Battle Log

A very busy couple of days of outreach.  Hot weather.

On Thursday morning I was in the City with John and Matty before joining Andy at the Eastgate and Northlands bus stops in the afternoon.

The stand out conversation at the bus stops occurred just after a guy refused a gospel tract.  I turned and another guy was walking past, so I offered it to him - he took it and I was able to ask him what he thought happened after life.  It caused him to stop and engage.  He wasn’t sure if there was a God, so I used the building / builder analogy - before I had even finished explaining, he understood what I was saying, and he had an ah ha moment (not the last one of the conversation).  Most people I talk to consider themselves good people, but he was rare in that he admitted he would be going to hell right off the bat.  I confirmed this by explaining God’s law.  I then had the joy of sharing the gospel with this guy, where the real ah ha clicked!  So wonderful.  He understood that the gift of Jesus would change him.  He had the tract I gave him (with a way for him to get in touch), and I told him how he could easily get a Bible for free.  He turned and continued walking - Lord, I leave him in your hands, only you can change him!

The gospel + abortion occured on Friday morning.  It was a public holiday in Christchurch, so there weren’t as many people about.  But due to counter protesters, we had a very busy outreach.  You can read about it here.

There were a lot of open air preachers in the Square at lunch time.  At least four of us preached.  I went first.  One of our regular hecklers became vocal - I tried to engage him without much success.

I also had some great one to one conversations in the Square.  The highlight was with a lady - there was a guy and another lady with her.  The guy refused my tract and walked off, but the lady accepted it and I was able to get a conversation going - her friend stayed to listen.  When she grasped the gospel, she also had an ah ha moment.  She said she had never had it explained that way and it made sense.  I challenged her, that now she understood the gospel, that she must urgently respond to it, as we don’t know when we will die.

We moved to Cashel Mall - it was very busy due to the holiday.  Some West Indies cricket players were there.  I had two opportunities to try to engage them - they pretty much ignored me.  I tried.

I was handing out Christmas tracts.  All I did was say, “Merry Christmas” to people and offer them a tract as they walked past.  I was surprised how willing people were to take them compared to the regular tracts I hand out.  You can get these tracts for free on the NZ web store.  Get some, find a public spot and start handing them out with a “Merry Christmas” - it couldn’t be an easier or friendlier way to share the gospel!

My tracting lead to a wonderful conversation with two ladies who lived the “lier” page on my flip chart so much, one of them took a photo of it.  They came to realise their good deeds would not get them to heaven, but that it was the gift of God - but I had to labour with them.  They came to understand the correct place of good works in the equation.  It was a lovely chat.

I finished the day of outreach with two hours online.  I hadn’t been online since Tuesday (the start of my week) and it was so good to be with the team again.

I ended up having one last conversation before calling it a day, and it ended up being the highlight conversation of this whole report!  It was a short chat with an ex-Mormon kid.  The gospel blew his mind (his words).  He said that from today he was trusting that Jesus died on the cross for his sins, and he said he would start reading the Book of Mormon again!  I was able to explain that what I was explaining was not Mormonism!  And he could see that, I pointed him to the book of John in the Bible, I specifically pointed him to John 3, and Romans 3, 4, & 5.  Lord, don’t let the seed be plucked away, save him for your glory!
 

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A very interesting two days of outreach.  More street outreach then usual.  The Canterbury A&P show would have been on this week - if not for cancellation due to Covid-19.  A couple of evangelists from the top of the South Island came to join me in outreach anyway.  So good to be able to work with them today!

On Tuesday I spent some time online before heading to Riccarton.

I had a wonderful chat with a Muslim man from Algeria in North Africa.  He was open enough for me to be able to share the grace of Jesus through faith alone - but he was deeply resistant to it, the idea was so foreign to his thinking.  But he was nice about it, and I was able to gently labour with him.  He would talk for a while, and then I would bring him back to the serious reality of our sin and the only hope for forgiveness.  Slowly it started to dawn on him.  I think he started to grasp what I was saying, but he was still resistant.  He started gently attacking the concept of the Trinity as illogical.  We parted on good terms - him with a link to needGod.net.

I also had a long chat with a guy who was quite self focused.  He’d had Christian instruction in his life, but didn’t understand the gospel.  So I was able to share it.  He also left with a link to needGod.net and encouragement to start reading his Bible again.

Roger joined me in Riccarton.

I was into gospel conversations pretty much straight away.  I had three highlights, with: a Christian, an Atheistic Philosopher, and a Hindu.

Two teen girls went past, one wanted a tract and so approached, the other decided to take one too.  When asked: “what do you think happens after life?”, the second girl said, “heaven, of course, I’m a Christian”.  Amused, I asked her what she had to do to go to heaven, and she said, “be a good person”.  So I explained God’s law to show them that we weren’t good.  And then explained the gospel.  It clicked very quickly for her.  She seemed a bit sheepish.  She said she would discuss this with her youth group.  I encouraged her to do so!

The philosopher (studying at the university) had a religious background, but had moved away from it.  We talked about knowledge, how we know God exists, theodicy, and how we know right from wrong.  Amazingly, I was even able to touch on the gospel.  But he really wasn’t open. I could see him gently digging in and I could see it just being a mental battle.  He was blind to how he used himself as the judge of things over and over, and he didn’t even realise it till I gently pointed it out.  It was a good conversation, but I decided to end it with a handshake that he accepted.

The last conversation, with the Hindu, was fascinating.  He was extremely open to the conversation, but he was the most resistant to the idea of salvation as a gift of anyone I’ve ever talked to.  Over and over I would explain, and then ask a question to see if he was starting to grasp - and over and over he would revert straight back to the idea that his goodness would get him to heaven!  At one point I put my hands on his shoulders and looked him directly in the eyes as I pointed out that he’d done it again!  But it was a pleasant conversation, and I didn’t mind labouring with him till he finally seemed to grasp and hold the gospel in his mind.  But still, he just wanted to add it to his patheon.  The final page on the chart challenged him on the cost of accepting the gift, and when he realised he would have to let go of Hinduism to trust that Jesus had died on the cross for his sins - he admitted it would be difficult.  I was able to explain why it was worth it!

John and Matty were with me on Wednesday.  With a change to my schedule, we were in the city in the morning, and I took them to Riccarton in the afternoon.

We all had some great opportunities to share Christ.

In the morning I had two great walk up opportunities.  And I had a great chat with a lady who was intrigued with the flip chart and wanted to go through it.  No real resistance, she tracked with me through to the end.  After explaining the cost, she said she wanted to accept the gift.  So I pointed her to the Bible and left the ball in her court to get in touch.

In the afternoon, I left John and Matty with their flip charts and walked down to the bus stops to see who would be open for a chat.  I stopped at a road crossing, and waited to cross.  Two girls came and stood behind me.  We crossed, once we got to the other side, I knew it would be a bit awkward, but I turned to offer them tracts.  One of them was so glad I did!  She had talked to me a year ago and wanted to talk again.  She remembered that I’d shared the law, and then I’d shared some good news.  I asked her what the good news was, and she couldn’t remember.  So I took the fresh opportunity to go over the law and the gospel again.  They even skipped a bus so the conversation could continue.

Meanwhile on his flip chart, Matty had a very long chat with a lesbian couple.  I then set up my flip chart and I had a great chat with a couple of guys who were Bhudist.  They came to grasp the gospel and were challenged to count the cost of accepting it.

Glory to God alone.
 

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I spent my weekend outreach time online with the team.  I was intending to be in the city on Sunday afternoon, but there was heavy rain - so online it is!

First up was a conversation with a lady who came to grasp the gospel.  I then talked with a young man from Sydney - he loved the logic I was giving him and also came to grasp the gospel.

