Although
the
final statistics are still coming in from some of the 53 communities
around
the nation involved in the Tour, records so far indicate that 300,000
people attended the campaign nights over the past 3 months and
heard
an uncompromising Gospel message.
On top of this there
has been proclamation
on national TV (the Holmes Show, Te Karere, What Now), numerous radio
programs,
schools & prisons throughout NZ.
Thus far there have
been approx. 23,000
recorded decisions for Christ with 12,000 being those that have
never
responded to the Gospel before in any way.
These statistics &
those that I have
been sharing in these updates don't really do justice to the impact
that these campaigns have been having at the local community
level.
Apart from the thousands who have come into a relationship with Jesus
over
the Tour there have been:
Significant
advances in Unity amongst the Church
locally,
Faith Raised
as budgets have been met
& prayer answered
and
according to various reports,
the
Spiritual
Atmosphere
within whole communities has changed.
God
has been glorified
as His amazing power & love has been working deeply across NZ with
these campaigns. We are deeply grateful for his protection, favor &
grace that has been upon everyone involved.
Follow-up
We believe that perhaps
the greatest
harvest is yet to come as new believers share their faith & the
witness of changed lives impacts friends & family.
There have been
wonderful reports of follow-up
discipling groups that have sprung up in different locations
doing
a great job with new believers.
For example, in Hamilton
--Teen
leaders have been greatly encouraged. They have comitted to working
together,
creating a greater sense of unity.
Two main Events
"Impacted" (Children) and
"Aftershock" (Pre-teens) has resulted in many new kids - who
did
not attend the campaign nights but were brought by their friends - have
made a decision to follow Jesus. The Children and Pre-teen leaders of
the
city now meet every month for prayer and will join together every third
month for further city-wide events. Never before have these youth
leaders
worked together. This is truly a testimony of God's power by his
spirit,
seeing the church in unity and the Kingdom of God increase.
Another example:
One of my daughters
was approached by a girl at Mission Bay in Auckland recently asking her
if she was a christian. She replied 'yes, are you?'. The girl said yes
- and went on to explain how she came to know Jesus at Ericsson stadium
at an IWT night, "It was awesome!".
Good to see new
believers being active
in sharing their faith. Keep praying. God wants to do much more
in
this land.
==============
Note from David Hall: Over a year later and we're
still getting reports of the fruit of IWT. This one just came via the
Vision Network Newsletter:
UNITY AMONG CHRISTCHURCH CHURCHES
In the aftermath of Impact World Tour, Youth Pastors and Youth Workers
of Christchurch are uniting to a common vision. There are several youth
pastor meetings happening on a regular basis around Christchurch, with
communication between churches also opening up.
Recently I joined about 40
youth pastors from across our city, for a flight with a difference. On
March the 17th 2005, 40+ youth pastors/workers flew for 45
minutes over the suburbs and satellite towns of Christchurch, asking
God to minister to the region.
Afterwards there was time to
socialize and share vision, with several people realizing similarities
in end goals and vision, and ultimately seeing fellow workers, not as
rivals but as complimentary to what God has asked them to do.
What excites me about this is how youth workers are of one mind – to
work together to see the harvest brought in. It’s also interesting
to see that children’s pastors are also combining as part of the “Link”
network, to plan how to strategically reach the children in our city.
Last month 25 youth committed to Christ in one high
school alone - from the obedience of the student leader in the
Christian group.
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.”
Psalm 133:1 NIV
- Alistair Teague, Youth Worker,
Scripture Union, Canterbury
