SOS Monthly Newsletter - December 2002

The Trail

Dear Christian Friends,

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:1-4). We need to pray for those in authority, that we can live in peace and have freedom to preach the gospel, so that many will be saved. "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course...and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men" (2 Thess. 3:1). Paul the Apostle spent many years in prison for preaching the gospel. He made legal arguments before kings and judges, defending his rights under the Roman law. He appealed his case to Caesar. Roman law did not grant him as many rights we have today under US law. Still, he used the rights he had as a Roman citizen to argue his case under Roman law. He did this both for his own sake and for the sake of other Christians who were being imprisoned for their faith. Ultimately, he lost his legal battle, and was put to death. Over the past 2000 years, millions of Christians have died for their faith. Most of these martyrs have died in the past century.

For over 20 years, SOS Ministries has organized evangelism teams to witness on the streets of San Francisco. On Friday nights, we use a 9 watt amplifier to preach the gospel and sing about Jesus Christ. This amplifier does not require a loudspeaker permit under San Francisco law. On Saturday afternoons, we obtain loudspeaker permits from the Park and Police departments to conduct "church on the street" worship rallies in San Francisco parks and on San Francisco streets. The city issues hundreds of these permits to various groups every year.

On March 9, 1996, we had obtained a permit and scheduled music groups from two churches to minister at 5th Street and Market. We had been using this location twice a month for several years. About 80 Christians from two San Francisco churches--Shiloh Full Gospel Church and Open Bible church--were scheduled to minister that day from noon to 6 PM. At 12:15 PM, the city's noise abatement officer, Dan Gallagher, told us he had received two complaints and that he could hear our music 250 feet away. He cited us and ordered us to shut down our outreach.

After that day, we found it increasingly hard to obtain loudspeaker permits. Officer Gallagher denied us permits at several locations. Finally we applied for a permit at 989 Market Street, between 5th Street and 6th Street. We were told that we must attend a hearing, which was scheduled for May 8. At this hearing, about a dozen gay activists complained about our evangelism activities in the gay districts of San Francisco, far from the location where we were seeking a permit that day. The police department denied this permit and proceeded to deny our permits at other locations around the city.

The police department also began arresting various members of our group. I was arrested three times. John Hurst was arrested once and taken into custody for several hours. Eric Livingston was arrested four times. Once he was taken into custody for nine hours. In August, 1998, after one of our outreaches had ended and we had loaded up our sound system, Officer Balma arrested me for "disturbing the peace" because of one complaint and for violating the city's noise ordinance because he could hear our event over 250 feet from our speakers. The police confiscated our sound system and it took us almost a year to get it back. Eric's prosecution took five years. Twice a judge dismissed it but was overruled on appeal. Finally the district attorney dropped the case. My prosecution took three years. Judge Mason dismissed the charges, ruling that the city was enforcing their noise ordinance in an unconstitutional manner (since they only enforce it against us) and that there was no basis for the disturbing the peace charge

In 1996, faced with arrests, threats of arrest, and permit denials, we filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in an attempt to protect our freedom to preach the gospel in San Francisco without fear of arrest. A Christian lawyer, Russell Davis, has spent countless hours defending us against criminal charges and working on this lawsuit, all for free. I have also spent countless hours working on this lawsuit. Since filing the lawsuit, the city continues to restrict our permits. Our permits at Washington Square are now limited to two hours, while other groups are allowed to use this park for eight hours. The Park Department is planning to further reduce our hours or deny us permits in this park. Because of our legal victories, we have not been arrested since 1998. However, the police continue to shut down our amplifier and threaten us with arrest on some occasions.

The Federal judge assigned to our lawsuit, Judge Legge, decided to dismiss our lawsuit. We appealed to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and won an important victory. Now, after over six years, the case is finally going to trial. The trial will begin on December 2. It may last the entire month of December. The trial will be heard by a judge, Maxine Chesney, not a jury. Please pray for us, for our preparation for this trial and for the trial itself, that we will get a victory that will protect our rights, and the rights of all Christians wishing to witness for Jesus in public places. Pray for our lawyer, Russell Davis, as he prepares for and conducts the trial.

