What is 15 Revolution?

The 15 Revolution is a commitment to be available; to give a gift of 15 minutes of your time, wherever or whenever its needed.  Jesus gave His life for people, can you give people 15? Remember: this is NOT ABOUT YOU but about doing God's will proactively. In the same way we get spiritual encouragement from testimonials, so we should praise God for how He works through our dealing with the world. www.15revolution.com

Be an inspiration

As Lifezone Church runs the series, we would love to hear your '15 minute' stories. Please take a minute to record your event below so that we can share it with our christian brothers and sisters and encourage others to 'live the life'. If you feel uncomfortable publishing your full name with your story then just tell us your first name or don't fill in the 'Name' field. Just tell us your story:

OUR STORIES

"We just sold on Trademe 2 oars with an old inflatable boat that let air out and water in. A questionable feedback ratio so I wasn't sure about who would show up today. Well, a rather slight woman of, say 35, arrived in an old Morris 1000 with 2 little kids. No way was the boat going to fit in the car (and her husband drove a Mini) so she paid the money (a mere $60), left with the oars and not sure about the boat. She lived at the Mount. Well, it was a stormy night with a big swell running so we bundled the boat in the car and headed off to the Mount for the delivery, a look at the surf and fish and chips for tea. We arrived to a really basic flat and her husband tells me he had already paid by the internet (I hadn't checked my account) so I gave the money back. On the way to get the takeaways, I got flashed so that was..."annoying" and will cost me more than the whole boat's sale. Let's hope my judgement was right about believing the money is there - will check tomorrow."
Phil

"I was driving home last Saturday night from a friend's house. God had the timing so right 'cos I stayed longer so the rain would calm down before I drove home. The rain didn't calm down...haha.
The night before I had been asking God to give me opportunities to help people. As I was driving, God answered my prayer!
I saw a girl crying  in the rain and leaning over the rail on the bridge crossing the motorway. I brought her into the car. She was scared and really shaken up. I talked to her and she had been through a really rough night at a party. She had lost her boyfriend and needed to get home.
By this time, it was 10ish and wasn't safe for her to be walking. We drove around and I was praying we would find her boyfriend somewhere. We found him about 10 minutes away and got him into the car. He was also shaken up and was drenched. As I was driving them home, the girl asked me why I was doing all this and if I was a christian. I laughed and said I was and that I wanted to help them. I was so shocked how she said she has never seen a christian help someone. She was so surprised I would help strangers in the rain. I was really shocked! I thought 'is this really the impression that us christians bring?' We should always help. I know ministry, reaching out and showing God's love are a huge part of our walk with God, but this wasn't the only time this girl needed help so she had this opinion of stuck up and unhelpful christians.
When I dropped them off, the girl offered me fuel money but I didn't want any reward or credit as it wasn't me doing the work but God. He was totally there and created the opportunity. I was just a messenger. He should be the one thanked for getting them home safe.
God really showed up that night. On the way home I just cried because I felt such a strong pull in my heart to keep helping youth and to keep looking and taking the opportunities that God gives. But so often we let them just go by. God is fully 'the man' :)"

"One rainy day I found myself parked on Cameron Road while I took a cell phone call. The face of a Maori lady appeared at the window asking me for a lift to her place in Gate Pa. I told her she could hop in the back with her partner. I looked back to see a Maori guy with heavy facial tatoos and sunglasses. The lady had a moko and was very chatty explaining that she was pregnant. Upon reaching their house, she told me good things come to those who help others. I told her I was a christian and she said she was born-again! Amazing how God teaches us how to overcome our pathetic prejudices and learn to care in 'challenging' situations."

"Sometimes things don't turn out as we want. Even when God is there. I was in a supermarket getting lunch. The man in front of me was struggling to pay for the groceries he had. I offered to pay for them. But he refused although he seemed quite amazed that someone would have the heart to offer. He told me that what I did was rare. I felt like weeping that the world has this view. It should push us on to keep doing what we are doing."

