Coming Events
Friday March 14, 21, 28 4-7 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Saturday March 15, 22, 29 12-4 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
50 YEARS OF PREACHING IN SAN FRANCISCO
Dear Christian friends,
I came to San Francisco in Spring, 1975 and have been preaching here for 50 years. I hope many of you found our study of street preaching in the book of Acts to be helpful. Often, we meet people on the street who say they agree with our message but don’t agree with how we are spreading it. Many Christians think that the way we win people to Christ is not by our words but by living a godly life. Eventually, others will notice how different we are and ask us what makes us that way. At that point, we can share the gospel with them. Also we can invite friends to church and hope they will attend and hear the gospel at church.
While I believe that friendship evangelism is important, and many people are saved through this means, it is clear from the Bible that God is also calling us to proclaim the gospel in public places where there are many people, some of whom have no Christian friends and will not otherwise hear the gospel. If you read through the book of Acts, it is clear that Peter, Paul and other Christians were openly preaching the gospel in one city after another. Paul’s practice was to first find a synagogue where he could preach to the Jews in the city. When most of them rejected the gospel, he would go to the gentiles and preach to them. Often, many believed and a church was formed. Also, frequently there were riots followed by arrests and in some cases martyrdom.
I came to San Francisco to preach the gospel in 1975. This was near the end of the “Jesus Movement” in which hundreds of thousands of “hippies” were saved through street evangelism, as I was. As a result, there was a great interest in street evangelism. From 1977 to 1986, we frequently had 300 Christians attending weekend outreaches. Three times, 1000 Christians joined our outreaches. We had many opportunities to speak at local churches and encourage Christians to evangelize on the street. There were also dozens of street evangelism ministries around the country. About 1000 Christians attended the National Street Ministries Conference in Dallas each year. I attended several times.
In 1987 and 1988, there were major scandals involving two popular TV evangelists, Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. As a result, the world “evangelist” became a dirty word in the Christian world. Christians were instructed only to support their local church, not “parachurch” ministries that were not to be trusted. It seemed almost every street ministry lost half of their financial support, as we did. Many shut down. Also, a lot fewer Christians wanted to be involved in street evangelism. Instead, the local churches promoted “friendship evangelism,” which involved making friends with non-Christians. The Christian often never actually shared the gospel or watered it down. There also was the “Church Growth Movement” that emphasized making church services pleasant for people to attend and often softening the gospel message, avoiding mention of sin or repentance. Many pastors and youth leaders often considered street evangelism to be ineffective and counterproductive to getting people saved. At the same time, some street preachers wanted nothing to do with the local church. They talked about nothing but sin and Hell, focused on stopping sinful behavior rather than trusting in Jesus, and seemed very angry and argumentative.
On the Streets
On Friday August 2, we witnessed at 16th St. and Mission. At the end of the day, a Spanish-speaking woman approached us with her son, Josiah, who is 11. He said he was a Christian and had been witnessing to his friends. He said he had never preached before but wanted to preach. We let him preach, and he did a great job. It seemed that everyone on the street was amazed to hear this boy’s preaching. Josiah said he had been watching preachers on YouTube.
On Friday August 9, we witnessed at Powell and Market. Mike spoke with Robert, a security guard that Mike used to work with. Robert was listening to our preaching and liked it. He took two Chick cartoon tracts and said he likes them. Mike also witnessed to Aaron, who lives in the Tenderloin (skid row) area. He seemed to agree with the gospel message. Mike gave him a gospel tract and invited him to City Impact Church. Finally, Mike witnessed to two young skateboarders, Joseph and James. James knew the Bible well, but was using drugs and was not walking with God. Alex witnessed to Kyle, 30, who grew up in the “Bible belt” of North Carolina. He had been exposed to the gospel and said he believed in Jesus, but did not believe in Satan, demons or Hell. He was also using drugs. Alex shared some scriptures about Hell with him.
On Friday August 30 we witnessed at 4th and Mission. Mike spoke with seven girls, all about 14, who said that they love Jesus and were headed to church at the moment. It was very encouraging to see some young people who love our Lord. Alex witnessed to Charlie, who said Heaven and Hell are on earth. Alex told him that Heaven and Hell are literal places and showed him some scriptures on the subject. He told him God has given us a conscience, and we know we have sinned. He also shared some of his testimony with him.
On Friday September 6, we witnessed at 24th and Mission. A lot of people here speak only Spanish. Adrian preached both in English and in Spanish. Mike spoke with Paul, who said he believed in God and said he knew many people lacked purpose in their lives. Mike explained the gospel with him and gave him a Bible. He encouraged him to start reading the gospel of John. Mike also witnessed to two brothers, Sean and Yvon. They both attend Washington High School in San Francisco and said their mother is a devout Christian. They were open to the gospel and listened as Mike shared his testimony and the gospel with them. He encouraged them to seek to know Jesus and read the New Testament.
Adrian ministered to Diane, 45, who has two sons and a daughter. She was particularly concerned about her daughter, Joanna, 20, who had been involved in drugs but had recently said she wanted to give her life to God. She wanted to help her daughter find a good church so she would grow spiritually. Adrian gave her contact information for two good churches in San Francisco.
The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. About 12 members of Regeneration Church in Oakland joined us. We have known people from this church for many years, but this is the first time they joined one of our outreaches. Several musicians from their church played music. While we were on the streets, I received a phone call learning that Scott Crawford had gone to be with Jesus. The rest of the afternoon was difficult for us, but we continued the outreach as Scott would have wanted.
A Final Word
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We still have three openings in our ministry house. We are looking for spiritually mature young men with a serious desire to evangelize San Francisco.
San Francisco’s rainy season began a few months ago. On many days, we are not sure whether or not it will be raining. We tried witnessing at Powell and O’Farrell St, where there is a large awning over the sidewalk. However, the building owners and police have given us a very hard time there. So we have decided to return to Powell and Market when rain is likely. We have canopies, but unfortunately they don’t always keep our sound equipment dry and don’t protect those who are witnessing and giving out tracts in the rain. Please pray that God will give us wisdom in handling this difficult situation.
When I think about the small problem we face witnessing in the rain, I remember that many Christians have suffered imprisonment and even death for preaching the gospel. And tens of thousands of people will sit in the rain or freezing cold for hours to watch a sporting event.
I hope many of you will join one of our outreaches or witness in your own community.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
