Battle Log

It’s been a while since I’ve written a report.  I didn’t write any while I was in the Philippines, as Bekk was doing video summaries of our outreach there.

I’ve been home for a week now.  Still struggling a little with a bit of jet lag.  I was back into outreach on Tuesday, but I didn’t do my first street outreach until Friday (in the city).  I ran some evangelism training on Saturday morning.  And I was back in the city for outreach on Sunday afternoon.

Before I report on these outreaches, I just want to mention a surprising encouragement. In this report the first gospel conversation I described was with a Muslim lady and her daughter.  When I have chats with people who seem very engaged or who respond positively, I hand out a contact card for my church and write my name, #, and email address so they can follow up if they want to - and I did that with this lady.  Sadly, from time to time, I might find these contact cards discarded, and rain stained.  But, on Friday, I received a phone call from her!  (Almost 1 month later.)  I didn’t initially remember her, but as we got talking I was able to remember the conversation.  I was able to check her gospel understanding, and then ask how I could help further.  I guess I was caught a bit flat footed, because I don’t usually get follow up calls, but I’m more prepared now.  I might follow up with her later next week.

So, it was good to see Roger again on Friday for outreach.  The OAC boys were out as well.  Steve even preached open air.  I was fairly busy in conversations, I’m just struggling to remember any of the details (I blame the jet lag!).  The conversation that stands out in my mind is the last one.  I had a man and his daughter stop.  He was curious about what I was handing out (gospel tracts), and so that led straight into a conversation about deeper things.  He seemed agnostic, but he involved his daughter in the conversation show said, “I think about what happens after we die all the time”, and then listed the various things she thought might happen (the common answers: heaven / hell, nothing, reincarnation - actually he brought that one up).  Yet, unlike her Dad, she did believe in God.  I could sense that they wouldn’t be staying around for a long chat, and so I was able to share a brief law / gospel summary, and they left with a tract.  What struck me most about the conversation was that they felt safe to approach me and talk to me.  The word ‘evangelist’ often provokes thoughts of the stereotype of a mean guy holding a bull horn screaming at people about hell.  No, I’m just a normal, logical, friendly person (I hope) with an amazing message, not only of hell (justice), but hope of eternal life (mercy).

Saturday’s training went well (as far as I could tell).  I had 9 people attend.  6 of them from my church.  We covered the biblical basis for the evangelism method I was going to teach, how to deal with 2 difficult subjects: 1) evil and suffering & 2) sexuality, general tips for street evangelism and evangelism in our everyday lives, and then finally the nitty gritty of the evangelism method.  It was raining, and no one was able to join Andy or I for the optional street outreach afterwards.  And so I joined the online training outreach on Saturday afternoon instead.

Sunday’s outreach provided nice weather.  Mike, Susan, and Binu joined me.  It was so nice seeing the new green leaves on the trees down Cashel Mall.  The outreach started out a bit slow, but then got very busy.  The stand out conversation was with two young ladies.  They were attracted by the flip chart I had up.  One had been in a cult, and the other was an atheist.  Sadly, I didn’t get to share the gospel, because even though they professed to be ‘open’, they really weren’t.  I don’t mean that in a bad way, because they were lovely to talk to, but whenever I would make progress on sharing the simplicity of the message, they would deflect in various ways.  So even though we focused on ‘how we know God is real’, and ‘how we know what is right and wrong’, much progress was made in those areas.  We talked about homosexuality a bit.  And the atheist trusted me enough to open up about some very hurtful things that had been said to her in regards to this.  It brought tears to her eyes as she explained (but she was quick to suppress them.)  And yet, she said to me, without me even prompting: “you think homosexuality is wrong, and yet you don’t hate homosexuals”.  She was right.  This led into a discussion about justice and mercy and eventually to the issue of why God allows evil and suffering.  It was a great chat.  I hope it paves the way for some other Christian to be able to clearly communicate the gospel.  Or even, it would be great to see them again myself!

Thanks for praying for us, without God, our feeble efforts are in vain.
 

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A warm, sunny spring day in Christchurch today (Sunday) - although it was windy, so didn’t bring the flip chart.  My daughter, Julia, was with me, and Susan joined as a bit later.

Julia’s getting practice for the upcoming evangelism trip to the Philippines.  And she did a fantastic job.  Before Susan arrived, she did walk up with me.

Our first chat was with 4 Filipino girls!  It was a short chat, but Julia got some practice in, they heard the law and the gospel, and they all received tracts.

Next up we encountered a deep thinking young man who was rejecting religion based on grounds of logic.  I fielded most of this chat, although Julia handled the main points (building builder, law, gospel).  It was a good chat where we were able to reason with him based on logic as to why religion (specifically Christianity) is true.  It was a great chat, he certainly had a lot to think about, and left with a tract.

Next up were 4 young men from the local Catholic High School.  It was a good chat in that it was fairly standard script wise.  When we got to the ‘false ways to heaven’, they naturally went to “reconciliation” which they defined as “asking for forgiveness”, and then “do more good than bad”.  Julia was able to address both of those with analogies explaining why they won’t work, and then we shared the gospel.

We took a few moments to discuss ways of sharing the gospel, and it was at this point that Susan joined us.  I noticed a couple of girls doing a survey, and suspected they were from the World Mission Society Church of God.  I was right.  I asked if I could do the survey, and they came over and let me.  It led to a good conversation, where they told me that we must ‘obey’ to get to heaven, esp. Keeping the Sabbath (Saturday) and passover.  I was able to show them how it’s impossible for us to obey, and then the truth about Jesus.  It was encouraging seeing how challenged they were.  Not surprisingly, they didn’t take tracts when I gave them back the survey clipboard (I’d only made it through the first few questions).

But at this point, and now that Susan was here, it was time for Julia to get some practice without me.  She was keen!  And so she paired up with Susan for the last half hour.  They managed to get into 2 conversations (pictured).  Well done!  The more we practise, the better we get!

I handed out tracts, and managed to get into another short conversation at the end of the outreach.

Yesterday (Saturday) I decided to work online in the morning to try to keep on top of the TikTok messages.  My wife, youngest daughter, and myself were also able to attend the local ‘March for Life’ in the afternoon.  It went really well.  It was good to hear the gospel preached!

Friday was also windy, but I brought the flip chart anyway, as I’m testing out Mike’s new stand.

We had a team of 5: Roger, Dom, Mark, Andy and myself.  Roger found a sheltered spot for his flip chart, Andy paired up with Mark, and Dom paired with me.

We used the flip chart for an initial chat with a couple.  He was barely engaged, but as we made progress she became more engaged.  She ended up asking about a church, and so I gave her a contact card for mine.

