Wed July 10 12 – 5 PM Fifth and Market St.

Thurs July 11 11 AM – 4 PM Fisherman’s Wharf (Powell & Jefferson St.)

Friday July 12 1 – 6 PM First and Market St.

Sat. July 13  11:30 AM – 2:30 PM Union Square

3:30 – 6 PM Fifth and Market St.

Coming Events

(Outreaches subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 a few hours before the outreach to confirm)

Friday July 19, 26 5-8 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods

Sat. July 20 2:30 – 5 PM Dolores Park Outreach with Love-San Francisco. 19th St. and Dolores (This is the busiest park in the city and it was extremely difficult to get a permit here.)

Sat. July 27 12 – 5 PM UN Plaza outreach with Love- San Francisco (7th and Market)

July 20-27 Love – San Francisco Outreach. 24 hour a day prayer, worship and evangelism. Meeting at Dolores Park Church (18th St. and Dolores). Lovesf247.com.

SOS – San Francisco July 10 – 13

Forty Years

Dear Christian friends,

During the past few months, I have been writing about the early history of SOS Ministries. For 40 years, we have sent out an “SOS” for Christians to join us in preaching the gospel to the people of San Francisco. A lot of Christians have responded to our “SOS” and joined us for this outreach.

A thousand Christians participated in outreaches in 1980 and 1984. Throughout the 1980’s, we had about 300 Christians joining us each year for an entire week of outreach. About 10,000 Christians have participated in SOS outreaches over the years. We have printed and given out over a million gospel tracts. We have personally shared the gospel with perhaps 100,000 people from almost every nation.

Today, we rarely get as many as 20 Christians to join us for an evangelism outreach. What is the reason for this change? The “Jesus Movement” lasted from about 1968 – 1978. During this time, millions of people were radically saved. Many had been “hippies” who were involved in drugs and sexual immorality before coming to Christ. They had a great desire to witness to others, especially those who were trapped in that lifestyle.

I was saved in 1970 through a ministry called Shiloh, which had a network of up to 50 communal houses around the country with up to 1000 Christians. Everyone in Shiloh ministry was involved in street evangelism. We understood that this was an essential part of the Christian life, and overcame our fear of witnessing in order to reach the lost. At times, we saw someone radically saved almost every day.

SOS Ministries began at the end of the Jesus Movement. There were still a lot of Christians who were willing to witness on the streets. Since that time, however, there has been a steady decline in  the number of Christians who are willing to evangelize, especially on the streets. A recent Barna survey found that 47% of evangelical Millennials (age 23-38) “agree at least somewhat that it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith.”

Paula Bolyard and John Ellis from PJ Media wrote concerning this, “I blame Rob Bell and his ‘Bullhorn Guy’ anti-evangelism video. How many church youth groups used his nonsense videos in place of Bible studies?”

“Could some Christians evangelize in better ways? Sure. But at least the ‘Bullhorn Guy’ is obeying Jesus’ command to preach the gospel. Claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ (a Christian) and then believing that it is wrong to evangelize is a baffling contradiction of terms. Not evangelizing the lost is in direct disobedience to Jesus.”

Anti-evangelism attitudes in the so-called evangelical church did not begin or end with Rob Bell. In recent decades, a number of popular books have been written on “Friendship Evangelism.” Increasingly, there was more emphasis on “friendship” and less on “evangelism.” So Christians were encouraged to make friends with unbelievers, but those who did rarely got around to sharing the gospel with them. After all, telling non-Christians that they need to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ might ruin your friendship. And a misquoted statement by St. Francis of Assisi gave many Christians the false idea that they could preach the gospel without using words.

“Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.” 1 Tim. 4:1. Jesus asked this question, “When the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8.   Good question.

On the Streets

On Friday April 12, we witnessed at the Sony Metreon. Dave witnessed to Dennis, a Filipino Catholic who didn’t know if he was going to Heaven. He thanked Dave for sharing the gospel with him. Dave also witnessed to John, 65, another Catholic. After they went through the plan of salvation in a gospel of John booklet together, he said, “This makes sense” and took the booklet with him.  Finally, he witnessed to Shannon, an Irish woman who had just missed her bus. He said, “There is a different bus you can’t miss. The fare has already been paid.” When he asked her if she was going to Heaven, she said, “I don’t think so.” Mike witnessed to Mark, who was homeless and in a wheelchair. Mike also told him where he could get help with some physical needs. Kathy witnessed to Shanna, who was also in a wheelchair. She gave her some clothes and money for food, and prayed for her.

The next day, we witnessed at 5^th and Market. Alex witnessed to Donna. As he prayed for her, she began to weep. He also witnessed to Theodore, who had been deceived by Hebrew-Israelite teachings. Mike witnessed to Trent, 20, who is from Pleasanton but has a serious drug problem and supported his habit with prostitution. He was on meth and was shaking uncontrollably. He also used fentanol and heroin. Mike shared how a friend was delivered from heroin addiction because he feared God. Dave and Steve witnessed to April, a transvestite man who knew the Bible but had a New Age belief. Dave asked him if his sins were forgiven. April got upset and responded, “How can anyone know? I just want to listen to the preaching.” He stayed and listened.

On Friday April 19, we witnessed at 16^th and Valencia. Cal and Dave witnessed to Saif, a devout Muslim who had lived near the Dead Sea. He was amazed when Dave said that he knew he had been forgiven for his sins. Mike witnessed to Mateo and Vincent, both Latino Catholics. He explained the difference between salvation by faith and by works. He also ministered to Sam, who grew up in a Pentecostal home but had not been serving God for the past year, since he moved to San Francisco. Alex ministered to Lynn and George. Lynn is a Christian. George is unsaved but was receptive to the gospel.

The next day, we witnessed in downtown Berkeley. Dave and Steve ministered to Jen for a long time. She is a Christian but said that it had taken her 10 years to forgive some people who really hurt her. Steve got her email and has stayed in touch with her. Alex witnessed to Brooke, who thought that everybody is good, and Jay, who was listening to our preaching. He took a tract and listened as Alex witnessed to him.

On Friday April 26, we witnessed at Powell and Market. Mike witnessed to Arianna, 25. When she was 12, she saw her brother get murdered in her house. She has 4 children, 3 of which are in protective services. She is on methadone to get free from heroin but she also uses meth. She was raised Catholic, but was open to the gospel. Mike explained the difference between salvation by works and by faith. He also invited her to City Impact. Dave witnessed to Rommel and Melina, 18, from Davis. They were both Catholic and he went through the plan of salvation and gave them a gospel of John. He witnessed to Shin, a Chinese woman who is a college graduate and had a lot of questions about the Bible. Dave and Alex witnessed to Tyler, 28, who said his life was going downhill. His girlfriend was cheating on him and several of his friends had died. He grew up in a Christian family in Georgia. They urged him to commit his life to Christ and prayed for him. Alex also witnessed to Dakota, a Jehovah’s Witness. Alex asked him his testimony. He was stumped so Alex shared his testimony with him and he listened. Alex also witnessed to Mike, a homeless man who was truly broken. He knew the gospel and said he wanted to get right with God. So Alex and I prayed with him to receive Christ.

Ministry Needs

Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. God has been faithful for over 40 years to provide for our needs. Please pray for me as I have serious pain in my knees from arthritis and have had difficulty walking for the past 3 months.

I hope many of you will join us for SOS – San Francisco and for Love – San Francisco. The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Please pray for these important outreaches.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum