ISEMA Newsletters
National Street Ministries Conference
Christians from all over the United States attended the sixth annual National Street Ministries Conference in Dallas. This year’s theme was “Launching the Army of God into the 90’s.” About 500 were in attendance throughout the conference, with another 500 from the Dallas area attending the evening meetings. Many Christians who are not presently involved in evangelism came to learn about street ministry. The conference featured a wide variety of workshops–mobilizing youth for outreach, evangelizing special events, integrity and accountability in ministry, legal issues, etc.
I had not been able to attend the conference for the past three years, and it was a good opportunity to see leaders of ministries I had not seen since then, and to meet others who had begun new ministries. I gave out hundreds of International Street and Evangelism Ministries Assn. (ISEMA) newsletters and brochures and over 100 people signed up to receive our ISEMA newsletter. Many ministries signed up to be listed in next year’s street directory and I was able to give away 100 copies of my book, You Shall Be My Witnesses: How to Reach Your City for Christ. Much credit goes to Scott Hinkle and the other leaders for putting on an excellent conference, which God is using to help launch His Army into the 90’s.
Would Peter Give a Damn?
by Ray Comfort (from his book Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain…the Darker Side of America, available for $4 from Living Waters Publications, Box 1172, Bellflower, CA 90706, (213) 920- 8431)
It was just another day in Downtown Los Angeles in the famed MacArthur Park, commonly known as the “armpit of L.A.”….One poor guy was stabbed to death and his body thrown in the lake. Another was fatally shot in the back in a fight over drugs….I have seen people weeping because they were so hungry, and pregnant women with undernourished babies, pleading for us to give them milk….
For over twelve years I preached the Gospel open-air style almost every day at “Speaker’s Corner” in Christchurch New Zealand, but I’d never seen the sights I saw almost daily at the “Armpit.” According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, MacArthur Park is the major Columbian cocaine connection for the United States….
Most big cities have their own MacArthur Park – their own “magneticus undesirable”; but how could such misery happen in such a prosperous country as the United States where…there are over 2 million millionaires and…55 billionaires? Simple. Lawlessness and suffering are the direct result of the Christian Church failing to be the influence it should be, one of being the “salt of the earth.”
The major property of salt in Biblical times was one of preservation. MacArthur Park is the fruit of a generation left without a preserved moral code. It is one of free sex, and not quite so free drugs. It’s a generation which has 1.2 million of its teenagers become pregnant each year, and over 33,000 teenagers getting some sort of sexually transmitted disease each day! It is the fruit of a society which has lost respect for all forms of authority, whether it be civil or moral, God or the flag. When that happens, it ultimately loses respect for itself, and is devoured by its own decay.
With a few faithful exceptions, the Church has also failed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and heal the sick. Instead, we have become self-indulgent, building big beautiful buildings, with cool clear acoustics and colorful carpets, where as cozy Christians we sit on padded pews while the world sinks further into suffering. Whether I am speaking in a university or on the street, the question on the lips of our young people is, “What about the double standard of the Church?” They seem to know more than the church does about Biblical priority when it comes to taking care of the poor. In the Book of Acts, Peter and John didn’t leave a poor beggar lying on the ground. Peter looked at the man and said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee…” (italics added). There is no way I can justify the riches of the contemporary Church. But what I can say to the youth of today is that if they were to make Saint Peter the treasurer of the Protestant, and the Catholic Church for that matter, for three minutes, he would write out checks so fast, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and reach the lost, flames would leap off the paper!
I heard of a preacher who effectively ordered the priorities of a church. He stood in the pulpit and said, “Every day 10,000 people die of starvation, and many of you couldn’t give a damn! In fact, many of you are more concerned that I said the word “damn” from the pulpit than you are about 10,000 people a day dying of starvation!”
I am sure that if the church would order its priorities and empty its collection bags out for the MacArthur Parks of America, it may at the same time, even remove the stains of just cynicism and contempt it has brought upon itself in the past few years. And from there, who knows….the world may even take seriously what we have to say.