Preparing for Trial

Yesterday, I delivered to the city six boxes of evidence that we plan to use at trial. This evidence consists of over 5000 pages of documents, 28 videotapes, and 24 cassette tapes. I have to make four more copies of all this evidence, three sets for the court and one set for us. All the evidence has to be three-hole punched and placed into three-ring binders. All the exhibits need to be numbered and labeled. This is only one of dozens of things we need to accomplish in the next month as we prepare for trial. We may be calling as many as 30 people as witnesses in the trial. We may contact some of you who witnessed our arrests. Some of you live in Southern California or other states, but we need you to testify at this trial. If we contact you, please help us.

What this Case Means

We are hoping to get a ruling that the police have arrested us illegally, and an order to prevent them from arresting us for peaceful activities. We are also hoping to get a court order that the police must issue us loudspeaker permits at those locations where for years they have allowed other groups to set up sound systems without permits. While we have an overwhelming amount of evidence to support our position, the judge has a great deal of discretion as to how she rules. Please pray that Judge Chesney will view our case fairly, consider the evidence, and judge the case in accordance with the law. Please pray that God would work in her heart so she would give us a favorable ruling.

If we win this case, we will be able to conduct our outreaches freely. Also, we will be able to get longer permits in locations where we can reach many people with the gospel--especially downtown Market Street and Fisherman's Wharf. We will also be able to witness on the streets with little or no fear of arrest. If we lose the case, we will find our permits increasingly restricted, denied and perhaps eliminated. The city wants our 9 watt Maximouse amplifier declared illegal, forcing us to use the kind of bullhorn with a loud and tinny sound. We will be able to preach but not sing on the streets. The annoying sound of the bullhorn will alienate people and cause more complaints and arrests. Anytime someone complains about our event, the police will be able to arrest us and confiscate our equipment.This case will also affect other street ministries. Most likely, the outcome will be appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The case will become a precedent that can be applied around the U.S. If we lose, other cities could adopt San Francisco's strategy as a way to stop Christian preaching. If one day, as I pray, our nation experiences true revival and a renewed interest in evangelism, Christians may find that their rights to preach the gospel in public places have been greatly restricted. The stakes are tremendous. Please pray for a favorable outcome to this tr

Independent Church Choir (Richmond) ministers at Washington Square on October 12. David & Christie Livingston and Paul Coca sing at Powell & Market on October 12 The Blue Angels flew overhead during our October 12 outreach

Coming Events

Note: All outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 541-3147 (cell phone) to confirm outreaches or for more information.

Friday December 6, 13, 20 7:30-10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods (Call for location).

Sat. December 7 Berkeley Outreach 12:30-4:30 PM Telegraph and Haste St.

Sat. December 14, December 21 12-1 PM. Powell and Market St. 1:30-5 PM. UN Plaza. 7th St. and Market.

Ministry Needs

Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. Please pray for those we have witnessed to this past month, and those who have written us in response to tracts, including Roger (SF), Gary (Amarillo, TX prison), and Ian (SF). Brenda prayed with Ian on Valencia Street. He called us the next week and we were able to refer him to Teen Challenge. We also witnessed to Mara on Valencia Street. She called our house. Cammie Livingston talked with her and referred her to a support group for people struggling with homosexuality, as she is.

Don't forget to take the week of June 20-28 off from work so you can attend next summer's SOS-San Francisco outreach. We received an email from Ishfaq Boby in Pakistan requesting information about the outreach. Also, we need more Christians to witness with us on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons.

We want to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We hope this trial will be over by Christmas, so we too can enjoy the holiday. Regardless of the outcome of this trial, we intend by God's grace to continue to witness for Jesus Christ in San Francisco and Berkeley. Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. More than anything else, we need your prayers during the next two months. I am personally under tremendous stress and an unbelievable workload. After December, I hope that most of my legal work will have ended and I will be able to focus my energy on reaching people for Jesus. We have already spent about $2000 making photocopies and purchasing binders. It will cost another $1000 or more to bring in witnesses, serve summonses, etc.

Our Tape of the Month is Street Legalities by Scott Crawford. Scott is one of the founders and a director of SOS Ministries. He has preached the gospel on the streets for over 20 years. Like most street preachers, he has had many confrontations with police officers. This led him to learn about our rights under the Constitution to preach the gospel in public places.

Larry Rosenbuam