"I find stepping out and giving up of my time and own emotional resources that little bit more difficult when I am experiencing my own difficulties. Over the past few weeks I have been struggling to keep my own head above water, it is a time when I would like to just concentrate on looking after myself and my own family. But God has really challenged me to look outside of myself through circumstances, the prompting of the Holy Spirit and lastly through Living Well's Bible study where Louie Giglio says something along the lines of "let your suffering be a megafone for God". So at this time, I have found myself opening up my house to the lonely. It has meant giving up of my time to listen to a friend in distress and not just for a few minutes but for a few hours. It has meant being patient and loving others when all I want to do is to tell them to get over it. God has used this time, these circumstances, these promptings to help me give of myself when I feel I have nothing left and He has blessed me with a peace and a confidence in Him and His sovereignty that goes beyond my earthly understanding."

"Spent my precious Saturday morning going on a walk with a friend who is going through a separation with his wife. In the past I have found it difficult to talk with him but as we sipped our coffees in the cafe at McLarens Falls, he completely opened up and poured out his feelings and concerns. I felt priviledged to be in the conversation. And it it constantly reminded me of the great marriage God has blessed me with and not to take it for granted. I think he felt better for talking and not bottling up."
RH

"Was out surfing this week and saw a body boarder struggling in the rip. I was determined to get out of it myself let alone help anyone else. Then as I was paddling in back to where the waves were breaking I looked behind me and the body boarder was getting nowhere. So I thought OK this might inconvenience my life forever but I'm going back to help this guy. So we double teamed it until we got back to the breakers. At least 15 minutes of hard yaka and we were finally in safe waters. Talk about inconvienient but it was worth it! He was a bit shocked by it all but grateful I'm sure. I didn't stick around to get a thank you from him as the waves were too good. Oops maybe I should wave waited???"
Karl Shearman

"Me and Samantha were walking to our car parked in Countdown carpark and a really "rough" looking guy came up to us holding his head saying "i needa get to the hospital its an emergancy ill be good i promise". We didnt know if this guys was liget or not but either way we decided it wasnt safe as we were two girls so we directd him to some other guys. We were about to leave when we saw this guy had asked everyone in the carpark and started making his way down the road. We felt we needed to help. so we went to the nearest taxi asked him if he could pick up that guy and take him to the hospital and we gave him some money. The taxi driver said we would have to also go so we did that -  picked up the guy and droped him off. We didnt find out weather this guy was ok or if he was really hurt but we got him to the hospital."
Rachel

"I was conducting a training class at local church on a Saturday morning. The church we were in also ran an English Language class on Saturday mornings. As I was in the middle of my morning session, one of the people from the English Class was emerging from the toilets and paused at the side of my class. Sensing he was wanting something, rather than continuing with my training, I stopped. Turns out he needed help with his bus fare. I walked over to the side of the class where he was and pulled the coins out of my pocket to hand to him. He said it was exactly the amount he needed and thanked me. Didn't matter that I had to stop my training, my 15 Revolution moment took 15 seconds and I pray not only blessed the man who was able to catch his bus, but also spoke to the people being trained."
Brian

"My neighbour had surgery recently, so instead of chilling out infront of the TV on Sunday afternoon, I went to visit him. It was a lovely time and we were able to talk about some good issues."

"I had been gardening at the front of my house when a cyclist rode past. I called out, in a humorous way, that he was looking pretty sharp. He stopped and we got talking and as one who enjoys cycling too said that we could cycle together at a future time. He said that he would look forward to that as he has taken up cycling to keep his mind off his troubles. I enquired about these troubles and he divulged that his wife had walked out on him some weeks earlier for a friend of theirs. He is still in a state of shock, deeply troubled and questioning what has he done wrong - they have five children ranging from 11 to 2 years. We made contact again and had a good cycle ride together in which he appreciated the company. This also gave him an opportunity to talk further about his current troubles and is very appreciative that a complete stranger (me) is willing to take the time to listen. Obviously in time we may see him at church but encourage 'Lifezoners' to keep him in their prayers."
Lance Murray

"Had a couple of really beginner level interactions with 2 neighbours, one who is really old and one who is 16 and un-employed. If it wasn't for the 15 minute idea sitting in my mind, I just wouldn't have bothered. The conversations keep coming now. I'm trying not to steer them too much towards spirituality/salvation. Especially when I'm approaching them to talk, I reckon people can smell agenda. I can smell it on myself sometimes.
The 16 year old keeps coming back to my house to ask for basic help with stuff. The old guy keeps working out our side of the house."

"Spent five minutes talking to a dear man whose wife is perminantly in hospital. He just needs someone to talk to and treats us like family because of business connections many years ago. Pray that we will always have the right words for them both."
Heather 

For the first time ever, I went along to Highlife last week. Found the music from the Esther Melody Band, very loud, so stayed out the back of the church. Stayed quite awhile and enjoyed the experience, except for the volumne! As time progressed I wondered...what am I doing here Lord? How can I contribute? I noticed some young people coming in a little late, they were hesitant and uncertain and as there were not many spare seats available, they stood at the back leaning on the servery, where we used to serve-up the coffee. It troubled me they couldn't sit down, a couple of people approached them, talked and then walked away. I noticed there were a few empty chairs in the last row but people were on each end of the row. I waited a bit longer, then saw the 'late ones' were now sitting on the servery, all except one, she was still standing. I felt prompted to 'do' something! It was then I spied one chair out the back where we were. I straight away took it to this girl, she gratefully accepted it, asking if I was sure I didn't need it! She gratefully sat down and immediately looked much more comfortable! Maybe there was a purpose for going along on Friday night afterall. I am sure I felt God smiling!!

"We met some friends of ours 'by chance' in Farmers last week, they live out of town. I felt we should invite them to have dinner with us that night. The encounter was at 4.30pmish. Naturally I was thinking about what we were having, so confidently I said, we were going to have chicken pieces and I would 'throw a few extra ones in', we would be fine, they could contribute by bringing along a salad, it would be great! Well...got home and realised, just maybe the chicken wouldn't be really well cooked by 6pm, particularly as some would not be thawed properly before being cooked. (I like to be very sure with chicken). Got a bit worried, so decided to play it safe and get some Chinese Meat Selections from our local Restaurant. We had a lovely meal together and were so glad we had invited them and enjoyed catching up. However that is not the end of the story....we talked the next day by text and I found out both of them may have had a reaction to the Chinese Food.They were as surprised as we were about this. We felt bad....feeling responsible for making them sick, we had not had any problems. So....was it still the right thing to do, inviting them around, on the spur of the moment? We think so, yes we were glad we had responded to the prompting of God's Spirit and been obedient. Anyway, maybe, just,maybe it wasn't the food we dished up to them, they may have got their reactions from something else!"

"My work day is filled with paperwork and day-to-day tasks that legally only I can do. If they don't get done, then I've either got to work late, or there'll be even more to do tomorrow. If I'm in the middle of one of these tasks, and become aware of a customer waiting to be served, my first thought is usually, "one of the other staff will notice them soon." It is ironic that I chose a career to be able to help people, but that I consider a customer to be an inconvenience. The 15 Revolution is changing me, and changing my attitude to my work, for the better. So what if I'm 15 minutes late getting home?"

"To flip the senario... It happened to us and the blessing it is to receive really makes you feel like passing it on to others! We have a couple of extra people staying for a period of time. Someone we know sold some cards she made (that she had her put time and money into) She then used that money to buy some cakes at a cake stall at church, thinking of us immediately, and bring them around to us to help out. A simple act of kindness, showing love and helping out!"