Bay Area Outreach Ministries Newsletter
Run To The Battle
Dear Christian friends,
When we committed our lives to Jesus Christ, we declared war on Satan, and he takes that war very seriously, whether we do or not. We all know that God has a plan for our lives but Satan also has a plan for our lives. His plan has two parts: 1) to keep us from coming to Christ and 2) having failed at that, to keep us from bringing others to Christ. He does this mainly in two ways: 1) to keep us living defeated lives as Christians, focusing on our own sins and 2) to give us various excuses for not witnessing for the Lord.
As we can see, Satan has been very successful in his strategy, as few Christians are involved in evangelism. Jesus said, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” The gates of Hell are holding in the unsaved, who are captive to Satan. The job of the church is to tear down the gates of Hell and rescue those who are lost. Since Jesus assured us victory if we go forth with the gospel, Satan’s only hope is to keep us from the task God has given us.
When we look at the spiritual condition of the U.S. and the world, the situation looks very bad. We see the carnality and sin in the church and the increasing moral decay of the world. But we need to remember that the weapons of our warfare are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds, and everything that exalts itself against God. We must begin with prayer–purifying our own lives, seeking God for revival in ourselves and in the church, and for an army of anointed laborers to go forth into the harvest field with the Everlasting Gospel. The next step is to be obedient–to make the sacrifices necessary to be used by God as a laborer in His harvest field.
Battle for Berkeley
September 14-16
In any war, there are certain locations that are keys to victory. In World War II, the battles at Normandy and Okinawa were pivotal. Even though Berkeley is relatively small in population, it was a key focus for Satan in his strategy to turn our nation away from God. Berkeley is a center for drugs, the New Age Movement, occultism, Eastern religion, sexual immorality, women’s “liberation,” etc. Berkeley is also the place were many of the future leaders of our nation and many other nations are being trained.
In recent years, Christians have pretty much given up on Berkeley, leaving it to Satan to use as one of his headquarters to train his future world leaders and to instigate new attacks on Biblical morality in our society.
During the past two and a half years, we have been involved in evangelism in Berkeley. We have faced intense opposition, and have been hindered at times by our small numbers, but have had a real impact in this city. We have been preaching in Berkeley two or three times a week. Often, hundreds of people gather to listen to the preaching. Those who come to heckle us only help to draw a crowd.
Our biggest enemy is not hostility to the gospel but apathy. The preaching removes the apathy and gets people involved. They see their need to make a choice concerning Jesus Christ. Many of the people in the crowd are eager to talk to a Christian and some will commit their lives to our Lord.
We Need Your Help
The Battle for Berkeley outreach will be held September 14-16– Thursday through Saturday. We will have meetings every morning at 9 AM at Bayview Chapel Assembly of God, 2414 Martin Luther King Way (near Haste), Berkeley. We will have evangelism training, prayer, and worship before going to the campus. We will have outreaches in the afternoon and the evening, with evening meetings on the campus. We are planning outdoor worship rallies at Sproul Plaza. Overnight housing at the church will be provided for those who need it. There will be no registration fee but we will take offerings for our expenses.
We need your help in three areas:
1. Pray. Pray for Berkeley and this important outreach–that God will send us many workers, that He will open people’s hearts to the Gospel and cause many to turn to Jesus Christ.
2. Publicize. Let your church and Christian friends know about this outreach and encourage them to come. Put the enclosed poster on your church bulletin board and ask your pastor to announce it at church. There isn’t time to mail you extra posters, but you may make copies of the enclosed poster to take to Christian bookstores in your area and give to friends.
3. Participate. Plan to take those three days off work so you can be here for the entire outreach. Satan will do everything he can to keep you from coming, as his kingdom is being threatened. Be aware of his devices and don’t be fooled by his lies. God has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church–that is, us. We are to go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit and rescue many people from Satan’s grasp for our Lord.
Ministry Needs
As you can imagine, there are many expenses involved in putting together a major evangelism outreach, such as printing and mailing out literature, printing tracts, phone calls, room reservations on campus, etc. We certainly appreciate whatever you can do to help us with these expenses.
We presently have two openings in our evangelism house in Oakland for Christians who are mature spiritually and have a desire to witness for our Lord and help in the work of this ministry. This is also an opportunity to receive valuable training in evangelism and in the operation of a Christian ministry. Please write or call me if you are interested.
Last month we told you about the brother who was arrested for preaching the gospel in Berkeley. Amazingly, the District Attorney decided not to prosecute the case. We hope that they are finally realizing that their actions are wrong. Last Saturday, the officer who had been most hostile toward us was actually friendly.
Our Tape of the Month is by Chuck Girard: Worship, warfare, taking dominion in your city.This tape presents a strategy for reaching our cities with the Gospel involving worship, evangelism, and spiritual warfare.
God bless you all. I’m looking forward to seeing you September 14-16 at the Battle for Berkeley outreach.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
OUTREACH SCHEDULE
WEEKLY OUTREACHES—WEDNESDAY 10:30 AM-2 PM FRIDAY 6:45 – 11 PM SATURDAY 12-4 PM Meet at 3039 Dakota St., Oakland. Take 580 Freeway to Fruitvale exit. East on Fruitvale to MacArthur. Right on MacArthur to Maple. Right on Maple (2 blocks) to Dakota. Left on Dakota. House is 1/2 block up on right. Call to confirm meetings.
SPECIAL OUTREACHES—
SEPTEMBER 2-4 PAUL BUNYAN DAYS OUTREACH, FORT BRAGG, CA. With Caspar Foursquare Church.
SEPTEMBER 14-16 BATTLE FOR BERKELEY. Meet at 9 AM daily at Bayview Chapel. 2414 M.L.King Way (near Haste) Berkeley, (415) 841-2300. Call us for more information and schedule details: (415) 531-5325.
