Pressing On
Dear Christian friends,
It only lasted ten minutes. On Friday November 8 we appeared before Judge Legge, hoping to obtain a preliminary injunction against the City of San Francisco. We wanted to stop them from arresting us, citing us, and denying us permits to preach the gospel in San Francisco. The judge, however, was totally unsympathetic to our arguments.
This was only a hearing on a preliminary injunction and we knew we might not get it. Still we were shocked by the complete rejection of every argument we presented. I believe we had made a very strong case based on many legal precedents. Most outrageous was the arrest of Eric Livingston on August 9. He was handcuffed, taken to jail, and had his equipment confiscated while legally preaching on a city street. This was based on a complaint by a single person about his preaching. Certainly, we thought the judge would issue an injunction to prevent this from happening again, but he didn’t.
The Rutherford Institute has agreed to appeal the matter to the U.S. Court of Appeals. This is one step below the U.S. Supreme Court. Please pray for the Rutherford lawyers who will be preparing the appeal and that the Court of Appeals will grant us an injunction. We expect this process to take several months.
Pressing On
There is only one perfect Judge. All of us will one day stand before Him. All worldly judicial systems are imperfect. The U.S. system is one of the best. Still, guilty persons are often set free while innocent people are sometimes sent to prison and even put to death. The U.S. Supreme Court has made many ungodly decisions. The Court seems more interested in protecting pornographers than preachers. In recent years, hostility towards anti-abortion protesters has resulted in curbs on free speech such as “bubble zones” around abortion clinics. Now, it seems this hostility is extending towards Christian evangelism as well. Congress recently passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to stop some of these abuses. This summer, the Supreme Court will decide on its “constitutionality” and may overturn it.
The apostle Paul used the legal system and appealed to Caesar. But in the end, he lost his legal battle and his head. Things haven’t gotten that bad yet in the U.S. We have been cited four times in San Francisco but haven’t been prosecuted yet. Eric went to jail but only for an hour. We still have great freedom to preach, give out gospel tracts, and witness throughout the city.
We are even getting some loudspeaker permits (with much difficulty). On November 23, we got a permit for a six-hour outreach on Market St. between 4th and 3rd St. This seems to be the only place they will give us permits, but it is a good location with thousands of people walking by. We wonder what will happen if somebody complains at this location.
Our problems are certainly small compared to those endured by Paul (see 2 Corin. 11:23-33) and many other godly men (see Hebrews 11). Some of the saddest words in the Bible were penned by Paul from prison shortly before his death: “Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me. For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world…Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me….At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me….Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.” (2 Tim. 4:9-17)
SOS Staff Evangelism House
In 1979, ten Christians with a desire to reach San Francisco for Jesus moved into a house near San Francisco State University. Together, they became the core of a new outreach ministry–SOS Ministries. Since that time, the SOS evangelism house (now located in Oakland) has been the headquarters for SOS Ministries. By living together, staff members of SOS have been able to encourage one another to continue witnessing for Jesus. At the same time, house members receive on-the-job training in practical evangelism and discipleship. They learn about training Christians in evangelism, organizing a weekly street witnessing team and a city-wide outreach, and working with local churches.
We are looking for radical Christians, those who take the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ seriously. Being a disciple involves obeying the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” Five million people live in the San Francisco area. Few are born-again believers. They come from almost every nation on earth. Many have never heard the gospel. In addition, millions of tourists from all over the world visit San Francisco each year. Many of them do not know about Jesus. Many of the children and teenagers in San Francisco have never heard the gospel. Many of the adults have no Christian friends or co-workers witnessing to them.
Is God calling you to join us in reaching the people of the San Francisco area for Jesus? We are looking for “a few good men” and women to join us in this effort. Jesus said, “he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” We are looking for Christians with a servant’s heart, so we can work together in unity.
Coming Events
EVERY FRIDAY 7 PM. Witnessing in various S.F. neighborhoods. Meet at Vineyard, 7th St. and Harrison, San Francisco. Call (510) 531- 5325 for more information.
EVERY SATURDAY Noon. San Francisco or Berkeley witnessing. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
Sat. January 18, San Francisco Outreach. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
February 6-12, Mardi Gras Outreach, New Orleans. Call (703) 368-6286 or (414) 445-9490.
Sat. February 22, Chinese New Year Parade Outreach, SF. Call (510) 531-5325 for time and meeting place.
Ministry News and Needs
On November 7 and 8, the New Life Drama Company from Cleveland, TN witnessed with us in San Francisco and Berkeley. This team of six young people is traveling around the U.S. for a year, ministering in churches and on the streets. They stayed at our house and were a real encouragement to us.
On November 16, we ministered in Berkeley. It was raining, so we set up under the awning outside a record store. The store manager apparently called the police, but they didn’t respond. It is quite a contrast to the situation in San Francisco. We haven’t had any problem with the Berkeley police since we won a lawsuit there. Paul and Noreen Coca sang that afternoon and we gave out thousands of gospel tracts.
Recently, a brother donated a 6-channel sound system to the ministry. We used it for the first time at our Thanksgiving Outreach on November 23 (and we are indeed thankful to finally have our own sound system). Tom Burnowski and family and New Springs Christian Fellowship ministered. Thousands of people heard the gospel and we had a few good conversations. This sound system works great for small groups like this, but we will need a bigger system for larger music groups and locations (like the Embarcadero).
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
