ISEMA Newsletter
Dear Christian friends,
This is the first monthly news update which we will be sending to all members and supporters of the International Street and Evangelism Ministries Association (ISEMA). For those of you attending the National Street Ministries Conference in Dallas, we want to introduce you to ISEMA and invite you to become a member.
ISEMA is an organization of Christians who are hungry to see a move of God and are willing to link up with others to fulfill the Great Commission. By joining together we can accomplish much more than what we can do alone. Through this ISEMA News Update and our quarterly ISEMA Newsletter, we can share a schedule of upcoming outreaches, teachings relating to evangelism, news reports from various locations, ministry materials that will help in evangelism, etc. We will also be establishing ISEMA chapters in various locations to provide a means of fellowship, encouragement, training, and cooperative outreaches. We will continue to organize regional Evangelism Equipping Conferences and are planning our first ISEMA International Convention in 1989.
For too long, evangelists have had a reputation of working independently of one another and the local church. We need to start helping one another and be willing to receive counsel and instruction from one another. We urge you to join ISEMA and become actively involved in helping fulfill this vision.
News Items
Summer Outreaches
This summer featured new outreaches to Honolulu, Atlanta, Fort Worth and East St. Louis, as well as a continuation of outreaches to Hollywood, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and San Francisco. We’ll have more complete reports in our next quarterly newsletter, but here are some quick reports from some of the outreaches:
SOS-Hollywood
This outreach, in its fourth year, had over 150 registrants. Over 100 children participated in a Vacation Bible School held throughout the week. Three hundred people joined in a march down Hollywood Blvd. Hundreds gathered at a Fourth of July rally featuring Soldiers for Jesus and Andre Walton, a professional skateboarder. Many responded to the altar calls that day.
Jesus Loves You-New York
This outreach, now in its third year, focused mostly on the Greenwich Village and Times Square areas. One rally was held in Harlem, where about thirty people responded to an altar call, including an on-duty policeman. One brother witnessed to an Orthodox Jewish rabbi from Jerusalem who was remarkably receptive to the Gospel. About 800 follow-up cards were turned in of those making professions of faith in Christ.
SOS-San Francisco
This outreach, in its ninth year, was extended to two weeks for the first time. The first two days were spent in fasting and prayer. Over 100 Christians witnessed on the streets every afternoon with 200-300 involved evenings and weekends. The entire group went to the opening day of “The Last Temptation of Christ” movie to witness to those attending. A picture of a brother holding a large cross in front of the theater made the front page of the S.F. Examiner. One brother, noticing a “Palm Reading” sign painted on a window on Polk St., prayed against it. A few hours later, someone was removing the sign with a razor blade! On the final day, about 500 Christians marched with hundreds of signs through downtown San Francisco to the Fisherman’s Wharf area where new believers were baptized in the Bay.
Other Outreach Reports
Arthur Blessitt Takes Cross to Moscow
This past June, Arthur Blessitt, who has carried a large wooden cross over 25,000 miles into 90 countries, took his cross to Moscow. After trying unsuccessfully for several months to get a visa to Russia, he finally arranged to get in with a tourist group. He took the cross right into Red Square, preached and witnessed openly, and walked the cross through Moscow with no problems from the KGB or police.
Small Town Evangelism in
Southern Texas
This past summer, Gary Lukas (Box 1232, Richmond, TX 77469, 713-232-6002) witnessed in 10 towns between Houston and San Antonio. He gave out thousands of tracts and witnessed to people at such events as Luling’s 35th Annual Watermelon Thump and Parade and the 12th Annual Fulshear Follies. Gary writes in his newsletter, “Many of the 10,000 special events held in North America each year have no visible witness. A majority of people from all walks of life and in probably every spiritual state attend some of these festivals. May Christians take every opportunity to share Christ in this perplexed age.”
Bay Area Outreach Ministries
After serving as Director of SOS Ministries for eight years, I am now beginning a new ministry to help reach other cities in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Area Outreach Ministries now operates a house for evangelism workers in Oakland and is involved in outreaches three times weekly to Berkeley. This fall, we will be contacting Bay Area churches to help them start outreaches in cities and towns throughout the Bay Area. For more information about Bay Area Outreach Ministries, contact me at the ISEMA office.
Tape Of The Month
Each month we want to make available to you cassette tapes of some of the best teachings we have on evangelism. This month we are offering two tapes: “Witnessing to Children” by Sharon Flack, S. F. Bay Area Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship, and “Rock Concert Evangelism” by Burl Wells, Director of GO Ministries in San Jose. Each tape is available upon request for a contribution of $5 or more to ISEMA.
Some Final Thoughts
As I was beginning to write this letter, I received a call from a brother who sells copy machines. He was delivering a copy machine that he was donating to our ministry. It’s a real beauty–it reduces and enlarges, prints two-sided, and collates! Praise God. He does more than we can ask or think!
Thank you for your prayers and gifts to ISEMA. We do need some additional monthly support so we can maintain our office and expand our services to members. One special need we have is for a cassette tape duplicator so we don’t have to borrow one every time we copy tapes.
Don’t forget to send us your listing for the new International Street and Evangelism Ministry Directory We’ve extended the deadline to December 1. Call or write us right away if you need a form. Also, please send us information about upcoming events in your area and other material for our next newsletter. Keep praying for us. Until next month—
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum