ISEMA Newsletters
Ministry Spotlight: – Open Air Campaigners
Dear Christian friends,
I have been involved in evangelism ministry for nineteen years and am familiar with hundreds of ministries, but only recently did I become familiar with one of the oldest and largest street ministries in the world. Open Air Campaigners (OAC) is almost 100 years old, having been founded in Australia in 1891. They have branches in about a dozen nations on 5 continents and in at least 15 U.S. cities. Their purpose is to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to people where they are–in the streets, plazas, parks, neighborhoods, beaches, night spots.
OAC works closely with local churches in training and mobilizing Christians in evangelism and in providing follow-up for new converts. They conduct week-long training institutes in evangelism in various cities and short term outreaches in the U.S. and overseas. One method they specialize in is the use of a sketch board to present the gospel–both to children and adults. Their ministry provides books on evangelism and materials for sketch board outreach. They also have several openings for full- time staff workers both in the U.S. and overseas. Workers need to raise their own support.
An article from their newspaper (excerpted below) reminded me of the problems we have been having in Berkeley and many of you have had in your own communities:
On June 20, 1987, American director Art Williams was arrested for having an open air meeting in the street in Atlanta. “As the team leader I tried to reason with the officer, and even asked that she call a superior officer…all to no avail,” says Mr. Williams. The actual charge was “blocking the sidewalk.” Since two of the team were taking pictures, visual proof was available that no blockage had taken place. The officer demanded the film of one of the team. She refused and was arrested also. As Mr. Williams tried to give instructions to the team, another member was arrested for talking to him. “Several officers advised us not to appear in court and accept whatever fine would be levied against us,” Mr. Williams recalls, “which would have been an admission of guilt. That would not do!” A Christian legal organization agreed to defend the three campaigners at no charge. Additional costs were expected to be about $2000 (including several trips from New Jersey to attend hearings). On reflection, Mr. Williams says, “During the time of our incarceration two people trusted the Lord as Savior and two were restored to Him. Our team grew in their commitment to Him. And we are confident that even more good will come from this experience.”
For more information about Open Air Campaigners, contact them at Box 2440, Plainfield, NJ 07060, (201) 757-8427.
Coming Events
JULY 26-AUGUST 6 MINERS DAYS, BIG BEAR LAKE, CA Contact Forerunner Ministries, Box 4066, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315, (714) 585-4428.
SATURDAY JULY 29 SANTA CLARA COUNTY FAIR OUTREACH Christian worship groups will be playing at the county fair for five hours while Christians witness. Meet at 2 PM at Evangel Christian Fellowship, 1255 Pedro Road, San Jose, CA. Call (415) 531-5325 for more information.
JULY 30-AUGUST 3 TOLEDO, OH OUTREACH Contact Rev. Jim Palmer, 3021 E Dublin Granville Rd., Columbus OH 43229, (614) 890-2290.
JULY 31-AUGUST 2 DUNAMIS ’89 CONFERENCE DALLAS, TX Mario Murillo, Chuck Girard, Winkie Pratney, Carlton Pearson. Maturing in evangelism ministry. $50. Contact Mario Murillo Ministries, (818) 341-9754.
AUGUST 2-6 MILWAUKEE OUTREACH Contact Hosanna for the Nations, 3525 Sunnycrest Dr. Brookfield, WI 53005, (414) 781- 1192.
AUGUST 7-19 SOS-SAN FRANCISCO Tenth year. Guests include Chuck Girard and Ray Comfort. Contact SOS Ministries, Box 27054, San Francisco, CA 94127, (415) 552-2300.
AUGUST 15-31 PHILIPPINES OUTREACH $1100. Contact YWAM, Richardson Springs, CA 95973, (916) 893-6750.
AUGUST 18-20 BURLINGTON, IOWA OUTREACH Contact Greg Colegrove, (319) 754-4500.
AUGUST 21-25 WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA OUTREACH Contact Gregg Hackett, (317) 474-1432.
AUGUST 30- SEPTEMBER 3 MINNEAPOLIS OUTREACH Contact Mile Shields, 1315 Portland Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55404, (602) 332-2409.
SEPTEMBER 9-23 CHINA, JAPAN, KOREA OUTREACHES $1495- 1995. Contact Forward Edge, Box 4976, Eureka, CA 95502, (707) 443-6315.
SEPTEMBER 14-16 BATTLE FOR BERKELEY Outreach to University of California and city of Berkeley, sponsored by several local churches and ministries. Contact Bay Area Outreach Ministries, Box 27358, Oakland, CA 94602, (415) 531-5325.
SEPTEMBER 28-30 NATIONAL STREET MINISTRIES CONFERENCE DALLAS, TX Winkie Pratney, Sonny Arguinzoni, many others. Contact NSMC, Box 380306, Duncanville, TX 75138, (214) 331-6902.
Ministry Needs
Last month’s ISEMA newsletter featured the ministry of evangelist Ray Comfort. Ray has written us that he will send a copy of his new book, Hell’s Best Kept Secret, which retails for $8.95, free and postage paid to all ISEMA newsletter readers who request it. Make sure your address is printed clearly. You may contact him at Box 1172, Bellflower, CA 90706, (213) 920-8431 or indicate you want the book on the ISEMA response sheet and we will forward your requests. Ray will also be teaching at SOS-San Francisco on August 9-10.
Leaders of many evangelism ministries, and hundreds of Christians interested in evangelism, will be attending the National Street Ministries Conference in Dallas, September 29-30. I would like to attend this conference so I can meet many of you and let others know about ISEMA. It will cost about $500 to do this, and I will need your financial support in order to attend.
Our Tape of the Month is “Small Town Evangelism” by Scott Crawford. There are thousands of small towns across our nation that need to be reached as well as the large cities. This teaching provides some excellent suggestions for reaching the people in these towns.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
