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SOS-San Francisco Outreach

Schedule — July 6-9 — REVISED!

(Note: Outreaches subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 to confirm outreaches.)

Wed. July 6 11 AM – 4 PM Fisherman’s Wharf (Powell and Jefferson St. SF)

Thurs. July 7 11 AM – 4 PM 5th St. and Market SF.

Fri. July 8 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM Financial District (1^st St. and Market), SF.

5:30-7:30 PM Haight St. & Masonic, SF.

Sat. July 9 11 AM – 2 PM 5th St. and Market

3-5 PM Union Square (Powell and Geary St) SF.

Coming Events

Friday July 1, 15, 22 6 – 9 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.

Sat. July 2 11 AM – 4 PM Fisherman’s Wharf (Powell and Jefferson St. SF)

Sat. July 16 UN Plaza 12 – 5 PM 7^th St. and Market, SF. The band “Isaiah” will play.

Sat. July 23 Dolores Park (18^th St. and Dolores) SF 1 – 5 PM

Thousands of people hear gospel at Dolores Park.

BEWARE OF FAMOUS QUOTES

Dear Christian friends,

A few years ago, as I was witnessing in Berkeley, a man told me that I didn’t need to use words to communicate the gospel. However, he apparently found it necessary to use words to tell me that.

This reminded me of an interesting teaching I found on the internet called “Beware of Famous Quotes.” It came from the International House of Prayer (Kansas City) website and was written by Hal Linhardt. The quote he was referring to was one commonly attributed to Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if you must – use words.” While this quote will not be found in his writings, Francis did tell his friars not to preach unless they had received permission to do so and he added “Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.” Linhardt has substituted his own saying, which is indeed Biblical: “Preach the Gospel at all times and – you must use words.”

Certainly, it is important that Christians practice what they preach. However, as Linhardt notes, “For centuries [Francis’] words have provided an ‘escape route from obedience’ to millions of Christians. Many in the church have seized upon his words to mean, ‘I witness with my life. Therefore I do not feel the need to speak about Jesus Christ.’ And with one broad brush, the fearful, the lazy and the carnal sweep away the testimony of the entire Bible…i.e. the use of words to tell about God.”

“Our human nature always wants the easy route. It is no exception in evangelism. We want to do evangelism because it is commanded by our Lord, but we do not want to speak directly to unbelievers about Jesus because we fear man more than God, love comfort more than obedience and are distracted by the world rather than fixing our gaze on Jesus and His Word. Furthermore, our fallen nature and the devil team up to persuade us that simple words of truth spoken in love come across as ‘crass, religious, traditional and ineffective.’ To assuage any lingering conviction, we produce ‘evangelistic strategies’ that leave us in our comfort zone and the unsaved person in his darkness. [Let the reader understand.] Such self-deception dishonors God and helps no one….

“Wrong trends left unchallenged become the accepted and even venerated church standards until God rescues us from the error of our ways….This ‘silence trend’ in evangelism has been unchallenged so long I fear it has ensconced itself in our thinking as if it were a legitimate Bible teaching. It is time for a reformation of common sense based upon Biblical example regarding how we reach the lost. It is time to speak up for Jesus Christ….

“There must be words about Jesus Christ for evangelism to take place. Words about Jesus may come in many forms such as the printed page, one on one conversations, film, video, DVD, web pages, TV, radio, etc. But regardless: NO words….NO evangelism.”

“The angel said to Cornelius, ‘Call for Peter for he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and your household.’” Acts 11 “We had boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much tribulation….For just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts…speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved.” 1 Thes. 2: 2-16. Linhardt attached a page with 22 scriptures that confirm his point that the use of words is essential in evangelism. Those who take the Bible as their authority for faith and practice will certainly agree with him.

On the Streets

On April 29, we witnessed at 16^th St. and Mission. Dave witnessed to Karl, a Catholic. After going through God’s law with him, Karl realized he wasn’t going to heaven. Dave shared the gospel, and told him to go to his “confession room” at home and confess his sins to God. He also witnessed to Herman, who said he has some Christian friends. He was waiting for a bus, and missed two buses because “I need to hear this.” He also prayed with Augustine, 17, who was a preacher’s son. His friends were trying to get him to sin, and he needed God’s strength to resist. Cal witnessed to a transsexual who said he was Lisa. When Cal asked to pray for him, he said “Yes, but don’t call me Lisa.”