That chat led straight into another chat, but the flip chart had to be packed away - just too windy, even with Mike’s sturdy stand!  That gave Dom an opportunity to lead the chat while I did the pack up.  They guy was pretty resistant, even though he was friendly.  We did our best, and were able to share the law and the gospel.

We then headed down Cashel to find people to talk to.  We had a long chat with a young couple, and that went well.  And then a short chat with a young man who took my mobile # (he hasn’t messaged yet).

Dom had to leave at this point.  I had 2 more chats, but I was so tired, I wasn’t really able to engage well.  But who knows, God can still use those conversations for his glory!

Now, Tuesday’s outreach was amazing.  Roger and I in our usual spots.  I remember being busy for the whole outreach.  The 2nd to last conversation was memorable, because it was with 2 young ladies who denied God was real, for emotional reasons: evil and suffering.  I was able to reason with them: 1) empathy, 2) God doesn’t do evil, people do.  I decided not to go to the 3rd point: why God allows evil in the first place - I didn’t think it would help.  But I hoped they saw my love and concern, which is a reflection of God’s greater love and concern for them.  The first girl stuck to her guns, but the other girl seemed to be listening.  Sadly they didn’t stay to hear the gospel, and refused tracts.

By this stage I was noticing an older guy in a suit down the road, but not far from me.  He was making phone calls while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.  I assumed he must be rich!  I only had 5 tracts left and made a comment across the road to Roger about needing to hand them out before we finish up.  Well, I turned and noticed this guy, he was looking at me.  So I offered him one.  He was keen!  We only had a short chat, but in that time he really opened up about trials in his life.  I felt honoured that he felt safe enough with me to do that.  He had a Catholic background.  I was able to touch on the law and the gospel with him, and he shook my hand firmly as he moved on with his tract.  I felt elated for some reason.  I’ve got the best job in the world, being able to minister the truth about God and the hope of eternal life.  All glory to him!

Please keep the team of 10 flying to the Philippines from Australia, NZ and the USA 20th till 30th of September to partner with Rock of Refuge Church (and other churches) in Manila for evangelism.  I hope to write a few reports about it here.  Thank you!
 

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Another wonderful week of gospel outreach.  I’ve just got back from Sunday afternoon’s street outreach in the city.  So I’ll start from there and work back in time.

So, today’s outreach was busy.  And we had a small evangelism revival with a team of 5 out!  Andy, Mike, Susan, Binu and myself.  So I praise God for that to start with.

So yeah, many chats are tough.  Most people ignore you.  Or if they engage, they are resistant in various ways.  But when you are prayerful, patient, polite and persistent (hey, Jason, look I got 4 P’s!) then you will get into amazing gospel chats.  (Jason is one of my pastors - hey, pastor starts with P too!  Haha).

And so, my last chat of the week was one of those.  Binu had handed a tract to a Muslim lady, and her daughter (they were wearing head coverings and she later confirmed that she was a Muslim).  When they came past me, I said, “Hey, that comes with a question if you have a moment”.  To my surprise she came over and was keen to chat (Susan was with me).  And so, I started by finding out where she was at.  She thought there was a heaven, but no hell.  And so, going from there, I was able to gently work them through how we know there must be hell, the bad news of the law, and then into the good news.  I was expecting her to buck when I explained about Jesus - but she didn’t, she was very interested.  At this point, Susan pulled out a gospel of John with the fireball pictures on the cover.  We used that to go over the gospel again.  We offered it to her to keep, and she said she would read it.  It was an amazing chat!  We exchanged names, and found out about where they came from.  I could tell she had many questions, but now wasn’t a time to start addressing them.  But I invited them to my church (I gave them a contact card with my details), and I explained that she would be welcome to listen and ask as many questions as she liked.  As they left, I turned to Susan, and we prayed for them.  I felt so honoured to be able to share the wonderful news of Jesus with them.  God is so good!

I had two other great chats.  Both of them were with groups of teenage girls.  Sadly I was reminded that it was spring (it was a lovely warm day), because these girls were really not dressed appropriately.  As I spoke to them, I had to keep my head up and my eyes fixed on their faces.

One of the girls was an atheist, “because my Dad died”.  It turns out he died in the Canterbury earthquakes, in a building that collapsed next door to the building I was in!  I was able to identify with her in that I’ve lost my Dad too.  And so going from there, the conversation was able to progress.  She was suspicious of me, and asked if I was paid to do what I do - which I am.  And so I was able to honestly address that.  Slowly she started to open up, I guess she could understand that my motives were right or something?  She came to understand that just because there is evil and suffering, that it still makes sense that God is real.  And then I was able to explain why we can have hope for eternal life.  She also accepted a gospel of John, as did one of her friends.  As they left, I prayed for them also.

The other chat was with 2 girls holding hands.  So I wondered, and yet that issue never came up.  It was a fairly textbook gospel chat.  They came to understand the gospel after a couple of checks.  At one point there was some gentle resistance, but it went away as I continued to work through check questions.

On Saturday, although the weather was good, I decided not to go to Riccarton for my usual street outreach, as I wanted to catch up on the TikTok direct messages.  I had a great chat with someone who would grasp the gospel, but kept slipping back to ‘works’ as I went through the checks, because “It’s too good to be true”.  I had to slow down to labour with them.  I ended up by getting them to read Romans 3, 4 & 5.  I’m looking forward to continuing that conversation.

On Friday, we were in the city as usual.  Roger, Andy, and myself.  I had a great chat with 2 guys, one of whom was French.  But the main speaker was a Kiwi.  He was resistant, and so I spent a fair amount of time talking about ‘who is God’.  I could see that he was following along with the reasoning.  And I didn’t give him an inch - it would only reinforce his suppression of what he knows about the God that he knows exists.  It was interesting watching his French friend, who I could tell was seeing clearly what I was saying.  They both heard the law and the gospel, and checks.  It was great seeing the Kiwi grasp the gospel when he said, “but then someone could then just go out and sleep with prostitutes”.  And so I was able to follow up with the fireman analogy and why the gospel actually has the opposite effect.  I pleaded with them to repent.  They are in God’s hands.

I also had a great chat with a young man who had atheist parents, and yet went to a local Christian school - actually, the same school where my local church meets.  I can’t remember the details of that chat (it was fairly standard), but at one point I remember him exclaiming (positively) as the meaning started to sink in.  Great chat.

On Tuesday, Julia (my daughter) and Roger were with me in Riccarton.  Before Julia and I had even finished setting up the flip chart, we were into a great chat with 3 people.  And it was really busy for the next 1.5 hours.  But it was cold, and so the last half hour was slow.

