really disagreed with what he was saying.  It didn’t take long to confirm that he had talked to Andy!  Andy was at least a kilometer away outside the Museum Reserve, so it was quite a coincidence that this guy bumps into me soon after.

 

Anyway, I was able to continue the conversation, but he quickly became frustrated with me too - as soon as I started talking about the fact that our work can’t save us.  You see, his background is Bahá'í which tries to respect all religions and spiritual writings, and yet contradicts the clear teaching of the Bible by saying that we are saved by our effort, rather than by grace.

 

I didn’t make too much more progress in the conversation, due to his resistance.  But, I was able to challenge him: “if you respect all the writings, you should read the book of Romans in the Bible”.

 

The guy eventually moved on; we parted on good terms.  And, later, I was able to encourage Andy on how I was able to follow up on the conversation he had started.

 

On Friday, we spent the morning in outreach to the Bus stops and the Octagon, before heading back to the church facilities to pick up our car and start the drive back to Christchurch.  As we were driving out of the city, Andy noticed a Dominos Pizza and suggested we stop for lunch, but then I noticed a Pizza Hut just ahead, and recommended that.  It just so happened that there was a park right outside, and there was no traffic behind, so we could safely take it.  We went in and ordered some pizza to takeaway - we wanted to hit the road and get home to our families.

 

As we were sitting in the car, we decided to eat a few slices first, and as we were eating, who should walk by?  The same guy we had both talked to on Wednesday!  He noticed us, and came over to say hi.  Coincidence?  We were able to offer him pizza and continue the chat.  Amazingly, he said he had started to read Romans.  And then he asked if I could take his number, which I did.  So I’m still in contact.  The ball is in his court, he knows how to reach me if he has questions.  Yet, he is ultimately in the hands of God who is seeking and saving the lost.  He won’t lose any of his sheep!

Thank you for continuing to pray for our street and online work.  Without the power of God, our feeble efforts are in vain.  All glory to God alone.

 

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It’s February already.  Amazing.

 

So, what happened in January?  Something that has never happened before occurred on Friday.  I was asked: “Are you a pasta?” Haha.  I responded with, “No, I’m not a pasta, and I’m not a pastor either” - I couldn’t help myself.  But I often get comments like this, because, when you succinctly and systematically lay out the gospel in a clear way, people will see the logic of it and be impressed.  It’s not me they should be impressed by, but God and his amazing plan.  I mean that.  This work is not for special people, but for all believers to get involved with.  With a little bit of training, and a lot of guts to push through the fears, we truly can reach people with the gospel, which is the power of God for salvation.  This involves living our lives in such a way that we are ‘salty’ and ‘bright’ by the way we live (we all get that), but, we also must communicate the gospel in words - even if it’s just handing out a tract.  God delights to show his strength through weak things: us, our prayer, and a little pamphlet with the gospel explained.  Be encouraged to reach out, as you can, and where you are.

 

So, I’ve just scanned my camera roll for the month.  I didn’t take many photos!  Only 2 actually, but one of them has jogged my memory of a good street chat I had this month, so I’ll share about that.  Also, I found 2 encouraging screenshots of messages I received via the needGod.net TikTok Messenger.  You see, a lot of my time is spent sharing the gospel online, these days.  And a lot of that time is spent in TikTok Messenger.  There seems to be an unlimited amount of people messaging in, and I attempt to share the gospel with all of them.  I can’t really keep up, but I rest in the sovereignty of God.  Anyway, check out the 2 screen shots and the 2 pictures.

 

Let me talk about the picture of the yellow Suzuki Swift - yeah, I’d love a yellow Suzuki Swift Sport!  But that’s not the reason I took the picture, I took the pic to remind me of the chat I had with those 4 young lads.  It was special, because they were very engaged.

 

School holidays means kids with nothing to do, so they are willing to stick around and talk.  I had my flipchart up, and it was a pleasure to have Corin with me.  If my memory serves me right: 1 of the kids was being a bit silly, another was being resistant, but the last 2 were very open.  The resistant one served to raise good questions for all of them to consume.  I can’t remember all the details of the conversation now, but I’m pretty sure we worked through all the pictures on the flipchart, and then the 2 open guys just kept popping me with question after question so good!  Sowing seeds, may God be glorified in any future harvest of mercy that may occur.

 

Thank you for keeping us in prayer.

 

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Happy New Year!  This report is for December 2025

 

Two things that stood out to me for December:

 

1) Christmas tracts are popular!  I reckon I gave away 10 Christmas tracts when I would normally give away 1.  I had this funny situation where a lady came round the corner.  I was holding out a tract, and she raised her hand to refuse it.  But before she did I said “Merry Christmas”, instantly she lowered her hand to receive it instead of rejecting it.  There is just something about Christmas!

 

2) Boxing day is still a great day for giving away tracts.  Martin joined me again this year, and we spent 2 hours at Riccarton and 2 hours in the city.  I think I gave away 4 or 5 hundred Christmas tracts in that time.

 

Oh well, the Christmas tracts have been put away for another year.

 

After a short holiday, I got back to the streets yesterday.  I spent an hour in Riccarton.  I was on my own, so I decided to take my flip chart along.

 

Before I had even finished setting it up, I was into my first chat with a group of youths (5 of them).  This chat spoke volumes to me about the power and the simplicity of the law and the gospel.  As I was taking these kids through the law, I had multiple reactions: silliness, denial (“I’ve never lied”), but also, disengagement.  That sounds like a bad thing, but in this case, it was very good.  The young lady was really seeing her personal sin, and that’s the goal of the law!  Sadly, rather than humbling herself to accept the gospel, she hardened her heart by disengaging.  She even walked away from her group and stood to the side while I engaged the others.  As she was leaving, I did say, “hey, I’ve got good news coming”.  But at this stage, she wasn’t interested.  But God can use that, and in his timing he can bring others to bring the gospel seed.  May her heart become ready to receive it!

 

I continued my presentation, but just as I was getting to the gospel, I had 2 more of the kids ditch me.  The 3 that had left walked off, hoping the last 2 with me would leave too.  But they didn’t.  I got to share the gospel with them.  It turns out they went to a Catholic school, and so I instantly went back to my explanation of the ‘false ways’ to contrast what I was teaching with what they had heard in school.  Slowly I saw a light coming across their expressions as the gospel started to really register in their thinking.  It was so good.  But, I had to leave it at that, they wanted to catch up with their friends, and so I let them go with tracts.

 

It was a busy hour of outreach.  Plenty of young people were out & about, bored and with nothing to do.  Two guys went past who had talked to me before in the city (I didn’t really remember them).  I was able to reiterate the law with them (I focused on that, because it obviously hadn’t registered in their thinking the first time) and then touch on the gospel.  They also took tracts.

 

One of my regulars passed.  He is an older guy (74 I think he said).  He is happy to chat, but he is completely blind to the gospel.  What I find fascinating is that, in his retirement, he jumps on city buses and spends his days travelling from place to place, for no particular reason.  He obviously enjoys life, as simple as it is, but he is completely oblivious to the reality of death and judgement.  I decided to ask him about this again (nowadays I usually just chat about the weather with him) and he said he guesses he’ll go to heaven.  And he even mentioned that he and the missus go to church every week (it’s a good local church – he sings the songs and listens to the ‘talk’).  And yet, he has no idea why someone would go to heaven or not and is not interested in talking about it at all.  There is nothing much more I can do than pray, and ask God to soften his heart and remove the scales from his eyes so he can really see his sin for what it is: wretched; and the amazing grace of Jesus to pay for it!  God have mercy!

 

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