I then had a long conversation with two Catholics.  The guy on camera wasn’t really taking things seriously, but the one off camera was quite devout and staunch.  It was quite hard dealing with them both at the same time.  I decided to focus on the guy on camera, and directed my questions to him specifically.  He slowly started sobering up.  The guy off camera was very much still listening though - interjecting from time to time.  In this way, they both came to grasp the gospel and came to really appreciate the conversation.  I was patient in dealing with the devout guy as he worked through things like why purgatory is not necessary.  They both thanked me at the end.

Next up was a chat with a young lady - the first thing she said was: “how old are you?”.  I ignored it and asked her what she thought happened after life.  She forgot her question and was engaged.  She came to hear the gospel.  Praise God.

God then brought me into the presence of three guys with Christian / Catholic backgrounds.  It was a short, ten minute, conversation where they came to grasp the gospel for the first time.  “Thank you for this”.  “Appreciate it man”.  “God bless, honestly, God bless you - I really appreciate it”.  “Thank you”.  Lord save them!

A guy with a Hindu background who didn’t believe in God, but did believe in “energy” mixed with scientific knowledge.  He ended up asking questions of his own philosophy - so I just said, “how do you explain that without God?”  He just said, “true” - and opened up from there.  He heard the law and the gospel.  He was genuinely impressed - it made sense.  But then he started slipping back to his “energy” thinking again.  I cut him off and brought him back to the gospel.  By the end of the conversation, he seemed to be counting the cost of accepting the gift.  He is in God’s hands.

Sunday was online training outreach.  I was paired with Ryan on the livestream.  Over the last two weeks I’d been practicing the things I had learned when I was paired with him last time.  We had a wonderful two hours of outreach, watching people come to grasp the gospel - even professing faith in Christ!  Glory to God.

One chat that stands out in my mind was one with a young man who started talking about (sinful) stuff you don’t want to hear!  Ryan promptly cut him off and moved the conversation forward.  He came to grasp the gospel, and then said he was trusting Jesus' sacrifice from now on!  He then started asking baby Christian questions!  Like: how do I know how God wants me to behave?  Ryan pointed him to a Bible, and he immediately pulled out his phone and downloaded one, Ryan was able to direct him to the book of John, which he found.

Latter I was connected to a young Muslim who insisted that in “his” religion: x, y, z.  I addressed the fact that there is only one truth, and then marched on with the gospel - he heard about Jesus and then disconnected.  We leave him in God’s hands.

Ryan chatted with a girl with a Christian background who had never grasped the gospel.  The penny dropped - “oh, that’s actually so cool”.  She had someone with her, and Ryan was able to include them in the conversation too, and make sure they understood the gospel.

The whole livestream can be reviewed here.

All glory to God.  Grant us the strength to keep running this marathon in honour of you.
 

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It was a hot day on Thursday and a cold day on Friday but there was lots of gospel ministry both days.

Andy and I meet at Eastgate for the bus stop outreach on Thursday afternoon - our intention was to head to Northlands half way through.  But we never go there.  Everytime I would finish a conversation, I’d look up and see Andy in a deep chat, so I’d start a new conversation.  I had a couple of highlight conversations.

The first I want to mention was a chat that had started with three guys.  One of them had already received a tract from me earlier and they were discussing it as they came past me again.  I was able to stop them and start a conversation (the other two received tracts as well).  But they were all in different places making the conversation difficult.  Andy came to my rescue and engaged two of them (pictured) leaving me to focus on the other guy.

This other guy was very engaged in the conversation, he heard the law and the gospel and then he started asking good questions.  It felt like he was probing for a weakness in the logic of what I was explaining - was he going to resist and attack?  Or was he genuinely interested?  It turns out it was the latter - although he admitted that his sin was hindering him from accepting the gift of Christ - he knew he would change, and he was counting the cost.  We departed ways - he left his two friends who were now in a deep conversation with Andy.