Julia had a great opportunity to share the gospel with a couple of girls (pictured).

Ah, I love my job!  I would gladly do this for free.  The gospel blows me away, firstly that I’m saved from hell, and 2ndly the privilege I have to see the power of the gospel in action with those I talk to.

Oh, I just remembered another great chat I had with 2 guys today.  They both made professions of faith.  One of them in particular, looked at me and thanked me, as he grasped the simplicity of the amazing message I was sharing.

All glory to God alone.  Oh, how I want Jesus to return today, and yet how I am so glad for God’s patience and the privilege in being able to proclaim his mercy! Long may it continue.

Join me!  Join me!  It’s so good!
 

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What a wonderful week.  There is limitless gospel opportunity on the streets of Christchurch.  And if you live in a city, I’m sure it’s the same for you!  Can I encourage you to join me, or, if you don’t live in Christchurch, start a street outreach where you are.  Just pick a street corner that has a flow of people.  It doesn’t have to be super busy.  Smile, and ask people as they go past: “Hey, I’ve got a question for you, it’s a deep one.  What do you think happens after you die?”.  Sure, it’s direct, and some people might be a bit shocked.  If they don’t want to talk about it.  All good, just wish them a good day and let them move on.  But, you’ll be amazed at how many people actually do want to talk about this important question.  Here is how my week went.

So, all four usual street outreaches went ahead.  Julia (my daughter) and Roger were with me in Riccarton on Tuesday afternoon.  Andy, Dom, and a newbie Mark joined me on Friday in the city.  I was in Riccarton again on Saturday lunchtime.  And finally, I’ve just come from the city where Susan joined me.

I’ll start with Tuesday.  Julia is going to join me on an evangelism trip to the Philippines in a couple of weeks, and to get back up to speed she joined me for this outreach.  We got there early, and the outreach was so busy we ended up leaving late!  At the end, I was packing away the flip chart, when yet another person wanted to engage, and so I put the flip chart back up again!  It was worth it.

After the outreach, Roger sent me this comment: “Was so good today.  So much fun it should be illegal!”.  That’s right, evangelism is fun!  We can’t let Christians have fun now, can we?  NOT!  Let’s get out there and enjoy sharing the wonderful good news of the gospel!

Anyway, Julia was paired up with me, and I ended up needing to control the conversations, and I didn’t want to drop her in the deep end, so I fielded the first few chats.  But eventually Julia got into her own chat (pictured).  She was doing well, but ended up pulling me in.  The guy had atheistic parents, but there was a hunger in his eyes for truth.  The building / builder analogy made sense to him, and opened him up to hear the law and the gospel.  He made a profession of faith, and so I gave him a gospel of John, which he gladly received, and a contact card for my church with my contact details on it.  Sadly, he didn’t get in touch, and yet seeds have been sown!

Friday was hot!  The first day of spring, and there was enough intensity in the sun that I didn’t need my jacket or jersey on, and I even applied sunscreen!  Andy was paired with Mark initially, and then he was paired with Dom later.  I ran a flipchart.

The stand out conversation of the day was with a couple of Chinese girls.  One had okay English, the other not as good.  But they both became engaged.  So much so that the one started translating for the other.  Eventually they pulled out phones and started using Google Translate.  I did the same.  The first question was: ‘there must be aliens’ (or something like that).  I responded with: ‘where did the aliens come from?’  Answer: ‘planets’.  Question: ‘where did the planets come from’?  Answer: ‘big bang’.  Question: ‘where did the materials for the big bang come from?’  And that made them pause, it made sense, there must be a universe maker.  I then transitioned to take them through a few simple law questions.  And at this point we moved back to speaking instead of Google Translate.  They agreed they would be guilty, and so at this point I pulled out my gospel of John with the fireball pictures front and back.  Using these pictures, and a couple of easy questions, I was able to communicate the gospel.  Suddenly one of the girls had a visible penny drop moment.  She said, “Ahh”, as the message hit home.  And do you know what her response was?  “I live in Auckland, is there a group I can join?”  I was amazed, she was articulating a desire to join the church!  I got her to message needgod.net7 on Instagram “Church in Auckland”.  And then on Saturday morning I was able to respond by pointing her to a church in Auckland that’s close to her (central Auckland).  Attached is a picture showing her response.

I will continue the conversation with her via Instagram DM, re-checking her gospel understanding and working through the checks.  But I really hope she reaches out to the church!  Evangelism apart from the church makes no sense.  You 2 things go together (the church reaches out to make disciples).

What a joy!  It’s so much fun getting to bring the message of life!

I had a number of other chats: including with another couple of Chinese girls - these were tourists.

Saturday’s outreach was good, again good weather.  I had a young man remember me from the recent Malvern A&P Show outreach.  I was able to have a follow up gospel conversation with him.  And that reminds me, one of the chats on Tuesday was with William.  I first talked to him at the Ellesmere A&P Show.  It’s so good being able to follow up with people!

Saturday’s outreach ended up finishing with a discussion with a Christian couple.  I was able to encourage them in regards to assurance.  It’s possible there wasn’t 100% clarity on the gospel, and so I was able to share it, and many check questions by talking in the third person.  I encouraged them to join the evangelism training I’ll be running in October.

Sunday was cold, and yet there was no lack of gospel opportunity.  Once Susan joined me, we did some walk up.  One conversation in particular was very special.  I noticed a lady sitting eating a pie.  She obviously worked in the city and was on a break.  For that reason I didn’t think she’d want to talk.  But it doesn’t hurt to ask.  Well, to my surprise she did want to talk.  She completely forgot her pie (looked like she had only had one bite so far) as she became engrossed in the conversation.  Her question was around the issue of ‘evil and suffering’.  I could tell the question wasn’t intellectual, and so I didn’t give an intellectual answer.  Instead, I let her talk as she processed some hard things in her life.  By God’s grace, I was able to communicate the law and the gospel (that there will be justice for evil, and yet a sure hope of mercy).  She asked for a pamphlet, and so I could tell the conversation held a lot of meaning for her (she opened up about some difficult stuff).  I even gave her a church contact card, with my contact details.  I’m hopeful that she will get in touch, and even if she doesn’t, some powerful seeds were planted.  Pray that it has found good soil!  She had to go back to work.  But after she left, Susan and I prayed for her.  I was so touched by that chat.  What an honour!  What an honour to be able to minister hope to her and others.  I’m in awe of our great God that involves us in what he is doing!  Join me.  The harvest field is limitless.

