Ministry News Update
Dear Christian friends,
In last month’s newsletter, I told you that the police are seeking to deny us permits at Powell and Market St. I want to thank those of you who signed the petitions and attended the June 24 hearing. I should learn the results by July 10, after this newsletter has gone to the printer.
Six people had spoken against us at a special hearing on June 9. Most were street artists who felt we were hurting their business. At our June 24 hearing, we submitted a petition supporting our application signed by over 1500 people, including 970 San Francisco residents, 50 people who live near Powell & Market, and 24 vendors who work in the area!
Jesus said we are to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” I knew we couldn’t get many people to sign a petition granting Christians the right to preach on the streets. But if we can’t get permits at Powell and Market, street musicians also won’t be able to get permits there. And lots of people enjoy listening to street music. So I put together a petition addressed to the Chief of Police that read “We urge you to continue to grant permits for street musicians to play amplified music on the streets of San Francisco, and particularly in the Powell and Market St. area.”
We went to the Haight St. Fair and North Beach Fair. Tens of thousands of people listen to street music at these events. Most were eager to sign the petition. Derek Scholl and I spent about 10 hours each getting most of the names. Scott Robbins, Wayne Worthington and Leo Bounds also distributed petitions. We sent copies of the petitions to the Chief of Police, the Mayor and most of the city’s supervisors.
One would think with over 1500 people in favor of our application and perhaps 15 against, we will certainly get the permits. However, the Police Department is deciding the matter and it is impossible to predict what they will do.
Today I learned that the Chief of Police has granted us three five-hour permits on Market Street during SOS. Their letter concluded: “The locations the Applicant has requested are noise sensitive locations but loudspeaker permits are not forbidden.” I still haven’t heard about Powell and Market, but this is very encouraging.
God is in Control
“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course” 2 Thess. 3:1. Surely, God wants His Word to go freely to every person. But throughout church history, most nations have placed restrictions on the preaching of the gospel. Today, it is illegal to preach or even speak about Jesus in many nations.
In the U.S., we still have much freedom to preach the gospel. But the church is largely complacent and takes little advantage of this freedom. Many non-Christians reject the gospel partly be cause of the hypocrisy and worldliness they see in many Christians.
In 1 Timothy, Paul exhorts us to pray for our leaders “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” Even though we are to pray in this manner, God does not guarantee that we will in fact lead a quiet and peaceable life. On the contrary, we are promised that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).
Why does God allow godly believers to be persecuted? Persecution purifies true Christians by causing them to seek God more intensely. It also purifies the church by causing false professors of Christ to leave the church. Finally, it produces a powerful testimony of God’s power to sustain His people through intense suffering. Thousands of people were saved in ancient Rome through the testimony of Christians joyfully facing death from the lions. The persecution of believers in China today has resulted in millions of converts.
While our desire and prayer is to live a quiet and peaceful life, and to have freedom to preach the Gospel, God will at times allow us to face persecution. The criminal prosecution Eric Livingston and I now face for preaching the gospel is a mild form of persecution. We probably are not yet facing a jail sentence. But this too could happen one day, as it has to many Christians.
Sometimes Christians use submission to God’s will as an excuse for laziness. In the matter of Powell and Market permits, I believe that this is an important issue and that God wanted me to make every effort to get these permits. So I spent many hours getting 1500 names for our petition. I wrote many letters and did everything I could to argue our case. Now, having done everything I can to get the permits, I must submit the matter to God. I continue to pray that we will get the permits, but I must leave the matter in His hands.
SOS-San Francisco
Special Guest:
Chuck Girard
Even if we can’t get permits at Powell and Market, we still can get permits at other locations. I expect to have permits for outreaches every day during our SOS outreach, but I’m not sure right now where they will be. The Park Department is granting us permits at Sharon Meadow (Golden Gate Park), Union Square, and United Nations Plaza (7th St. and Market).
Chuck Girard has been a good friend of our ministry for many years. He ministers through music around the world, and we are honored that he has agreed to join us for this year’s SOS outreach. He will be with us from August 2-5, ministering on the street and in our meetings.
Last year, Pastor Gary Goodell from the San Diego Vineyard brought a team from his church to join our outreach. A youth group from Canada, led by Trey Bourette, also joined us. They led us in a very joyous form of worship at our outdoor outreaches, celebrating our joy in knowing Jesus through music and dance. These groups will be with us again this summer. We also have youth groups coming from Southern California and Texas.
Last year was also the 30th anniversary of the “Summer of Love.” In 1967 and 1968, thousands of “hippies” (including myself) came to the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco looking for love and peace. What we found then was a counterfeit, but now we have found the real thing. This summer, we will be ministering throughout the city, but especially to the youth in the Haight-Ashbury district. We have applied for permits to hold two rallies at Sharon Meadow, near “hippie hill” in Golden Gate Park.
Thousands of youth are still coming to San Francisco each summer, seeking the same things the “hippies” were looking for 30 years ago. Several dozen of these youth have come to know Jesus. We hope many more will be saved this summer. Jesus said, “the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” We urge you to join us for a day, a weekend, or the whole week as laborers in our Lord’s harvest field.
We have enclosed a registration form with this newsletter. Bring it with you when you come to SOS. Free housing is available at the Vineyard Church. Bring a sleeping bag and foam pad. We will be serving breakfast and lunch starting Monday August 3. (No meals the first weekend. However, there are inexpensive restaurants nearby to get dinner.) If you live in the Bay Area and must work, you may join us at night and on weekends.
The SOS-San Francisco Outreach begins Friday July 31 at 6 PM at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, 7th St. and Harrison, San Francisco. Meetings will continue at 9 AM and 6 PM daily except Sunday at the Vineyard Church. We will witness every afternoon and evening at various locations in the city. Evangelism training will be held on Friday night, Saturday morning and night, and Monday and Tuesday morning. On Saturday August 1 we will have an outdoor rally at Sharon Meadow (near the Children’s playground) in Golden Gate Park from noon to 4 PM. We will hold afternoon rallies each day at other locations. Please call or write us if you have any questions. See the bulletin insert enclosed with this newsletter for more outreach details.
Coming Events
EVERY FRIDAY 7:15 PM. Witnessing in various S.F. neighborhoods. Meet at Vineyard, 7th St. and Harrison, San Francisco. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
July 31-August 8 SOS-San Francisco/Summer of Love Out reach. Year 19. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
Sat. August 15 Berkeley Outreach. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
Sat. August 22 San Francisco Outreach. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
October 1-3 National Conference on Street & Evangelistic Ministry, Houston, TX. Call (602) 404-9757.
Ministry Needs
In February, 1997, Eric Livingston was arrested and put in jail during our Chinese New Year outreach. He was charged with “dis turbing the peace.” The judge that heard the case dismissed it in June, 1997, but the District Attorney appealed. The dismissal was thrown out by an appeals court because the judge didn’t fill out a certain form with his reasons on it. So it appears that Eric may once again face prosecution on this matter, even though there is no factual basis for the charges. Please pray that the matter will be dismissed quickly.
Remember to pray for us that God will direct us in our preparations for SOS and provide our needs. Our expenses are greatest in the spring, as we prepare for SOS-San Francisco. We are printing 200,000 tracts at a cost of over $2000.
Our Tape of the Month is Praise, Worship and Spiritual Warfare by Chuck Girard. This tape outlines a strategy for reaching our cities through concerted prayer, worship and evangelism. Chuck will be teaching and ministering in worship at this year’s SOS outreach. I hope to see you at one of our upcoming outreaches and, especially, at SOS-San Francisco.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
