Coming Events
Friday July 31, Aug. 7, Aug. 14, Aug. 28 Hanging banners on 580 Freeway, Oakland
Saturday August 1, 8, 15, 29 Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. Contact me at mail@sosmin.com or (510) 282-5629 for details.
October 7-10 SOS-San Francisco
USING SIGNS AND BANNERS
(From the February 2019 Newsletter)
Dear Christian friends,
Normally, I would not repost a teaching from last year’s newsletter. But these are not normal times. This teaching is particularly appropriate for the days we are living in. Today, it is difficult to talk with people on the streets and give out tracts. So what can we do to bring the gospel to people? One thing we can do is use signs and banners. We can keep a distance from people and still bring the gospel to many people.
For the past three months, we have taken our ten-foot banners and put them on Interstate 580 near our house. From about 5,000 to 15,000 people an hour pass by this location and we are there from 3 to 4 hours. While the message is necessarily brief, at least it brings a thought about Jesus into the minds of many people who had not been thinking about Him. We also put up our banners and signs on streets and in parks wherever we witness on Saturdays.
Signs are an extremely easy and effective method of witnessing, yet Christians almost never use them. Political protest groups and labor unions know the power of signs, and have used them for years. If a dozen people are carrying signs, it looks like a major event. If the event is put on TV, it can influence millions of people.
When we have an outreach, we might give out a few hundred gospel tracts. Several hundred people might walk by us and hear our preaching, but they may only hear a few sentences. We might get to talk with a dozen people. But often over a thousand people will be challenged to think about Jesus by reading our signs.
People read signs. Someone may refuse to talk with you, may refuse a tract, but they will read the sign you’re carrying that gives a brief portion of the gospel message, and they’ll think about it. Signs are the only way to witness to the people who are driving by while you’re out on the streets. Many bars and restaurants have large windows. The people inside will read your sign as you walk by. Signs attract people’s attention. Often, they’ll come up to you and ask you why you’re carrying the sign or what you’re protesting. This gives you a perfect opportunity to witness.
It is easy to make a sign using stencils, poster paint or magic markers, cardboard, a stick and nails. The message you use on a sign needs to be brief. Some of the messages we have used include:
- Open your heart to Jesus.
- Ask me about Jesus.
- Wise men seek Him.
- Jesus Christ is God.
- To know Jesus is to love Him.
- Where will you spend eternity?
- What will you say on judgment day?
- Jesus Christ: our only hope.
We have two 10 foot banners that read “Jesus: Open your heart/Open your mind” on one side and “Only one way to God: Jesus” on the other. Whenever we have evangelism outreaches, we put up these banners in the most conspicuous place and thousands of people read them.
Arthur Blessitt popularized the idea of carrying a cross down the street, witnessing to people about Jesus. Everyone knows what the cross represents. As you carry it, people are reminded of what Jesus did for them. Often, they will ask you why you are carrying the cross. Some people make large crosses with a wheel on the bottom. One person I know uses a Styrofoam cross (much lighter!) When we carry a cross down a street known for wickedness, people really come under conviction as they think about what Jesus did for them, and how they are not following the Lord.
You can combine these methods by having a march for Jesus. We find it very effective at getting people to think about Jesus. Take a group of Christians – 10, 100, 1000, or more and start marching down the street. If possible, bring a cross, lots of signs and banners, and some guitars and other instruments. Sing worship songs as you march. This is a powerful witness to the unsaved and a great encouragement to other Christians.
On the Streets
On January 18, we witnessed in downtown Berkeley. It was my 74th birthday, and I can think of nothing better to do on my birthday. Alex witnessed to Loren, 50, who was holding a “Bernie Sanders” sign. He was quite receptive to the gospel and asked a lot of good questions. He also witnessed to Kelvin, 22, who has a Christian background and was also receptive to the gospel. Mike witnessed to Warren, who was listening to Tiffany’s singing. He also had a Christian background and was touched by the singing. Mike prayed for him. Dan from Open Air Campaigners joined us that day. He set up a second microphone so that people on the street could ask him questions and make comments. Several people took him up on that offer. One was Sabeer, about 16, who is a Sikh. He had some serious questions, and Dan tried to answer them. Later, Tiffany witnessed to Sabeer. He was with two teenage friends, who tried to get him to leave. However, Sabeer refused to leave so his friends also listened to the gospel and asked some questions.
