Reach the City Cardiff 08 Report

OM Lifehope

Reach the City – Cardiff ’08 Report

What a great outreach! 32 people made first time commitments to Christ and many lives were touched by the teams. There were 89 participants (full and part time) from 16 different countries GB (England, Scotland, Wales and N Ireland), Germany, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Canada, USA, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Slovakia, Holland who came to Cardiff to reach the city!  Here are some great stories:

“There are a lot of things to give thanks to the Lord such as the nice weather for open-air, the people who listened to our gospel and the people who accepted Christ.  Six Chinese people (2 people in the catering business and 4 university students) accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour! What a wonderful thing to be a part of God's work in Cardiff!" - Lawrence

“I saw God work in amazing and significant ways in the lives of our team members.  Although some of us struggled with the Open Airs, we were all changed.  We will leave Cardiff with some very practical ideas that we can use in evangelism back home.” – Dave

“Every day during the Open Airs I had the opportunity to speak to people about Christ.  I spoke to several Jewish people including one man who claimed to be an atheist.  I also shared the Gospel with a man while I was standing in the queue to buy an ice cream.” – Mark

“We were told in our evangelism training workshop to ‘use our evangelism skills or lose them’.  I decided to use a rope trick that I had learned a few weeks previously, but had never used in public.  My first attempt with three teenagers failed dramatically.  I tried again and this time it worked!  The teenagers were amazed.  I felt great!  The lesson I learned was not to be afraid of making mistakes and that practice is the key to success.” – Barry

“It was my privilege to talk to a woman who was very interested in knowing more about God.  She was in a rush but gave me her phone number and asked me to call her back.  Later that evening I called her back and continued our discussion about the Lord.  Over the phone I was able to lead the women to a new relationship with Christ.  I was honoured and humbled by this opportunity.  Thank you so much for opening up this week of mission to amateurs such as myself.  I will take all this back to America, excited to see how God is going to use these new skills in my life.” – Janette

“Rachel and I met a young Muslim teenager and we gave him a tract.  He wasn’t very interested in Christ and had to go.  We decided to stop what we were doing and pray for him.  Later in the day one of our other team mates met the same boy and had a good talk with him about Christ.  He wanted to pass on his email details to Rachel and I so that we can keep in touch with him.  I am so glad that we listened to God and took the time to pray for this young Muslim boy!” – Amy

“On the streets, I was able to share the Gospel with a husband and wife who had been married for 46 years.  They were not Christians but they hoped they would go to heaven.  I asked them how they would feel if one of them died and didn’t go to heaven.  I then shared my own story how my husband died and I was not sure if he had gone to heaven.  I shared the Gospel with them and will pray for them.” – Jeri

“One day on the streets, during an Open Air, we met a man from Portugal who was distressed and agitated because we could not understand him.  Later that week, at an evangelistic meeting, we met the same man only this time there was a member of the church with us who spoke Portuguese.  We saw him a third time on the streets and he promised to come to church on the Sunday.”  - Dawn and Mike

“I am member of a local church in Cardiff and had never done any street evangelism before.  I was quite nervous.  Almost immediately I got into a conversation with a Muslim man from Iraq.  I shared my testimony with him.  The he said something remarkable.  He said ‘I have been waiting more than 10 years for someone to tell me about Christ.’  Wow!  Praise the Lord that I was there to share with this man.  I have his phone number and will be following him up over the next few weeks.” – Neil

I was talking to young man from Russia and I was able to share the Gospel with him.  During our conversation I mentioned the Bible verse Romans 6:23 (“For the wages of sin is death…”)  At that precise moment, a Christian who was not part of the outreach suddenly appeared and gave us each a piece of paper with the words ‘For the wages of sin is death’ written on the inside.  This divine encounter with God shocked the man.  He left me saying that he would think about what I had said.  The next day, in the city centre I met him again and the first thing he told me was that he had given his life to the Lord that previous evening and it was because of the paper he had received.  Hallelujah!!  Praise the Lord for that stranger who gave out that piece of paper with Romans 6:23 at the perfect time.” – Glenn