So I moved down and approached two teens waiting for a bus.  They accepted tracts and were open for a conversation.  And it was a wonderful conversation - although a bit odd.  The first girl would get the answers to my questions right but then forget the answers.  The other girl struggled with the questions - but a conviction came over her.  They were smoking a cigarette and she became very aware that it’s something she shouldn’t be doing.  But she came to an understanding of the gospel.  Interestingly she had a desire to start reading her Bible again.

Near the end of the outreach, I fell into a flow with my gospel sharing.  It was like I was mentally standing back and watching the interaction - amazed at how it was unfolding.  Really, all the glory is Gods!

Two guys stopped and engaged - joking around.  But by the end of the conversation the smiles were gone and they were seriously contemplating what was being discussed.  While I was explaining the gospel, I was using checking questions to make sure the message was being grasped - it wasn’t.  One of them kept reverting to “being a good person” as the reason he was going to heaven.  I would patiently roll back and re-explain.  At the end of the conversation, the other guy said, “look, I’m not going to do this now - not for a few years”.  He wanted the gospel, but he wanted his life his way too.  I challenged him multiple ways on how faulty that logic was.

In the morning, before heading to Eastgate I was sharing the gospel online for a few hours.  My last conversation was amazing.  It was with a girl from Brazil.  She thought her good deeds and keeping the commandments would get her to heaven - and so I took her through the law and then the gospel.  She came to grasp the good news.  She started to cry.  And then she said that the reason why she was crying was because she had been praying to God for help the previous evening, and now God was using me to answer that prayer!  What a privilege and honour to be used by God like this!  I encouraged her to stop trusting in her good deeds to get her to heaven, and to instead trust in Jesus alone.  I then encouraged her to become disciplined in her Bible reading.  She was already a part of a conservative evangelical church (Presbyterian).

Friday had a weather forecast for rain, and there was light rain in the morning - so we cancelled the gospel + abortion outreach.  Andy and I spent time in online gospel ministry instead.

But the rain never really materialised.  We ended up heading into the city for open air preaching and one to one gospel chats.

While Andy preached, I did my usual rounds among the construction workers.  I had already talked to many of them, but I encountered one who I hadn’t.  He came to hear the law and the gospel, and he thanked me - he said he had something to think about.

I then approached two more who were happy to engage.  One of them became disinterested and said he had to go back to work.  His friend needed to go too - but he wanted to stay and hear the gospel.  He had a Christian background but had never understood the central message of Christianity.  He thanked me before he too had to head off.

In Cashel Mall, the highlight conversation I had was a walk up.  The guy smiled as I approached.  It almost felt like he wanted me to come to him.  He was very open and followed the logic of the law and the gospel easily.  At the end I asked if he had questions - he did.  One of them was: “where does confession come into it?”  Before I left him, I challenged him to respond to the gospel.

I also had a sad conversation.  I saw a guy I recognised, and I approached him.  Many years ago we had been part of the same local church.  But sadly, he is an apostate.  Gospel ministry today is very discouraging - not seeing fruit -- and setting rotten fruit.  And yet, God is incontrol of the seasons of life.  We can trust his word, and leave the results in his hands.  Lord, help us to be faithful in spite of what we see!
 

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Tuesday.  First up I talked with a very bright young lad who came to understand the gospel.  But then I was transported into the dorm room of a young man half stoned waiting for his next online class and frustrated by the pandemic.  I gently reasoned with him.  He understood and resisted.  Eventually he fell off his chair!  I didn’t know if he was joking or what.  Assuming he could still hear me, I continued to share the hope of the gospel.  After a minute, he sat back up and re-engaged.  I decided to bail from the conversation.  I dropped a link to needGod.net into the chat.  He looked at it and said: “needGod.net”.  I disconnected.  God have mercy.

Two ladies heard the gospel, before I was transported to Morocco to have a gospel conversation with a young muslim who was resistant.  We fell back to text and Google Translate to take us between English and Arabic (pictured).