I’m totally out of time.  But the only work is amazing as ever.  We have up to 1800 unread messages on Instagram.  And we have well over half a million followers on TikTok.  We are hearing wonderful testimonies of what God is doing through the power of the gospel.  All glory to God.  May we stay humble and dependant on him, open to correction, and faithful to continue the ministry.  Please pray for us!
 

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An interesting week!  My first trip away of the season.  I headed to Wellington to attend an OAC conference.  It was really good, well worth the time - I think.  Although I was dreading going.  I hate routine change.  And, being the first trip of the season, it was a reminder of how quickly time is passing.  I really enjoy the routine of winter outreach!

Believe it or not, they let me run a workshop at the conference (the theme was ‘worldview’).  My brief was to talk about the innocence / guilt worldview.  Now, I’m not sure how well I did in running a workshop, because what I ended up doing was just preaching!  (Sorry about that!)  I’m so passionate about this, that I couldn’t stop myself.  But I learned how to run workshops by watching Jeremy do his thing (great stuff).  One of my goals was to communicate the importance of checking questions in gospel chats.  And I think I succeeded in that goal, as attendees talked about how they applied that in their chats during the street outreach that occurred later in the week.

It was awesome being able to spend time with like minded people, get to know them better, and compare notes.

The street outreach (on Thursday) was amazing.  We gathered at various spots on Cuba Street in Wellington.  One group had a Noah’s Ark display up.  There were two tables running doing surveys (for chocolate bars) and using that as a launching board for gospel conversations.  There were sketch board open airs happening - one which was accompanied by musicians.

I had a couple of guys who were keen to pair up with me for walk up conversations to glean new techniques - esp. in regards to checking questions.  I was happy to oblige.  My, the people on Cuba Street were certainly diverse.  From all walks of life!  I had a fantastic time in the 2 hours we were there.  Made me think about moving to Wellington! ;)

I got a rejection initially, but I just moved on, and managed to get into a great chat with a young man who worked in one of the stores (he was on a break).  Most of the discussion was centred on discussing, “who is God?” - but I was able to go through the law and touch on the gospel.  He had to go back to work before I could get into check questions.

So, I tried again, and got into a wonderful chat with a young man.  He seemed impacted by the simplicity of the gospel, and this time I was able to work through all the check questions.  He ended up taking a gospel of John - he loved the graphics on the cover.

We moved up to the intersection and I had a number of great chats there.  A young couple came to understand the gospel (again, check questions were deployed).  And then I approached an Asian couple.  They were moving from Christchurch to Auckland, and happened to bump into me in Wellington.  The main speaker was from China, but had moved to NZ because it was more accepting of LGBT (they were gay).  I ignored that, and just took her through my standard questions.  It was interesting, because it was like she had never considered the logic I was giving her before.  She was genuinely stunned (jaw dropping) as she had to admit what I was saying made sense.  I had just moved to the law, asking if she had ever lied, when a passer by who heard the question came and interrupted.  He was a philosopher and wanted to engage.  Sadly, it killed the conversation I was having.  I left the interrupter with the Christian I was paired with, and went to quickly finish the chat with the Chinese couple (go through the law, explain about Jesus, and offer tracts, which were accepted).

I then went back to the Interrupter.  He tried to use his philosophical magic, but I wouldn’t let him, I would answer what he was saying, and then go back to what is important: the gospel!  It ended up being a great chat, even if he was rejecting the gospel.

I had a number of other chats.  So many people, so much opportunity.  My brain was buzzing by the end of the outreach.  God is so good to involve us in his mission in this world, to bring glory to himself through his justice and his mercy!  His patience is amazing.

The conference finished on Friday and I hopped on a train back to Wellington.  I made it to the city by lunch time, and was able to join Craig for 30 minutes of outreach on the waterfront.  So many fish!  We handed out tracts, and we both got into conversations (pictured).  I actually had time to have two chats.  The first is pictured, and then another one.  They both went well in the fact that the people were happy to talk and came to hear the gospel.

At the airport, I was able to spend some time in online outreach before catching a plane back home to Christchurch.

On Saturday I also worked online. I had a great chat with a young lady from the UK, who grew up in Moldova.  When I was taking her through the law, she defended her goodness quite strongly, and I expected her to quit the conversation.  But she didn’t, and we ended up talking for over 45 minutes.  By the end of the chat, she was understanding the gospel, and she had made a profession of faith.  I pointed her to her Bible and a good local church in her area (and not an Orthodox one that she had grown up with).

On Sunday afternoon I went to the streets after church gathering.  It was really cold!  But I had my puffer jacket and Beanie on.  In 1 hour and 15 minutes I had 3 wonderful gospel conversations, in spite of the cold.  The first was with a young couple, who came to grasp the gospel, but not willing to commit at this stage.  The 2nd was a fantastic chat with a young man who has recently moved down from Nelson.  He had a Christian background, but was sadly articulating works for salvation.  He is looking for a church, and so I encouraged him to consider the church I’m a part of.  He left with a tract and a contact card, I really hope to see him again.  Finally, I had a follow up chat.  The kid had not remembered the gospel from our first chat, but I could see why: he is not interested, because he loves his sin.  I was able to show him this, and then plead with him again on the gospel.  He accepted tracts.  I hope to see him again, God willing.

Looking forward to a standard week of outreach next week!  Just over 3 weeks and I’ll be heading to the Philippines again.  I can’t believe it.  Time is going so fast!  Next thing you’ll know, we will be in eternity.  Giving account for our talents, and enjoying God forever.  Are you ready?
 

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In the picture, the guy Andy was talking to was in church this morning.  He has just moved to Christchurch from the North Island.  Friday was his first day in Christchurch, and he bumps into Andy.  Turns out he is staying in the same suburb as Andy.  And, he first heard the gospel through a street evangelist where he used to live up north.  No coincidences.  How encouraging is that!

Roger was with me in Riccarton on Tuesday.  Roger, John and Andy and I were at the Bridge of Remembrance on Friday.  Susan joined me on a nice spring Sunday afternoon in Cashel Mall.

Let me go back to Tuesday.  Ya know, the previous Tuesday’s outreach was so good, that’s all I can remember at the moment.  Hold on, it’s slowly coming back to me.  I remember the last chat was with a young couple, the guy was giving really good answers to my questions - he knew the gospel already.  That’s right!  The guy before him heard the gospel but wasn’t interested.  But the guy before that, heard the gospel and seemed to be deeply impacted.  Those three chats rolled one into the other.  I remember that I was starting to lose my voice a bit after the second one.  I had to pull my drink bottle out and cool my throat.  I was tired as I saw the young couple coming past, so I half heartedly said, “would you like to try the good person test?” and pointed to my flip chart.  To my surprise, they said, “yeah, why not”.  There is just no lack of gospel opportunity.  Who knows what will be the result.  Maybe the one who wasn’t interested will come to Christ, after all the gospel is the power of God for salvation.  Our job is to plough, sow, and water.  God will bring the increase.  All glory to him!

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I had a series of 4 stellar gospel conversations online.  The last of those 3 the people I was talking to even made professions of faith.  The first was from Northern Ireland (he was persuaded but said he needed time to process), second from Brazil, third from Cyprus (a couple of girls, one Catholic, and one Jewish), and finally with a young man from the Netherlands.

The street work on Friday was great, nice weather.  I’ve already mentioned Andy’s encouragement at the start.  I had a number of conversations: 1) A hyper charismatic (religiously) who got offended when I challenged them on the basis of their salvation.  They talked about miracles and the Holy Spirit, defended their righteousness, and no mention of Jesus - till the end.  2) A young man down from Wellington, happy to chat and hear the gospel, no visible interest.  3) I got to talk with my trans friend again.  He had blue lipstick this time.  He wasn’t offended when I reiterated that homosexuality is a sin, and I was able to continue labouring the good news.  He also asked me how I dealt with hatred and opposition.  4) A barber on a break.  He didn’t like Christianity because he falsely connected it to colonial oppression (he had a Samoan background).  I worked to make him realise the universal truth of oppression (sin), but didn’t have time to get to the gospel (one of those chats where you really have to labour).  Although, he rejected a tract at the start of the chat, and yet he was willing to take one as he left to go back to work.

I also had encouragement.  I got to talk to someone I knew from a church I was a part of years ago, down in Timaru.  (He was out talking with the homeless.)  He was showing me the Bibles he gives away when I noticed he had a single gospel tract (pictured).  It was one that our team had shared years ago!  I could tell, because the website address had been manually stamped by my family!  It encouraged me, because people do keep them.  They are silent missionaries.  Our labour is not in vain.

I had a great online chat on Saturday afternoon. The young lady started out as an atheist.  But it was emotional rather than intellectual, because as we started dealing with the truth her Christian background started to reveal itself.  She ended up reading me scriptures and talking about her church.  And yet, she didn’t understand the gospel.  By the end of the 30 minute chat, I think the truth of the gospel was starting to become clear.  It was a bit of a messy chat (non standard), but it was a good one.  God save her!

Sunday’s weather was amazing!  I’m going to have to start using sunscreen again.  The outreach was good, but difficult and discouraging.  It started out with a chat with a man who knew a lot about the Bible, but refuses to be part of a church.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt to start with, but as the conversation progressed, it became clearer and clearer that he was subtly trusting in works for his justification (it was difficult because I had to decipher all the words he used – the same words I use, but he had different meanings).  I ended up having to confront him in his error out of love.  To my surprise he called me a calvinist, a ‘neo calvinist’ whatever that is.  I was so surprised, because I wasn’t preaching Calvinism but the gospel.  He even quoted John Piper positively, does he realise John Piper is a calvinist?  For some reason I found this really discouraging - not sure why.  I left him at that point.  He talked with Susan for a bit while I went to distribute tracts to others.

Susan and I then paired for walk up chats.  I got into a chat with 5 young people.  A hard one, they were all in different places, and one of them kept taking control of the conversation and leading it on weird tangents.  I was amazed they stayed for as long as they did.  But I was able to share the gospel twice.

Had some other chats.  Another week of God’s patience is complete.  Thank you for keeping us in prayer.
 

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What an amazing week!  I hope this report will accurately capture how I’m feeling.  I took the week before off, I simply rested, so I feel like a million bucks as a result.  Physically, mentally, and emotionally refreshed.

Roger was with me on Tuesday in Riccarton.  Andy, Dominic, Roger and myself on Friday in the city.  I was in Riccarton on Saturday.  Susan and Mike joined me in the city on Sunday.

On Tuesday, I set up my flip chart on the corner of Riccarton and Rotherham and prayed.  I handed out a few tracts, when a young man with green hair approached.  It turns out he had seen my flip chart while on a bus going past.  He decided to get off the bus to come down and see what it was about!  We fell into a good conversation when another young man went past, and stopped, curious as to what was going on.

Now, these situations can be difficult, you don’t want to lose a chat that is going well, but at the same time, you don’t want to lose the other person either!  Amazingly, I was able to integrate the new person into the conversation and share the gospel with both.  God is good!

There was an openness about the first guy.  It turns out he had already been impacted by Nic Blackie’s gospel ministry at Cashmere High School.  So encouraging!  (Keep up the good work Nic!)  He ended up having to leave, and I was left with the 2nd guy.

The 2nd guy had a Christian background but had rejected it.  Yet, he was very willing to engage in the conversation and seemed impacted by the information he was learning.  (He articulated works for salvation as his understanding of Christianity.)  After a long time, he felt comfortable about opening up about his depression, and his struggle with sexual sin.  We spared for a bit over the issue of homosexuality (I was making it clear it’s sinful).  He ended up saying that he supports the LGBTQ community against hatred.  I told him I 100% agree!  I love those in the LGBTQ community.  And I love them enough to tell them the truth.  I get to talk to many people in that community.  By the end of the chat, we parted on very good terms.  Even though we disagreed, I could tell he respected me.  And he was now understanding the gospel.  I pleaded with him to repent.

I don’t know if my words have expressed it, but that was a very significant chat for me.  I was so encouraged.

On Friday, I also had a very long conversation, over an hour.  We started out at the bridge of remembrance.  Andy was into a chat, and Roger had his flip chart up.  So I decided to wander.  I was feeling nervous, because approaching people to talk about religion is hard!

I ended up bumping into some kids, 2 of them stopped to talk.  It turns out I had talked to one of them before, but he couldn’t remember the gospel.  And so, I was able to go through it again with them.  This time I gave church contact cards, as well as tracts.

I continued down Cashel Mall (I had crossed Colombo and I was nearly at High Street) when I approached a young man with headphones in.  And this was the long chat I mentioned.  He was very engaged right from the start.  His response to my initial question of “what do you think happens after you die?” was, “I think about that all the time, and I’m so depressed because I know I’m going to die”.  From there, I was able to show him how we can be sure of going to heaven.  (How we know God is real, the bad news, the good news, and then into check questions).  He asked lots of questions as he processed what I was saying and got it all straight in his thinking.

I kid you not, he was thinking through the implications so well that he came to the dilemma of ‘choice’ in salvation.  He was upset because, “what if you didn’t approach me to talk to me!”, and “what if I share this with my friend, and she decides not to believe it?”  I was able to clarify the tension between the reality that we must choose to accept God’s salvation, and yet, God chooses us for salvation.  Ultimately, God chooses us first, and so our salvation does not depend on us!  It truly is grace, and we can rest in it.  And yet, right now, BELIEVE, accept this amazing grace of Jesus.  Trust that he died for you.  There is simply no room in the Bible for, ‘what if I’m not chosen’.  Again, I did not prompt this out of him, he went to this naturally.  In God’s wisdom he addresses this issue for us in the Bible.

The guy ended up making a profession of faith.  But as the conversation continued, I could see he was wrestling with the cost.  He opened up about sexual abuse in his life, he had forgiven the person, but his way of stopping it was to “allow sex workers”.  This is not God’s way, God’s way is a lifelong commitment in marriage, between a man and a woman.  He realised that in choosing Christ, he would also be submitting to Christ.  The gift is eternal life, the cost is this life.

He accepted a copy of the gospel of John, and then we walked down the mall together talking about other things.  He is from Spain, he had arrived 4 days earlier, and was visiting a friend.  God brought him all the way across the world, to NZ, to hear the gospel.  We have free will, and yet God’s sovereign will is never compromised.  We parted ways at the bridge of remembrance (he got to meet Roger first).  It was then that I checked the time.  3:29pm.  The outreach was over!  Andy and Dominic were still in a chat, which soon finished up.

Saturday’s outreach was great too.  Shorter chats, but still no less powerful, because the gospel was shared.  One guy followed along with the logic in quick order, it almost felt too quick, but as he was leaving I could tell that he was impacted by what he said, “you’ve given me insight I didn’t have” (or something like that).

Sunday was amazing.  In church in the morning, Romans 10:1-3 was taught, and applied to prayer and evangelism.  I came to tears in the final song as I considered the glory of the gospel.  That Jesus would die on the cross for me!  This knowledge gives me the zeal to get out and preach!

And sadly the cults were rampant in the city in the afternoon.  The JWs were out as usual.  But I had conversations with 3 sets of World Mission Society Church of God (a horrible cult) people.  In fact, I was in a conversation with a drunk guy when a pair of them broke into my chat (I was annoyed).  I know they use the Bible heavily, but I was surprised at how easily I could use scripture to counter their false teaching.

Mike was busy on his flip chart.  As per the picture, Mike sent me a message “Hey bro, that convo with those 4 guys went great, 1 took a bible”.  Susan and I paired up and did ‘walk up’.  Susan had had a bad experience 2 weeks ago, and so this time I did the leading, and showed her tips on how to avoid unnecessary conflict.  Yet, conflict is unavoidable.  If you are going to be faithful in preaching the gospel, people WILL get upset.  Keep up the good work Susan!

I could write more, the chats today were so good!  But I’m out of time.  Thank you so much for keeping the feeble ministry in your prayers.  May the strength of God be shown through our weakness.  All glory to God alone!
 

(PS I had no time to talk about the online outreach.  So many good chats, people professing faith.  So good!)

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A full week of street outreach this week.  Roger and Dominic were with me on Tuesday late afternoon in Riccarton.  Andy, John, Roger and myself on Friday afternoon in the city.  I was in Riccarton Saturday lunch time.  And Susan joined me on Sunday afternoon in the city.

As Roger and I were arriving at our fishing hole on Tuesday, I noticed a guy on a bike talking with someone.  Dominic was already there and into a conversation!  Great to see.  As I was helping Roger set up his flipchart (not that he needs help, I just like to serve him), Dominic joined us, and we prayed together.  As we finished, I noticed three young men coming round the corner, and so I instinctively said, “would you like to try the good person test?”  They gave me an inch, so I made the most of the opportunity: 1 started talking with me, and so Roger started engaging another, while the 3rd continued walking.  The guy I was talking to started engaging, which was encouraging (he came to understand that he is suppressing what he knows about God).  Sadly, the 3rd guy came back and gave him the look - he really didn’t want to stay and talk with us.  But the guy I was talking to left with a tract - hopefully he decides to read it based on the short chat we had.

Dominic and I paired up, and we moved over to our side of the street (leaving Roger to his patch!)  We were able to have 2 solid gospel conversations.

The first was with a young Indian guy.  He is fairly new to the country and is studying health sciences at Ara.  It was a great chat in the sense that I was able to go through the whole flip chart with him, and so Dominic was able to get the whole overview.  This young man came to understand the gospel, and even made a profession of faith.  But when I got him to count the cost (I invited him to church), he hedged.  But he accepted a copy of the gospel of John (he said he would read it), a tract and a card for my church.  He said he may consider it once he has had a chance to settle into his new life in New Zealand.  May the law bring conviction, and the gospel conversion by the power of the Spirit.

Now, I fully intended to get Dominic involved in the next conversation, but to my shame, I ended up hogging the next chat!  Two guys stopped and became very engaged.  One was very postmodern in his thinking (we can’t know anything).  It was a long chat, and we ended up going right till it was dark and we could see our breath as it was getting cold.  The other guy started asking very good questions.  Those guys left with cards for my church too.

I didn’t have time to take pics for that outreach, so I snapped a quick one of Roger just after we had packed up.

On Friday, I was paired up with John, we continued an important theological conversation that came from a gospel conversation we had last week.  It’s great that, even though we strongly disagree, we are still able to understand each other, love one another, and continue to labour alongside one another.

Our first opportunity was with a young Maori guy.  Initially he was taking offence.  He was making assumptions about us, based on New Zealand’s colonial past, and the fact that we were obviously representing Christianity.  It was like a volcano was going to erupt in him.  Somehow I managed to defuse him.  I showed him how logic is universal, and transcends religion and culture; I showed him that I wanted to talk about truth that applied to all peoples.  He calmed down and I was able to briefly share the law and the gospel.  He even opened up about the influence of Christianity in his relatives, even if he was rejecting it.  It was a short chat, but a good one in the end.  He left with a tract.

Next up we ended up getting into a chat with a Philosophy student and his friend.  The Philosophy student was very resistant.  At one point he was even shaking.  And yet, even though I gave him many opportunities to end the conversation, it went a lot longer than I expected.