On Fri. Feb. 21, we witnessed at 16th St. and Valencia. Alex ministered to Javier, a backslidden Christian who said he was in the Mexican mafia and is now homeless. His whole family had been killed by cartel members. Mike witnessed to Walt, 76, who was selling shirts on the street. He was open to the gospel so Mike asked him if he wanted to commit his life to Christ. “Not right now,” he responded. Mike encouraged him to get right with God when he got home. Mike also witnessed to Pete who grew up in the Hunter’s Point district of San Francisco. He had been shot several times and his 16 year old son was paralyzed from being shot. Mike tried to share the gospel with him, but he kept changing the subject. Finally, he witnessed to Luke, who asked this question while he was preaching: “How do you know the Bible is true?” Mike shared with him about Bible prophecies and other evidence for the faith. I witnessed to Tony, 25, who is an atheist. He went to Catholic school. I shared my testimony with him and spoke about Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th and Market. Mike witnessed to Sybil, who was in a wheelchair. Her son was killed a few weeks ago. He prayed for her and invited her to City Impact. Mary witnessed to Aisha, 58, who is from Morocco. She said, “we all need God in our lives.” She took an Arabic tract. She also witnessed to Thieu, 80, from Vietnam. He came to the US in 2009 and was receptive to the gospel. Ryan and I witnessed to Mikey, 23, who works in the biotech industry. His grandmother is a Christian. I shared my testimony and spoke about Bible prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.
On Fri. Feb. 28, we witnessed at 4th and Mission St. Mike ministered to Ian. He used to be a Hebrew Israelite but left that cult after Steve Carothers witnessed to him. He is now serving God. Alex witnessed to David, who grew up in a church but was backslidden. Alex shared his testimony with him. He also witnessed to Kenneth, who read the Bible in prison but is now back on the street using drugs. I witnessed to Nicholas, 20, who was raised by Christian parents. He said he believes in God but had a problem with Jesus being the only way to God. I shared my testimony with him and spoke about the Old Testament Bible prophecies that Jesus had fulfilled.
The next day, we witnessed in downtown Berkeley. We were told that there was a protest scheduled there for 2 PM, so we were concerned. However, it turned out to be a small group with a large frog float for Leap Day. They passed out fliers with a frog on a cross, saying that climate science, not religion, proves that the world is soon ending. Alex ministered to Jonathan, who complained that Christians were not feeding the poor. Alex asked him if he was hungry and bought him some food. He was homeless, and said that his family wanted nothing to do with him.
Ministry News and Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. God has certainly protected us and showed us ways to bring the gospel to many people during this very difficult time.
We had to replace both the water heaters in our house this past month. We want to thank Loi Carstenson for installing them for free. They cost $1200. The old ones were 20 years old. We could use some help scraping and painting the back of our house. We need to protect the wood.
We have scheduled our 41st annual SOS-San Francisco Outreach for October 7-10. We decided to hold it later this year in the hope we could get permits and more people will be on the streets. However, we intend to hold the outreach regardless of whether or not we receive permits.
We continue putting out our two 10 foot banners on the 580 Freeway near our house for 4 hours on Friday. On Saturday, we have been evangelizing San Francisco. We normally have about 15 Christians joining us on Saturday.
On Sat. June 13, we witnessed at 16th St. and Mission and at Dolores Park. We had no problem with the police at either location. We put up our banners and signs at 16th and Mission and preached on 16th and 17th Streets. Many people took gospel tracts at 16th & Mission and we had a few good conversations. Dolores Park had about 2000 people in it. We preached at two locations and carried signs around the park.
On Sat. June 20, we witnessed at the Farmer’s Market at the Embarcadero Ferry Building. We preached at 3 locations for 4 hours with no problems from the police. Hundreds of people heard the gospel.
Perhaps you are as tired as I am of hearing about the pandemic, so I decided to write this month’s newsletter without mentioning the “C” word. I hope you will seek out ways to bring the gospel to others during this difficult time.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