“I was sitting on a bench eating my lunch and started a conversation with a young Muslim from Saudi Arabia.  After sharing my testimony and the Gospel, he seemed quite interested in what I had to say.  I asked him if he was interested in trusting Jesus and he said yes!  I could hardly believe it!  I began to share about the cost of being a follower of Jesus when his older brother came along and whisked him away.  However, I did manage to give him some literature before he left.  I pray that this young man will indeed find Christ and make that decision to follow him.”  - Leslie

“All the opportunities I had to share the Gospel with people were amazing.  I realized that it is not difficult to talk to people about Christ. However, I have missed a lot of chances because I was not looking for them.  In the future I am determined to look for more openings to share my faith with people.  Thank you for helping me to understand this principle.” – Terry

“I spoke at least to 6 people from the Slovak and Czech Republic and all of them were listening carefully to the preaching in the street and were willing to talk to me about Jesus afterwards. One man prayed a prayer and invited the Lord Jesus to his life. Everybody wanted to go to church and took leaflets. But they needed help with translation and they were looking for people who can help them.

When we were doing a questionnaire with one lad, one young man from Iraq was watching and listening what is was all about. Then we talked to him and he didn’t know why Jesus died on the cross. He didn’t know what sin means. After explaining and telling him that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, mine and his, he was suddenly amazed and asked: “Isn’t it good news?” He called it good news! He has never ever heard it before. He was interested in these things. We gave him Christian literature and encouraged him contact to a church. There are still people around us who need to hear and understand the Gospel. Who will tell them?” - Elena (from Slovakia)

“On Friday afternoon we met 4 Chinese students at the University of Glamorgan.  All of them were told about the gospel and 3 out of 4 accepted Christ. Another girl was a Jehovah’s Witness. Her boyfriend accepted Christ that day.  Later, the girl said that she would like to go to the Cardiff Chinese Church this coming Sunday. It was extremely hard to talk to a Jehovah Witness, but praise God for this wonderful experience”. - Teck

“This week I was involved in working with children, which was great. I also learned how important it is to develop a method of spreading the Gospel. I learnt how to use a Sketch board and some Gospel illustrations.” -Jinsu

“I was able to share my testimony with an older couple who were in their seventies. I explained how they could have assurance of eternity in heaven because of what Jesus Christ had done for them!  I was able to pray for them asking God to open their eyes to see God’s overwhelming love for them shown in Jesus. After they left, tears filled my eyes – as I longed for them to know Jesus. After this week, I know I will never be the same. I want to thank OM and OAC for investing in my life and the lives of the people in Cardiff”.   – Karen

“For me, the most moving experience was when I was speaking to 2 girls in their twenties who were watching a sketch board presentation. I told them I was an American and asked them if they enjoyed art and they were both graphic / art majors. They stayed for the whole message and afterwards one girl stepped forward for a tract. I was able to exchange contact info with her and I look forward to following her up. I was glad I had the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and share l with others how awesome my God is!  Hopefully, one day, I will see some of the faces I’ve seen this week in heaven!” - Elise

“Our team set up for an Open Air near a construction site (not ideal).  In spite of the noise, many people stopped to listen to the presentation.  Afterwards I began chatting with a teenage boy who was very interested in the Gospel.  I explained how he could become a Christian and he gave his life to the Lord.  Praise the Lord!” – Drew

“For me the most exciting thing was having the opportunity to pray publicly for people on the streets.  I had never done this before, but I am now convinced of the incredible power there is when we take a risk and willingly pray for people in their time of need.” – Bill

 “On Thursday, a man approached me desperate to talk about God and that he was a backslider.  On the previous day he had stood and heard the Gospel message through the sketchboard presentation, but nobody talked to him afterwards.  So he had come back to try and find someone willing to talk to him.  My husband and I shared with him and prayed for him right there on the streets.” – Teresa

“Because of this week, God has given me a vision for to build an evangelism team of young adults in my local church and begin reaching out much more into our community.” – Brian

“I was amazed to see how God used us as a team.  After a teen event in a local church, our leader shared the Gospel and invited the young people to respond to Christ.  Twelve young expressed a genuine interest in accepting Christ as Saviour.  I will never forget that evening.  God is awesome!” – Tori

