Chinese New Year Parade – Outreach — Saturday March 3
Dear Christian Friends
The largest annual event in San Francisco is the Chinese New Year Parade. Each year, up to 400,000 people come to Chinatown to watch this parade! For the past nine years, we have been witnessing at this event. For many years, we would take our signs, banners and amplifiers and march at the end of the parade. Two years ago, the police made an all-out effort to keep us out, but last year we “happened to be” at the right place at the right time and were able to march through the entire parade route. At the same time, we gave out over 10,000 gospel tracts in Chinese and English to people watching the parade and had many good conversations.
This outreach also serves as a mid-year reunion for those who participate in SOS-San Francisco. We are expecting Christians to come here from as far away as Oregon. This year, we will begin the outreach with a worship rally led by Forever Grateful at the Powell St. BART station at 3 PM. There are many fast food places downtown where you can get something to eat between 3 and 5 PM. At 5 PM, we will pray, give instructions and break up into teams. We will witness in the parade area until 11 PM, gathering together for prayer at Broadway and Columbus. This is an exciting outreach and we strongly encourage you to join us this year.
SOS-San Francisco June 28-July 6
We have set the dates for this summer’s SOS-San Francisco outreach and are beginning to make preparations for the outreach. We are sending out letters to Youth With a Mission bases around the world and also to a church in Korea that sent 250 missionaries to the U.S. last summer. Pray that God will send us many workers for this summer’s outreach. Also pray that God will help us with permits and other planning for the outreach. We need to start right away since the outreach is earlier this summer. Also, plan now to get this week free for the outreach. Since the outreach falls during the Fourth of July, it should be easier to get off work this year.
Outreach Reports
December is the busiest month of the year in downtown San Francisco as hundreds of thousands of people come to the stores to do their Christmas shopping. It seems that around Christmas time people are a lot more open to hearing about Jesus, so we try to take full advantage of this opportunity. Normally, we have two outdoor worship rallies every month, but we scheduled four during December. On December 1, Forever Grateful led us in worship. About 50 Christians attended the outreach and we talked with many receptive people. One brother prayed with a drunk man who sobered up instantly. He took him to a Nicky Cruz rally that night and the man went forward at an altar call and was accepted into a Victory Outreach house. On December 8, a Youth With a Mission team from Tyler, Texas performed the drama “Toymaker and Son” at the Powell St. BART station. Several hundred people stood and sat around the area watching the drama, many for the entire hour presentation. People stopped to watch because of the professional quality of the production, but before long they were ministered to by the powerful gospel presentation in it. Next month, I will share about the Christmas outreach on December 22 and 23 with the Russian Gospel Temple and Vineyard Christian Fellowship.
Pagans’ Protest Leader Joins Born-Again Christian Church
from the S.F. Chronicle, 11/22/90
Eric Pryor, the self-proclaimed witch who led a pagan protest against televangelist Larry Lea, now says he has become a born-again Christian.
“This is a mystery to me, but I am denouncing my former practices,” said Pryor, who opened a small emporium of witchcraft called the New Earth Temple inside his Geary Street apartment in September.
Leading local pagans greeted Pryor’s conversion with skepticism….”Nobody ever heard of him or knew where he came from,” said Starhawk, San Francisco’s best known witch. “He is not tied to any respectable (!) pagan groups. He seemed very eager for media attention.”
During Sunday services last week, Pryor joined the altar call at Jubilee Christian Center in San Jose, a large charismatic church led by the Rev. Dick Bernal, a close associate of Lea.
(Ed. note: Pryor was the most vocal of the opponents at the protest against Larry Lea’s meetings we mentioned in the last newsletter. Pastor Bernal challenged him to attend the meetings and listen to what was being said. Pryor sat in the front row and apparently was saved through the witness he received. I suppose only in San Francisco would a newspaper quote “respectable” witch sources in a story.)
Some Final Thoughts
These are exciting times we are living in. As I read the newspaper, I am amazed at how quickly things are changing as the stage is being set for our Lord’s return. A year ago, we saw Eastern Europe gain freedom and great changes in the Soviet Union. Then we saw the world’s focus turn to the Middle East with Iraq’s takeover of Kuwait, bringing us close to war. Meanwhile, the U.N. is taking on a new significance with President Bush talking about a “new world order” all of which seems to be moving the U.S. away from its support of Israel in order to make concessions to the Arab nations supporting its position. In the end, we know that all the nations of the world, including the U.S., will turn against Israel (Zech. 12:3; 14:2) and that ultimately the armies of the world will converge on Megiddo in Israel (Rev. 16:16).
There are many things happening today that point toward the nearness of Christ’s return. And things are happening so quickly that a lot could change between the time I write this newsletter and the time you get it. After January 15, we could be going to war. Or somehow war may be avoided, yet we may end up in a worse situation, giving Saddam Hussein time to develop nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, economic conditions in the Soviet Union are getting so bad that it could lead to revolution or civil war–which could lead to nuclear war because of the number of nuclear weapons possessed by that nation.
For those who do not know Jesus, these should be very scary times. People distract themselves with worldly pleasures but circumstances such as a war or a severe economic recession or depression will affect people, hopefully showing them their need for Jesus. Meanwhile, the Church of Jesus Christ is snared by worldly pleasures, escapism, immorality and false doctrine. We need to be careful to avoid these snares and to walk close to Jesus, live a holy life, and give ourselves to the preaching of the gospel. Today, we have great freedom to preach the gospel in this nation and in many other nations. We need to take advantage of this opportunity as it may not last long. Public opinion is turning rapidly against Christians, as we can see from the way anti-abortion protesters have been treated. In the last election, San Francisco elected two lesbians to the Board of Supervisors (in addition to one homosexual already on the Board) and a homosexual to the School Board. “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day; the night is coming, when no man can work” John 9:4.
Ministry Needs
On December 4, Pastor Doug Shearer’s house was burned down by an arsonist. Doug is Pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship and has served on the Board of Directors of SOS Ministries since we began in 1980. Doug and his family lost everything they had–furniture, clothes, appliances, personal papers, etc. They had no insurance. If you would like to help Doug, indicate it on your check to SOS Ministries and we will send it to him. We have already sent him a gift and would like to help him more, as he has been a good friend and advisor to us for so many years. At this writing, the police do not know who the arsonist is, but it may have been the result of his outspoken support for Israel. Also, please pray for Doug and his family.
We have a new member of our house, George Hipple. George is from Pennsylvania, has participated in several SOS outreaches, and is a real soldier for Jesus. We are really happy to have him living here. We have one opening in our house. Let us know if you are interested. Also, we need more workers to witness on the streets with us on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. We especially someone to lead worship on the streets on Saturdays.
I have enclosed with this newsletter a copy of our new SOS Ministries brochure. The main purpose of this brochure is to introduce our ministry to local churches and encourage their involvement. It would really help us if you would give the brochure to your pastor along with one of our newsletters so he could become familiar with our ministry. We would be happy to visit San Francisco area churches to teach evangelism and share about our ministry. Also, ask your worship leader if he would be interested in bringing your worship group to San Francisco for a “church on the street” outreach. He may want to attend one of our outreaches first to learn more about it.
Our Tape of the Month is “Ministering Christ with Signs and Wonders” by Sondra Berry Young. Sondra has organized outreaches to the Rose Parade for many years and has been involved in evangelism in South Africa. Over the years, she has often seen God confirm His word with signs and wonders. In the Book of Acts, many people were saved following the working of miracles. We need to seek God for an increased anointing in this area in our own evangelism.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