The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Dave stopped to eat at a restaurant, and explained the gospel on a napkin to Sonya, a waitress. “Thank you so much for sharing with me,” she said. He also witnessed to Carlos, a young Jehovah’s Witness (JW), for 45 minutes. Afterwards, Carlos said “You are showing me things in the Bible I never saw before.” Dave and Steve also witnessed to Shakur, an intellectual Muslim from Indonesia.

On Fri. May 6 we witnessed at Powell and Market. Dave witnessed to Bill, who had been a JW for 50 years. He spoke with him and Sean, another JW, for 45 minutes. They both refused to read Bible verses Dave asked them to read. Dave left them with a warning from Romans 8:9: “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Cal witnessed to Dennis, a homosexual who professed to be a Christian. Once Cal shared about the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality, however, he walked away. Jacob witnessed to Kiante, 16, who almost got hit by a bus that day. After sharing the gospel with him, he said “I want to be saved. I want to live for Him.” Jacob and Kathy prayed with him, and he asked Jesus to save him. Jacob got his phone number to follow up on him and he has stayed in contact with him.

The next day we witnessed at 5^th and Market St. Dave witnessed to Greg, a JW, for 45 minutes. He was willing to go through the scriptures with him and got flustered that his group’s teachings could not explain them. He witnessed to Jaos, from Yemen, who was a nominal Muslim. He took a gospel of John and promised to read it. He also witnessed to Vennetu, a Catholic from India, who knew the worship songs Cal was singing. He shared the law and gospel with him and gave him a gospel of John and referred him to Reality Church. He said he would confess his sins to Jesus when he got home. Mike ministered to Elias, who had been in prison for 20 years after killing someone when he was 16. He was saved in prison, and now goes to churches giving his testimony. Jacob met Kevin, who had weighed 350 pounds. He went to an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and noticed that the Christians at that meeting had more peace than anyone else. They invited him to church and he was saved. He now weighs 120 pounds!

On Sat. May 14, we witnessed at Dolores Park. For the first time, we were told that we could only speak, and could not play music. I had explained to the Park Department that this would only generate more complaints, since people in the park prefer music to preaching. However, they insisted upon this restriction. It was a sunny day and perhaps 10,000 people were in the park. Our preaching could be heard in about ¼ of the park. And others could see our banners. We preached for four hours and had relatively few complaints and no police activity.

Allan and Cal ministered to Phil, who had been an evangelical pastor but backslid after his child died. Cal witnessed to Tal and Rafael, both Jews. He spoke with them for over an hour. Cal also witnessed to Carl, 20, who came forward when I asked if anyone wanted a New Testament. Jacob witnessed to Kelly, who was heckling my preaching. At first she was angry, but her heart softened as he shared his testimony with her. Dave witnessed to Lance, 18, who grew up Lutheran. He was upset to learn that his good works would not save him. He also witnessed to Tula, 20, a Buddhist from Mongolia. She said she had never prayed because she thought God wouldn’t listen to her. He gave her a gospel of John and encouraged her to pray to Jesus. I witnessed to Theo, who did not understand why God would allow evil in the world.

Ministry Needs

Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. This past month, we have printed 60,000 more gospel tracts and ordered two new banners.

Our 37^th annual SOS-San Francisco outreach is scheduled for July 6-9. I hope many of you will join us. Over the years, many people have asked us what “SOS” stands for. An SOS is a call for help, and we need the help of many Christians to reach the people of San Francisco with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

Over these decades, we have seen the spiritual condition of San Francisco, and the rest of the nation, decline dramatically. In many nations, Christians are put to death or imprisoned for speaking about Jesus. Remarkably, we still have the freedom to preach the gospel openly in San Francisco. Sadly, very few Christians take advantage of this freedom. That needs to change – NOW!