Coming Events
(Outreaches subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 a few hours before the outreach to confirm)
Friday June 7, 14, 21, 28 5 – 8 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Sat. June 8 Fisherman’s Wharf (Jefferson St. near Mason) SF 11 AM – 4 PM.
Sat. June 15 Union Square outreach 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Sat. June 22 5th and Market St. 12 – 4 PM
Sat. June 29 Berkeley outreach (Shattuck and Center St.) 12-4 PM
July 10 – 13 SOS-San Francisco 40th YEAR!
How SOS Ministries Got Started – Part 4
Dear Christian friends,
During our first SOS‑San Francisco outreach in 1980, about fifty Christians were surrounded by several hundred angry homosexuals on Castro Street, the center of militant homosexuality in San Francisco. We were worshiping the Lord and God showed us to keep worshiping Him, as a witness to the people who were mocking us. After about an hour, we were able to leave peacefully. Nobody was hurt.
In 1980, our ministry received a lot of criticism from San Francisco churches. In 1981, God showed us to reach out to these churches and serve them. That year, we were able to work with twenty local churches and established an excellent relationship with them. We really needed that support from local churches when we met such great opposition from the militant homosexuals. We also put together a slide show about our ministry and showed it to about ten thousand Christians at 50 churches and several large Christian gatherings.
We planned a second SOS-San Francisco for 1981. During this year, opposition to us by the homosexual community became very intense. A city-funded organization called Community United Against Violence spearheaded a campaign against us in the homosexual press. Every week an article appeared which described us in the worst possible terms. “They harass local citizens . . . They condemn minorities . . . They cause violence . . . They cry out for our extermination,” said one flier. We became the targets of homosexual hostility towards Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell, even though we carefully avoided any political statements.
That year, several thousand people came against about five hundred Christians at one of our rallies. But God had prepared us for the opposition. He instructed us to do nothing but worship Him, and not to respond to their attacks. For two hours, we worshiped God, singing a few choruses over and over. Those who were opposing blew whistles in our ears, tore up tracts and Bibles, even tried to destroy the PA system.
The police were there with riot gear and were ready to intervene. Finally, we began to sing “Oh, the blood of Jesus.” As we sang that song, the whistle noise died down. People started to walk away. The officer in charge of the riot squad said, “Keep singing that song. It’s changing things.” Nobody was hurt that day. Some of those who had opposed us told us later that they were ashamed of their behavior.
The organization that led the opposition was torn apart by division the next year, and has stopped fighting our work.
At the end of 1981, a Christian brother donated part of the down payment on a San Francisco house, allowing us to buy a house that has become the center of our ministry. 1982 and 1983 were years of growth–getting our ministry established, raising up leaders, witnessing to many people and counseling new believers. In 1982, Jeff Harsh, a Christian businessman from Kansas, came here at his own expense to videotape our SOS outreach and put together a presentation for us. In 1983, we conducted our first Institute of Evangelism.
On the Streets
On Fri. March 15, we witnessed at 16th and Mission St. Mike witnessed to William, who had studied with the JW’s and Mormons. Mike shared the gospel with him and warned him about these cults. He also witnessed to Phil, who said “it is great what you are doing.” Mike invited him to attend City Impact. Dave witnessed to two girls, Belinda and Mamela, both about 14, who had just missed their bus. Dave said, “There’s a reason why you missed the bus. God wanted me to talk with you.” He shared the gospel with them, and they were quite receptive.
The next day, we witnessed in downtown Berkeley. Paul and Noreen Coca and Teddy Randazzo played music. Dave and Steve witnessed to Chen, from China. He was studying Western religions and had a lot of questions. After they shared the gospel with him, Dave asked him, “Am I going to see you in Heaven?” He said, “Yes.” Dave also witnessed to Alexander and Anastasio, brothers in their mid 20’s, who were Greek Orthodox. After he shared the gospel with them, their parents, who are Christians, came by and thanked him for witnessing to their sons. Cal witnessed to Anna, who had never heard the gospel. She grew up in a non-believing home and became a Buddhist. She was quite receptive and gave Cal her number. She said she had to leave but wanted to continue their conversation.
On Fri. March 22, we witnessed at Powell and Market. It rained part of the night so we set up a canopy. While Cal was preaching, Diane, 18, stopped to listen. She was with some friends who tried to get her to leave but she said, “I really want to hear this.” Mike spoke with Mary, 16, who went to Catholic School but said she was an atheist. Mike gave her some evidence for the truth of the gospel, and she was interested. Dave witnessed to Furkan, a cultural Muslim from Turkey who was studying at UC-Berkeley. He listened to the gospel and took a gospel of John. He also witnessed to Mike, from India. Mike said one of his best friends had been a womanizer who got saved and his life was dramatically changed. However, Mike said that meditation, not Jesus, was his path to God. Nonetheless, he listened as Dave shared the gospel and he took a gospel of John.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th and Market. Dave and Steve witnessed to Gabriel, 21, an au pair from Brazil. He was very open to the gospel and was interested in attending a Christian church. They also witnessed to V.J., from India, who asked lots of questions and took a gospel of John. Mike witnessed to Fred, a Muslim who couldn’t understand how God could have a son. Kathy witnessed to Vanya, a homeless woman who took some warm clothes and a gospel of John.
On Fri. March 29, we witnessed at 24th St. and Mission. A Christian was preaching in Spanish on one corner, so we set up across the street from him. An hour later, a group protesting the Nicaragua government arrived where we were. They said they came to this spot every Friday so we needed to leave. We tried reasoning with them, but they started playing loud music, so we were forced to move across the street. By that time, the Christian preacher had left. Alex witnessed to Jonathan, who was into New Age thinking but seemed to agree with the scriptures Alex shared with him. Dave witnessed to Rafael, 14, who was listening to our preaching. He said he believed in reincarnation. He also witnessed to Michael, 21, from Germany. He said he was an atheist, and Dave gave him some arguments for the existence of God. I witnessed to 4 teenage girls who said they were Catholic and believed in purgatory.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th and Market. Mike witnessed to Chase, who attends an evangelical church in Texas. However, when Mike asked him if he had ever asked Jesus to be his Savior, he said “I gotta go” and walked away. Mike also witnessed to Kevin, who claims to be a Christian and volunteers at City Impact but smokes pot and uses meth. Mike told him about a Christian 12 step program to help with drug addiction, but he was not interested. Dave and Uli witnessed to Blair, 17, who grew up in a non-religious family. He had studied different religions but said he was an atheist. After Dave gave some arguments for the existence of God, Blair said, “I’ve never heard it put like this before. This is very eye-opening.” He took a gospel of John and said he would read it. Dave also witnessed to Rafael, 22, from France, who was raised Catholic. He said he had been meeting with some Christians in France and learning from them. He took a gospel of John.
Alex saw a young man who remembered talking to Alex before. He said, “after we talked, I went home and cried.” He also witnessed to Theodore, a Hebrew-Israelite. Unlike some members of this group, he believes it is possible for white people to be saved, but he still is confused about salvation, and thinks it mainly involves works. I was passing out tracts across the street and gave tracts to 4 teenage boys who live in San Francisco. They didn’t want to talk with me, but an hour later, they stopped to listen to Mike preach the gospel for about 10 minutes.
Ministry Needs
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry.
We have settled our dispute with the San Francisco Park Dept. We will be paying $143 for each park permit (we had been paying $80 but they wanted to charge us up to $1000 per permit). We will also get two 2 1/2 hour permits at Dolores Park each year. While it is an extra expense, it is a lot better than what they wanted to charge us, and we are avoiding the uncertainty (and time and stress) of going to court. Thank you for your prayers.
I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month.