Next up a very bright young lady who clearly understood the logic and law I explained to her - she couldn’t argue with it.  I shared the gospel, she came to understand why Jesus died on the cross.  She stared at me and disconnected.  She understood it, and rejected it.  Wow.  Then I was transported into a chat with a guy who had a nice sounding keyboard but didn’t want to talk.  I talked, he typed.  He was very intelligent - but it was blinding him.  He loved philosophy, and so was very engaged, but he blocked all attempts for me to explain the gospel.  He eventually bailed on me.

Another kid was open to hear the gospel - praise God.  And then yet another kid was too!  I asked if he had any questions, he said: “no, but thank you”.

Next up was a Mr. Angry.  Actually, I very rarely encounter conversations like this.  He hated religion with a vengeance and he was completely closed to reason.  I bailed quite early.  But then I was connected with a guy from Alabama.  He thought he understood the gospel, but he didn’t.  It was a long and wonderful chat where he came to grasp grace.

On Wednesday I spent an hour online getting conversations started, but no opportunities to share the gospel.  People were resistant (like a Muslim from Palestine) or would bail on me early.

Later I spent a couple hours online with the Aussie team.  My first chat of note was with two young ladies (one of whom did all the talking).  She had seen some of the video’s on TikTok and was excited to be talking to me.  She heard the law and the gospel and said, “Thank you for that message” at the end.  Next a very thoughtful young 14 year old guy followed the logic of what I was saying - something he hadn’t heard before.  After I’d shared the gospel, I asked him if he had any questions.  He thought for a moment and then said, “no, this is one of the more interesting conversations I’ve had with a random stranger.”

Another young muslim was next, this one from Egypt.  Friendly but resistant.  Then a Catholic girl who was trusting her good deeds.  She came to grasp the gospel and seemed deeply impacted.

There were more chats.  Praise God for the wonderful opportunities to share his love.
 

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A busy Sunday afternoon of outreach.  There were lots of Christians out sharing the gospel.  At least four churches were represented.

I turned up slightly early and before I knew it one of my old regulars appeared.  I was grateful I remembered his name.  Sadly he is homeless again.  The last time I talked to him, he was still resistant to the gospel - denying the logic of the reality of God.  And nothing has changed.  At least he was willing to sit down and talk to me.

By this stage, Sophie and her brother had arrived.  It’s so good to have Sophie back after over a year overseas.  Welcome back Sophie! :)

I was just starting to show them the new flip chart when we were interrupted by a man.  He was deeply hurting - he had lost his wife in the Mosque shooting last year!  He was rejecting his religion, not able to comprehend why God would allow such a tragedy.  I did my best to listen to this guy, and express my care and sympathy - he accepted a sideways hug from me.  I did my best with my words, knowing that cold hard logic is not always the best.  I was able to touch on the hope of the gospel, and answer some of his questions about suffering.  He had to move on, but he accepted a tract, with an explanation of how he can get in touch.

By this stage more Christians were turning up - many who were new to street evangelism.  So I did a quick demo of the flip chart.  A crowd draws a crowd, and in the middle of my presentation I had people from the street getting involved!

It wasn’t long before I was into a conversation with four teens.  Christians gathered to watch.  It was a great chat with the teens asking great questions and giving me great opportunities to demonstrate things I’d been explaining in the training earlier.

After this, other Christians took over the running of the flip chart, and I paired up with Sam for some walk up evangelism.  We had quite a few rejections, but managed to have two conversations.  The first was with a guy who was stoned (according to Sam) - that might explain why he didn’t seem to be grasping what I was sharing!  The second was with a guy who was resistant.  I did my best to share the gospel.

On Saturday I was online with the Aussie team.  I live streamed first.  I had a conversation with a group of guys who included works in their explanation of why they would be going to heaven.  So I shared the law and the gospel.  They didn’t disagree - one even seemed impressed with the way I explained it.  Another wanted to chat further.  We were talking about the bad things that can be encountered on the online service we were using - and so I explained the tools I had in place to protect me.  I was shocked to learn, at this point, that he was a youth pastor!  I was grieved.  By this stage, the guy impressed with my gospel explanation had left the view of the camera.  Oh God, convict them - save them!

Later, while no longer live streaming, I had a great conversation with a Jewish boy who was religiously all over the place (post modern, reincarnation).  He was smart and was also impressed with the gospel presentation I gave.  He called me a scholar!  But he was completely unimpacted by the wonder of the gospel.  Just so grieving.

And yet, I had at least two gospel conversations where the person I was talking to did seem deeply impacted. The second guy thanked me - “it was what I needed to hear”.

Glory to God alone.  Lord, thank you for using us, in spite of us.
 

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On Thursday I was online for most of my outreach time.  Andy was at the Eastgate bus stops and then online.

My first conversation of note was with a young lady who’s only reason for going to church meetings was because her parents made her.  She didn’t want to go because it’s boring.  I asked her what she thought she had to do to go to heaven, response: “ask Jesus into your heart”.  So I asked her what that means.  She thought for a moment… she didn’t know.  So I proceeded to share the law and the gospel.  She was intrigued.  At one point she said: “keep preaching”.  At another point, someone came into her room - often an interruption like that can end a conversation, but it didn’t she waited for them to leave, then turned back to our conversation.  People want to talk about this stuff - they really do.  Thanks to God for these opportunities to share his glory!

Another conversation with another young lady - this one from the UK.  She started the conversation by asking if I was her grandpa!  I often get that.  But I simply asked her what she thought happened after life, and she was quickly engaged in gospel conversation.  It was such a joy watching the wonder of understanding shine out of her face when she really started to grasp the good news!  (The picture doesn’t show it as well as the video.)

Lord, I leave these ladies in your hands.

Later in the day I had two separate chats with Christian guys.  The first guy indicated that his faith was dependent on his feelings - I zeroed in on this and explained why that was a bad idea.  Our faith should be in Jesus’ sacrifice as the only reason we are saved - which we learn about in the objective word of God found in the Bible.  He really appreciated the advice, and said he would talk to his pastor.  The second guy just needed clarity in his understanding of the gospel and then encouragement in his battle with sin.  Again, I pointed him to God’s word: the Bible - feed on it daily.

On Friday, it was all quiet on the western front for the gospel + abortion outreach.  We had yet another newbie join us.  I feel like we have weathered a bit of a storm and it’s so wonderful seeing the team start to grow!

Andy did a fantastic job preaching in Cathedral Square before the team moved to Cashel Mall for a couple of hours.

Before I even got out of the Square I fell into a conversation with a couple of guys - one of whom had already been talked to by an evangelist recently.  They were keen to talk, esp. The one who had already been talked to.  It felt like a divine appointment the way the conversation got started.  Anyway, I was able to share the law and the gospel, and then put urgency into my call for them to respond.  They left with tracts.

In Cashel Mall, I had a lovely chat with a lady who’s family is heavily Mormon.  She knew she was a bad person, so I didn’t labour the law for long before moving to the gospel - she seemed very open to it.  She hugged me before she left.

Later I talked to two young guys who it seemed were there just to argue.  I laboured with them, but their arguments were so weak they started saying absurd things - like justifying Stalin’s atrocities.  I ended the conversation.

Andy and I spent some time online with the Aussie team to end the day's outreach.
 

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Tuesday: I was online before heading to Riccarton.

Online: two conversations stand out in my mind.

In the first one, I used the new way of sharing the gospel that Ryan showed me during training Sunday.  It’s more concise and utilises questions throughout that attempts to get the  person to really think through what is being explained.  I was really encouraged to see the penny drop early for this guy!  I’m going to work on memorising this technique and then rebuild my gospel sharing workflow.  I’ll aim to stick to the concise method, and pull in the other tools as I need them.  Constantly wanting to get better at sharing the gospel - but will ever be dependent on God using my feeble efforts to his glory!  I’m so grateful to be around a team of evangelists equipping and encouraging me.

The second conversation was with a young lady from Canada wearing a mask.  She often thinks about what happens after life, and so was quickly engaged in the conversation.  Glory to God, the gospel made sense to her, and then her questions started rolling!  She esp. had questions about the paranormal, demons and angels.  She started following needGod.net on Instagram and was keen to download a Bible onto her phone, start reading, and find a local church.  I leave her in God’s capable hands.

Roger joined me at Riccarton (pictured).

The highlight conversation was with a young man who was trying to do skateboard tricks out of busy car traffic! :O  I was able to strike up a conversation with him.  It turns out he had grown up in a Christian school environment - so I asked him, “what do you understand a Christian has to do to go to heaven?”  His answer: “be good”.  He had tried to meet the standard, but failed (as we all do) so had given up.  Sadly, although friendly, he was very resistant to the good news of the gospel.

Wednesday: I was in the city before joining the Aussie team online.

In the city, I hadn’t even made it to the Square before I saw an old workmate.  He stopped and we ended up having a long chat.  As we talked, a number of my “regulars” would go past.  I managed to interact with some of them and this made an easy bridge to talk to my old workmate about the gospel.  He doesn’t believe in the trinity - so we discussed that for a while, before I decided to steer the conversation towards justification.  He had a different understanding of the word “faith” than I did - and in the end he said he was trusting his faith to get him to heaven!  He had to get back to work, but I was able to point him to the sixty second video clips on the social media accounts of needGod.net as examples of people coming to a proper understanding of faith.

I had a great chat with a couple of teens across the river from Oxford Terrace.  One of them had grown up Atheist, but had been investigating religions including Christianity - he had a reasonably good grasp of the concept of justification by faith alone, but not a complete grasp of what that faith needed to be in, which I was happy to explain.  It was great watching the penny drop.

I had a number of chats in Cashel Mall and before I knew it, my time was up!

I headed home to go online.  I was first up to live stream.  I had a string of difficult conversations - but that is okay!

Thank you for your prayer and support of the Christchurch (NZ) team! :)
 

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During the weekend, apart from an hour of letterboxing Christmas tracts, I was online.

In the morning on Saturday, the highlight conversation was with a lady from Colorado who labeled herself neo pagan.  She really liked to talk, and was telling me about all the things she believed.  I would gently interrupt her to ask her how she knows these things to be true and then I’d listen to her avoid answering the question.  But I didn’t let her off the hook, I just kept coming back to it.  I explained how we know that God exists, and then moved into the law.  She didn’t like the direction it was going and doubled down.  The last statement she said was: “I will not submit to your God - ever”.  May the conversation provoke her, and may she have further opportunities to wrestle with the truth - God have mercy on her soul.

Later in the afternoon, I joined the Aussie team for a couple of hours.

First up I was talking to a sharp thinker - even while drunk!  He was deeply resistant.  He allowed me to explain how we know God exists and then the law but wouldn’t let me get any further.  He bailed on me.

I then had a long chat with Muslim from the States.  He came to understand the gospel, but he politely rejected it - even though he couldn’t explain how God can be merciful in such a way that it doesn’t compromise justice.

Next up was a chat with a Christian guy who seemed to really appreciate the way the gospel was presented.  We focused our discussion on the motivation for doing good works - gratitude, not salvation.  And why we would want to discipline ourselves.

The last conversation I have a record of was one with a lovely lady.  She came to grasp the gospel and really appreciated it.  She had initially been hung up on the issue of homosexuality - so I was able to address this with her.

The picture is a collage of snapshots from each of those conversations.  Welcome to my world of talking to person after precious person about the gospel.  Praise God for the opportunity to do that.  Thank you to all those supporting this gospel effort!