Back at the bridge of remembrance, John and I ended up splitting up.  I ended up getting into a very long conversation with a young guitarist / vocalist / songwriter using Roger’s flip chart.  I was able to share the law and the gospel, but they guy kept pulling the conversation to philosophical points.  To my amazement, among other things, he expressed a struggle with the reality of the sovereignty of God in salvation!  I was gobsmacked, because this is an important issue that Christians struggle with too!  Yet, this guy was working hard in his suppression of God.  Twice in the conversation, I had to point out: “you know what you are saying right?  What you are saying is: ‘I am god’”.  Our hearts are idol making factories.  We hate the true God, because we want to be god.  I wanted to end the chat, because it wasn’t going anywhere.  But, by this stage, a fellow band member had arrived, and Andy was engaging him.  So I kept my conversation going so Andy could share the gospel.  Andy had a great chat!  In the end, the guy Andy was talking to left, when the guy I was talking to didn’t want to leave, in spite of his resistance.  Roger helped me with that chat, and by the time it was finally over, the outreach was over.

Roger and I ended up having coffee with a young guy keen on evangelism, but is subtly articulating works for salvation.  It was a tiring conversation!

Please keep us in prayer as we minister to all quarters.

Saturday was great.  It started out with a chat with a young Muslim, but that was interrupted by two high school kids who had talked to me at last year's Canterbury A&P Show.  One of them wanted a selfie with me, for some reason.  Maybe to mock?  Maybe not?  I was able to engage them both in gospel conversation and they took tracts.

Later I had a chat with an elderly gentleman, with a strong Christian background, but wasn’t understanding the gospel.  He was too proud and confronted with some of the simple gospel realities I was presenting.  He avoided them by talking about himself, sadly.  He left with a tract in his pocket.

And this reminds me, that Dominic and I were able to share with an elderly gentleman on Tuesday too.  The gospel is not just for young people.  It’s for everyone.

I’m running out of time, but I just want to touch on the wonderful outreach I had today in the city.  For the first part, I didn’t really have any down time.  I caught up with a few regulars (3 of them), before getting into a long conversation with a young student doctor whom I’ve talked to a couple of times before.  He is a transvestite (the first time I talked to him he was wearing lipstick and a dress).  I shared the law and the gospel with him the first time I met him.  And so today, he just asked me questions.  He is resistant to the gospel, but at least he feels comfortable talking to me!  I don’t hate him, and he knows it.  And yet, he knows I think homosexuality is a sin.  He knows I want him to accept that gospel, knowing it will change his life.  He didn’t want another tract as we parted ways.

I went straight into a chat with a lovely Christian couple, and then from that I went straight into a chat with a young couple.  He was open about the fact that he didn’t have an argument against the existence of God, but he didn’t care.  I was able to labour with them both to an understanding of the gospel.  It was a great chat.

By this stage, Susan was with me, and we spent the last hour of outreach in ‘walk up’.  We were able to speak with a young French couple, Susan spoke with a couple of young ladies - one of whom took offence at God’s law, killing the chat.  While I had a brief engagement with a young Christian man who went to ‘works for salvation’, before correcting with ‘Jesus’.  Concerning, he left with a tract.

I’m taking a week’s break before getting into a busy summer of outreach, so it’ll be 2 weeks before my next report (God willing).  God bless you as you are salt and light to those around you.  Glory to God alone.
 

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It’s report time again.  Good weather during the week, but a very rainy weekend.  So, only 2 street outreaches this week.  Roger was with me in Riccarton on Tuesday; Andy, John and Roger joined me on Friday in the city.

There is no problem with going out in the rain.  I’ve done it many times, and the harvest field is so ripe that opportunities always present themselves, even if standing under a shop front!

But at the same time, God is blessing us with an almost overwhelming amount of gospel opportunities online.  We have face to face conversations with people, sharing the gospel with them and pointing them to the Bible and a local church.  From that, TikTok and YouTube videos are generated.  And that in turn generates people to come to us, via Instagram Messenger, with questions, and that always turns into a gospel conversation, leading to people being pointed to the Bible and a local church.

This morning, before church, I spent a couple of hours sharing the gospel via Instagram Messenger.  As per the picture, there were 1040 unread messages, not including new message requests.  Each unread message represents a person waiting for a response from us in a gospel conversation.  This brought the reality of the ripeness of the harvest field to mind.  And it’s not only online; on the street, there is limitless opportunity to share the gospel!

Yes, of course we should be sharing the gospel with those within our natural spheres of influence: friends, family, work mates, etc.  But, in the sense of the # of people you can reach, the opportunity is always going to be limited (it’s a long term game).  But when we intentionally go out to find gospel opportunities (a numbers game), the opportunity is limitless.  We need both, no doubt.  Of course we want to reach our friends, family, and work mates, etc with the gospel.  But if we don’t also be intentional in reaching out beyond that, the church will miss opportunity to glorify God.

The foundation is Christ and his word: the Bible.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, through prayer, we can overcome our fears in spiritual warfare to bring the gospel to the lost.  All to the glory of God alone.  This applies to the church, families and individually.  Teach the Bible, pray, and share the gospel.  All in reliance of the triune God of the universe, who shows his strength through our weakness!

Anyway, enough rambling.  I’m struggling to remember the details of Tuesday’s street outreach (I’m writing this on Sunday).  I think it may have been a bit of a slower outreach.  But I had a familiar face turn up.  A young man who I think has been to a few Tell Me Conferences turned up to investigate the street outreach.  He ended up joining me for about half an hour.  In that time, I had a young soldier and his girlfriend (wife?) stop to find out what we were doing.  They were willing to give the good person test a try, although there was much hesitance on their part.  Many people try not to think about the difficult realities we were discussing.  He tried to buck away from it.  But I was able to get him to stick around to at least hear the gospel, if not understand it.  They didn’t stay long.

I’m racking my brain, I’m sure I must have had other conversations, but I just can’t remember.  I remember glancing over the street and seeing Roger busy.  What a blessing!

On Friday, I paired up with John and we did some ‘walk up’ down Cashel Mall.  We both had conversation opportunities, but they were awkward in their own way.  We decided to cross Colombo St and head towards High St.  I don’t often go that way.  I ended up getting a conversation going with a young man from the USA, in NZ to play rugby.  He had a Christian background, but he pointed to ‘being good’ as the reason he was going to heaven, and so a law / gospel conversation ensued.  He became mildly emotional as he wrestled with the realities of the difficult truths we were discussing.  He started asking hard questions in defence.  One of them was: “what about those that have never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus, where do they go?”  Now, I’ve got a stock answer for this, but I sometimes forget that the question is less intellectual, and more emotional (and a deflection).  I tried to address the emotion as best as I could, but the intellectual answer is still valid and helpful, even though difficult.  Here is the stock answer by the way:

Everyone, even those in the amazon jungle with no contact with outside society, know God is real in the same way: the universe proves the universe maker (Romans 1:18-20; Psalm 19:1-4).  And, everyone knows they have done wrong: by conscience (Romans 2:14-16).  Therefore everyone justly deserves hell.  God is not doing wrong (in fact he is doing what is right) when he sends people to hell.  But, by his grace he saves some.

So, someone who doesn't know about Jesus will go to hell.  But, God is so merciful, he has asked us to go and tell everyone the good news!

The tensions in the Bible can sometimes be difficult to hold rightly.  Christians struggle with this stuff.  I struggle with this stuff.  But the truths of the tensions in the Bible are there for a reason.  They are right, good!  But John and I had to sit down and spend some time discussing, and digesting these truths.  The gospel, in one way, is so simple that a child can understand it, but in another, so deep, that a scholar will never exhaust it.  Even today, as I was listening to the truth’s of the gospel being explained in church, I was in tears.  Why does God choose me?  Oh, the wonders of his grace!!

Later, John and I had an opportunity to share this grace with two young Indian guys.

I’ve been doing more training work online.

On Friday I was able to spend an hour with a young man from Malta.  He has come to understand God’s grace and is now passionately sharing it with his friends.  But he wants to get sharper!  To my amazement, this young man has a stutter.  I was so encouraged that he would be willing to train with me to share the gospel, in spite of his impediment.  May this encourage you to face your constraints and fears and be prepared to share the gospel!

I was also able to spend about 45 minutes with a Pastor in Mississippi, who is writing a paper on sharing the gospel across cultural boundaries, online.  I was able to explain what we have learned about the benefits and shortfalls of online evangelism, and the tools and rules we have put in place to manage this.

On Saturday, I had a 2nd session with a lady in the USA.  I’m so encouraged to hear all she is doing, encouraging her church in evangelism, and leading training and outreach (flea markets, door to door, etc).  In this session I was able to communicate the power of questions, both to 1) keep someone engaged (don’t monologue), and 2) check that they are understanding the gospel.  I think she has much to process (I know it took me time!)  God willing, she will be ready for a 3rd session soon!

I’ve been having some wonderful face to face gospel conversations online too.  But I’m out of time to discuss them.

Come, join us in the harvest field.  It’s so exciting!  Come share in the joy of telling people about Jesus.  All glory to God alone.
 

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It was a public holiday on Friday, the weather was good, and the fish were swarming the central city.  Maybe a lot of fish that wouldn’t normally swim in this hole too.  I started out with prayer and then handing out a few tracts before going for a wander.

I made it to the square, it was good to see the OAC team busy there.  I noticed a couple of skaters and decided to approach them, to my surprise I recognised one of them!  I had talked to him before in a group setting.  He calls himself Sarah.  I said gidday, and we fell into a good long chat - about 1 hour.  We never talked about sexuality - except that I once mentioned sexual immorality.  He is sharp mentally, and so at the beginning of the chat we mainly discussed worldview with a focus on how we know God is real.  I was then able to explain the law and then the gospel, and then we moved into a phase of conversation where he was asking a lot of good questions.  He was clearly rejecting the gospel at this stage, and yet there was an openness of sorts.  He accepted a gospel of John and a gospel tract.  I suspect he will still read the book of John through his own worldview, and yet, God can change his mind.  I pray that he does, and that I will get to see him again.

I made it back to Cashel Mall, looking at all the fish swimming past.  All I had to do was reach out - it was so easy to get a conversation started.  I talked to two young men.  They were being a bit cheeky when one responded that we would enter a feast after life.  The other said ‘Valhalla’.  I knew they were both joking around with me, but I just rolled with it.  I was able to share the law and the gospel.  At one point, one of them flared up ever so slightly, so I knew the message was getting through in spite of the joking.  But he contained himself well.  We parted on good terms.

I then turned and reached out to one of the many other people going past.  It happened to be a tourist from Scotland.  He was intrigued by my question of ‘what happens after life’, and he settled in for a long chat.  He seemed to respond to what I was saying in a way, and yet there was a hesitancy.  It turns out that when he gets back to Scotland he is going to university to study astrophysics, and he grew up Bahá'í.  We ended up talking for about 45 minutes, and the law and gospel was shared.  I thought he might accept a gospel of John too, but as he was travelling light he wouldn't have accepted one (it turns out I had run out anyway).  But he did accept a tract.

So, that was about 2 hours of conversation, within about 2 and a quarter hours.  I was going to pay for that with a pretty bad headache the next day.  But it was worth it.  I was so sad other believers were not able to join me.  I may make this public holiday an official outreach for next year.

Before heading to the street, I had a great chat online with a couple of young ladies (live streamed here).  It went for 45 minutes.  They were in different places, and so I ended up focusing on the one who believed in God.  I had to really labour through all the check questions.  Not because she was stupid, but because the idea of heaven being a gift is not natural to our thinking.  But it was encouraging that by the end of the chat, she really seemed to be correctly articulating the gospel.  And the gospel is the power of God for salvation.  I was encouraged to learn that one of my fellow church members had listened to this chat and been encouraged by it (he told me at church today).

I had a number of other great chats online through the week, including with a swearing Muslim from Saudi Arabia, two young men who followed the ‘script’ of the gospel and made a profession of faith.  A great 30 minute chat with a young man from the UK who seemed genuinely stoked when he came to understand the gospel and exclaimed “I have to tell my parents about this”.  Among other chats.

On Saturday, I had a one hour training session online with a lady from the USA.  But it didn’t end up being a training session.  She really likes to talk, and so she spent about 50 minutes telling me all about how she is encouraging her church in evangelism, and the outreaches she leads.  I was so encouraged, I just let her talk!  It certainly wasn’t wasted time, and we got to know each other, and I was encouraged to learn how she has been processing the way Ryan shares the gospel.  We discussed the differences to the way she usually does it, and why.  We are all teed up for another training session next week, even though she is older, and aware what she is getting into, she is very keen to try online evangelism!

I then headed to the streets, Riccarton.  I had a fantastic chat with a guy called Danny.  It was fairly text booked, and he seemed impressed by the gospel.  He happily received a gospel of John (I had restocked my supply).

As pictured, the homeless lady is back.  Her bed was there, but she was away for the time I was there.  I left another tract, and hope to get into a conversation with her in the near future.

Sunday I had Susan with me in the city.  She was very keen to do walk up chats, and so that’s what we did!  We had many opportunities.  Including with an Italian guy on Cashel Mall, a group of teens at the intersection of Hereford and Colombo, Susan talked to Simon (a regular) in the Square, and then we had a chat with a young couple of tourists from Germany.  They were very friendly, and sadly very resistant to the idea of God being real - esp. her.  Susan did share the law and the gospel.

Well, that’s a wrap for another week!  Thank you to all those that support what we are doing on the street and online.  It is very much appreciated.  All glory to God alone.
 

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