Saved via aliens?

CMI’s interesting outreaches see people confess faith in Christ

CMI’s UFO specialist Gary Bates recently undertook a nationwide tour of Australia. His landmark book Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection is one of our most popular titles, being eagerly read by Christians and non-Christians alike. Its success has amply demonstrated that there is huge interest in the subject of UFOs, extraterrestrial life and associated phenomena, and it shows no signs of abating.

The tour itself attracted a lot of media attention. To promote the meetings, keen CMI staff, volunteer Support Group members and even friends of the ministry contacted local media with great success (it shows what a few eager people can achieve). Incredibly, Gary was asked to do 15 interviews over a couple of weeks, including appearances on television. This was in addition to the already hectic tour schedule, which saw him speaking at 13 venues in 13 days. (Interesting how the media will willingly talk about UFOs, but are resistant to traditional Christian views of the world.)

Most of the meetings were well attended, and it was evident to Gary that many non-Christians were present at most of them as they often made themselves known—often vocally. At one public meeting in a famous hotel, the venue was packed to capacity with many having to stand throughout the presentation because hotel staff could simply not fit any more chairs into the function room. At the same venue a couple of months before, a famous ‘alien abduction’ guru held some meetings, which, we were told, drew only about a third as many.

At another location it was revealed that one lady had been praying for her unsaved husband for many years, and to date he had been resistant to any invitations to attend Christian meetings. However, on this particular night he was persuaded to come along and hear a talk about ‘aliens’. He certainly went away from the evening challenged. The next Sunday he went to church for the very first time and confessed faith in Christ. The supporter who relayed this story commented, ‘Some sow the seed, some water and some have the blessing of reaping the harvest. So be encouraged and continue to keep up the great work.’

At a church service in Melbourne where Gary was requested to speak, the local pastor distributed pamphlets to neighbours surrounding the church. At the local primary school, where he is also the school chaplain, the principal had no problem with advertising the ‘aliens meetings&rsquTo take advantage of the huge interest in Gao; in the school newsletter. This resulted in the venue being crammed to bursting point, with the beaming pastor commenting, ‘This church has never had so many people in it.’ He was especially happy because for the very first time he noticed many of the church’s neighbours attending.

Ten saved in one night

At one church in Sydney, ten people made first-time professions of faith. And the following night, in the regional town of Port Macquarie, another eight responded to a call for salvation. At the Sydney meeting, one of Australia’s most famous alien-believing UFOlogists attended with a colleague. They introduced themselves to Gary, mentioning that his book has even become well-known among the UFO community. After some discussion, they asked if Gary would be interested in being a guest speaker at an upcoming UFO conference. Often, many in the UFO-believing community turn up to disparage Gary believing that he is nothing more than a debunker and that he is suppressing the ‘truth’ about UFOs and aliens. However, seeing so many people openly profess faith in Christ at these meetings, it would suggest that they did indeed hear the truth. As Jesus Christ said in John 8:32, ‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ We praise God for the souls who have passed from death unto life!

More novel outreach ideas

A short time ago, Gary Bates, was parking his car in a local shopping centre/mall. On it he had some ‘no aliens’ stickers like the ones mentioned (pictured). While entering the centre a gentleman shouted to Gary across the car park, turning the heads of bemused shoppers close by. The man explained that he had just seen the sticker on the car and wanted to know what Gary thought about aliens and UFOs. Gary shared just a few of the anomalies to show that many sightings could not be real physical manifestations. The man was amazed and asked, ‘How do you know so much?’ Of course, the book was mentioned and the man could not wait to get a copy.

These stickers are an inexpensive way for you to help spread the message of truth of the Bible (and therefore the Gospel) using this novel subject matter.

Thousands reached in South Africa

Dr Carl Wieland of CMI Australia recently toured South Africa. In two weeks of ministry some 7,000 people were reached and over half of these were university students. In one meeting alone 30 students made first time professions of faith.

In the Australian and South African versions of our Update newsletters for May you will be able to read a full report of Dr Wieland’s South African tour. (The Update newsletter is a special newsletter that goes to those who have financially supported the ministry.) To become a donor and regularly receive our Updates you can safely donate online here.

The May Update will be reproduced on this site at a later date. Thank you for your support of this ministry that allows such outreaches into the community.

In May, Carl Wieland will be conducting a national tour of Canada. Please pray that many will be reached for Christ.