On Sunday afternoon I decided to join up with the Aussie team for the training outreach.  It was great to be paired up with Ryan where I received much encouragement and sharpening - thanks Ryan!  It was a bit of a blur, but I remember the conversation with two Catholic girls the most.  They went from thinking that “going to church and doing your best” would get you to heaven, to understanding that only Jesus’ death on the cross would get you to heaven.  One of them asked me if I was Jesus!  It’s time for a shave!
 

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Thursday was wall day for me.  I didn’t know how I was going to face yet another conversation.  To get myself rolling, I decided to go online and start with text chats.  Matt & Hope joined me online soon after and I was able to get some encouragement from Matt (thanks brother).  I also listened to Hope sharing the gospel (with Matt training) - so encouraging listening to her!  She got into a conversation with a hard line Catholic and Matt decided to take over the conversation.

It was an absolute joy to watch Matt going to the word of God to reason with this Catholic over the subject of justification.  Ironically the Catholic contradicted his intellectual argument (works are required for justification) with the filthy language he was using!

I soon disengaged and got back to my own gospel conversations, I was rolling now!  I had a long conversation (thirty minutes) with a guy from India who just couldn’t grasp the wonder of the gospel of grace.  I persisted in labouring as long as I could.  It was very discouraging.  May he have more opportunities to engage with the gospel - may the Spirit cut through the hard soil!

I then joined Andy at the Eastgate bus stops.  I was a walking zombie, he was a kid in a candy shop, having gospel conversation after gospel conversation!  So awesome to watch and listen to his encouraging updates between conversations.

I managed to have some good conversations.  The one that really sticks in my mind was a long chat with a guy drinking beer.  He used to be a “Christian”, but had “given up”.  He had never understood the gospel.  A laboured with him.  By the end of the conversation, he was asking me what church I went to - I gladly gave him a contact card, along with a tract and an encouragement to pick up his Bible again.

Andy & I decided not to go to Northlands, instead we would finish the day online - it would give Andy another opportunity to get used to the new tools he has for online evangelism.

The afternoon online was hard work.  Another chat with a guy inoculated by false Christainty - I had to labour to get him to understand the gospel.  Then a young girl who had grown up in “Christanity” who when heard Matthew 5:21-22 her eyes went wide.  She came to grasp the gospel quite quickly, but seemed completely disinterested.  It grieved me.  I then had a twenty minute chat with an intellectual who became very frustrated and was very resistant.  His standard was himself.  He was the judge of the universe.

Friday started with the gospel + abortion outreach outside the hospital.  A lot of the regulars were away, but we had three newbies join us for a team of seven.  In God’s grace we had a quiet outreach.  I had one conversation with a young man who didn’t seem too well mentally.  He was racist.  I was able to touch on the law and the gospel with him before he walked off.

Lots of Christians, and not many hecklers in Cathedral Square.  Marty preached really well.

Later I preached as well and I attracted an Oriental Orthodox Christian heckler - who denies justification by faith alone.  I enjoyed engaging him in the public square.  Later I was able to sit down with him and try to reason - but he just wasn’t open.

To finish the day, I spent three hours online.

I had an encouraging chat with a guy from Florida, he seemed to come under some conviction and seemed to deeply consider the gospel, which I had reminded him of.  After this, I had a string of really good gospel conversations - praise God.

The highlight was with a nine year old boy.  When I first saw him, I felt really sad that he was “online”.  He was text responding only, and I was amazed at how fast a typer he was.  He seemed to be very smart - it turns out he has autism.  He believed in God, and he through his good deeds would get him to heaven.  So I started taking him through the law.  He burst into tears!  Such a sensitive conscience is very rare!  He really felt his sin.  So I quickly shared the balm of the gospel.  It was a wonderful conversation where he slowly came to grasp the gospel (he kept reverting back to “good deeds” initially).  I pointed him to needGod.net and the Bible.  And he agreed he wouldn’t go “online” anymore.  I asked him to talk to his aunty (who looked after him) about the conversation we had had.  Oh Lord, save this young man for your glory.
 

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