Coming Events
October 27-November 1 Fantasy Festival. Key West, FL Contact Streetwise, Box 866503, Plano, TX 75086, (214) 423-7095.
November 10-21 La Paz, Mexico Outreach. Contact Final Frontiers (Richard Paradise, Director), 1650 Tribute Rd., Sacramento, CA 95815, (916) 649-9064 or 451-0664.
December 31-January 1 Florida Bowl Blitz. Orange Bowl, Gator Bowl, Citrus Bowl. Contact Youth Department, Trinity Assembly of God, 7255 S. Military Trail, Lake Worth, Fl 33463, (407) 965- 4166.
December 31-January 1 Rose Parade Outreach, Pasadena. 17th year. Contact Sondra Berry Young Ministries, P O Box 3044, Newport Beach, CA 92659, (714) 650-0525.
January 4-15 Mexico City Outreach. $1000-1200. Deadline November 3. Contact Center for Urban Outreach, Liberty University (Claude Dallas, Director), Box 20000, Lynchburg, VA 24506, (804) 582-2310.
February 22-27 Mardi Gras Outreach. New Orleans, LA. Contact Christ in Action, Box 41848, Chicago, IL 60641, (312) 736-1400.
February 23-25 Washington DC tour. $100-125. Deadline December 8. Contact Center for Urban Outreach (address above).
March 8-19 Caribbean Tour. $1300-1500. Deadline December 8. Contact Center for Urban Outreach (address above).
Ministry Needs
After the National Street Ministry Conference ended, I had an opportunity to talk with some ministry leaders and to reflect on the need for a street ministry association. Despite the growth of many street ministries during the past few years, the fact remains that street ministry is still held in very low esteem by most Christians. Very few churches support street ministry in terms of involvement or finance. As a result, almost every ministry struggles with a lack of workers and funds.
Jesus said, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). For years, American workers struggled under harsh conditions to work long hours for little pay. Finally, they began to join together to form labor unions. After much struggle, their pay, benefits and hours have vastly improved. The same could be said for a great many groups: blacks, retired people, the handicapped, etc.
Not all union, of course, is godly, as we are reminded from the Tower of Babel. But even then, there was great strength in unity. “Behold, the people is one…and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Gen. 11:6). However, God does want His people to work together in unity to do His work. “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1). “(I pray) that they all may be one in us; that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).
Evangelists, particularly street ministers, tend to be very independent and have a hard time working together with one another and with the local church. Yet cooperation is exactly what we need if street ministry is to obtain credibility with the local church. To many Christians, a street minister is a wild-eyed fanatic who yells at people. Some think that street evangelism may be a good experience for youth, but certainly isn’t for adults. As long as these stereotypes persist, street ministries will remain small and weak. Some evangelists resort to various gimmicks to raise money; others get jobs to support themselves, leaving little time for ministry.
We who are in street ministry need to work to change these stereotypes. We need to show the church that we can work together with each other and the local church, that evangelism is the task of the entire church, and that our function is to equip the church to do the work of ministry (Eph. 4). Those ministries that are strong need to help those that are weak.
I believe that God has raised up ISEMA for this purpose. Through ISEMA, street ministers can join together to provide fellowship, training, and encouragement for Christians interested in street ministry. ISEMA can also promote evangelism in local churches and provide visibility for street ministry. I would like to see ISEMA booths at large Christian gatherings–Jesus Festivals, National Conventions for the major denominations, etc., informing Christians about street ministries in their area and the need for evangelism. I pray that each of you will see your need to join ISEMA and actively support us as we seek to serve ministries and help the church see its need to be involved in evangelism.
Our “Tape of the Month” is called “Worship, Warfare, and Witnessing” by Chuck Girard, given at this year’s National Street Ministry Conference. Truly, God desires to raise up an Army, an army that will march in unity and not break ranks, to proclaim His word in the 90’s.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