“At first I was not convinced of the effectiveness of open air evangelism, but I quickly changed my opinion.  I had many good conversations with people throughout the week.  One lady commented how most people ignore her and she was grateful that I took the time to talk to her.  She could see the love of God shining through me. “ – Emily

“I am the only the Christian in my school.  I have been open about my faith but I was often discouraged.  This week has really encouraged me and built up my faith.  I am no longer worried about what my friends might think of me.  I am now completely happy with who I am in Christ and ready to go home and be a witness for him.” – Emily

“I had the chance to talk to a security guard who was standing outside a shop watching an open air presentation.  He had a lot of questions about God (I answered some of them).  I then proceeded to share the Gospel with him.  I finished by praying for him that he would one day find the answer to all his questions and encouraged to find a good local church.” – Ceri

“I saw a homeless man on the streets and was convicted by God that I should buy him some food.  I went and bought a hamburger meal and sat down with him.  I asked him if he was a Christian and he said no, but that he just finished praying for some food because he was hungry.  I said that God had answered his prayer and I gave him the food.  By the end of our conversation, this man had received Christ as his personal saviour!  I am so glad I listened to the voice of God.” – Jon

“I came to Cardiff with my son JJ.  I was thrilled to see him demonstrate real courage by doing a sketch board presentation for the first time (something he had learned during the week).  I was also please to have a very good conversation with a member of the crowd who had watched my son’s presentation and was very interested in the Gospel.” – Jeff

“I was always afraid of speaking in public, but I knew that God wanted me to give it a go with a sketch board.  I was filled with excitement and terror.  The talk went smoothly and I was amazed that people not only stopped and listened and three people came forward at the end to receive more information.  Praise God!” – JJ

“I talked to an elderly man from Bagdad in Iraq.  I was able to share the Gospel with him.  He told me he had seen a vision of Jesus when he had been ill in the hospital.  My time with him was an encouragement to him and he was happy for me to finish off by praying for him.” – Dave

“During the week I prayed that God would help me to share Christ with people and to have the courage to step out of my comfort zone.  This week I prayed out loud for the first time in a group setting!  I was able to share the Gospel with an African lady and an ex-Christian.  I will keep in touch with both of them.  I was so overjoyed to be working with God this week.” – Grace

“After we had finished an open air presentation in the bay area, we took a few minutes to stop and visit the Welsh National Assembly.  We had to empty our pockets and put everything through x-ray scanners (similar to airport scanners).  However I forgot that I had three ropes in my pocket that I use to illustrate the Gospel.  The security guards asked me what the ropes were for and I was able to share the Gospel with them right then and there!” – Yorke

"I was doing some door to door work and met a widower aged 89 whose wife had died 4½ years ago. On the day we knocked on his door, it was her birthday. In talking with him he told me he had been married for 62 years and his wife's name was Joy (although she had been christened Joyce). I was amazed as I am also a widower and my wife's name was also Joy (although she was christened Joyce). I had a lovely chat with him and gave him a New Testament and other Christian literature." - Douglas

Quotes:

“I was so encouraged to see the young teenagers from America reaching out and sharing the love of God the people of Cardiff.  They all did a fantastic job” – Dave

“I had never done open air preaching with a sketch board before.  My nervousness began to disappear and by my third attempt I was actually beginning to enjoy it!” – Calvin

Stefan Schenkel ,Outreach co-ordinator for Reach the City - Cardiff ‘08, says:

“For me it was great to see everything coming together after months of prayer and preparing. Working together with so many churches, people from different church and cultural backgrounds and two totally different organisations could only work with God as our conductor. It is great and humbling to see what God has been doing. I’m amazed, as we had set a goal of seeing 10 people coming to faith... what little faith we had… God is good and it is wonderful to be used for His purposes.  Amen!”

Dave Glover, National Director for OAC says:

“What excites me most about this venture, apart from the fact that two highly respected organisations like OAC & OM are coming together in this way is the fact that we are engaging with local churches on their own patches.  Nothing is being imposed and we are there to serve, at minimal financial cost, in assisting local believers make an impact where they live.  It also give Christians the opportunity to work alongside experienced evangelists and learn invaluable communication skills that will serve them well in years to

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