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SOS Monthly Newsletter - May 2005Thirty YearsDear Christian friends, Thirty years ago, in the spring of 1975, God called me to come to San Francisco and witness on the streets. I had lived in San Francisco as a "hippie" before I was saved and I always had a special burden for this city. My only plans were to get a part-time job and spend the rest of my time witnessing. I never expected to start a street ministry. For the first year, I lived in a $55 a month room on Mission St. My main desire was to find a few Christians to witness with me...a difficult task. In the process God led me to some pastors and evangelists with a desire to reach San Francisco for Jesus. Together we started SOS Ministries. During the past 30 years, thousands of Christians have participated in an ongoing outreach to the people of San Francisco. We have organized hundreds of outdoor worship rallies, given out several million gospel tracts, witnessed personally to tens of thousands of people, and seen hundreds of people saved. A team of Christians has been witnessing on the streets of San Francisco and Berkeley on Friday night and Saturday afternoon on most weekends for the past 28 years! Sometimes Christians are amazed that I am still in San Francisco, witnessing on the streets, after so many years. Street ministries tend to be short-lived, and San Francisco is a very difficult city to witness in. I know that God has called me here. He has established SOS Ministries and He has sustained us over the years. I am willing by God's grace to continue the work here as long as He wants me to. SOS -San Francisco July 15-23Every person on this planet will spend eternity either in the eternal bliss of Heaven or in the eternal torments of Hell. We have the Words of Life that can change their eternal destiny. We need to use every hour we have left to reach as many as possible for Jesus. Will we keep silent or will we open our mouths? SOS - San Francisco is an opportunity to get training and practical experience in evangelism. The hardest part is overcoming apathy and fear. Once you actually come to SOS, God will give you divine appointments to witness to people. He will give you the right words to speak to each person. The experience you get during SOS week will help you become a bolder and more effective witness for Jesus in your everyday life. Satan does not want Christians to witness for Jesus and he will do everything he can to keep you from coming to SOS. Please don't miss this year's SOS-San Francisco outreach. If possible, ask your boss if you can get off work to attend the entire outreach. If not, plan to come on Saturdays and in the evening. The outreach begins Friday July 15 at 6 PM with worship, orientation and evangelism training at 7 PM. On Saturday July 16 we will have a worship rally at Powell and Market St. from noon to 1 PM and at Union Square from 2:30 to 4:30 PM. Meetings are held daily except Sunday at 9 AM at Temple Baptist Church, 3355 19th Ave., in San Francisco. Free housing is available during the outreach. Bring a sleeping bag and foam pad. If you prefer, we can send you names of hotels in the area. We have printed 4000 full-color cards that you can give out at your church, to Christian friends, and at Christian events, schools and bookstores. This outreach is guaranteed to change your life--and the lives of those you will reach for Jesus. ON THE STREETSOn Saturday February 18, John Land brought Rix with him to our outreach at Fisherman’s Wharf. Rix had ministered with John in the 1970’s, but had been backslidden for years and was seriously ill. Rix rededicated his life to Christ that afternoon and is currently attending church with John. On Saturday March 12, Independent Community Church, Richmond, ministered with us in Berkeley. Their leader, Raymond Landry, used to hear us preaching at Powell and Market about 20 years ago when he was homeless, eating garbage out of trash cans. Today he has graduated from college and is married with a family. He has ministered with us for about 15 years. On March 19, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Rain had been forecast for the entire day so we set up three canopies. A police officer told us to take down the canopies, so we did not think we would be able to have our outreach. However, the sky cleared and we had a beautiful, sunny day! Jeff and Alina Parrott ministered through dance. They brought a dozen people from their Morgan Hill fellowship, including two families with children. Last month, the youth leader from First Presbyterian Church, Boulder, CO, told me he was planning to bring a team of college students to witness in San Francisco. However, they were having difficulty getting commitments from their team, so they did not know if they would be able to come. On Friday March 24, a group of 24 students showed up at our door. We witnessed at Powell and Market. It was Good Friday, and as we preached a young woman dressed in black jumped on a cement wall, held out her hands as though she were being crucified, and started screaming incoherently. A large crowd gathered around us. On March 26, the band Peculiar played at Fisherman’s Wharf. A police officer told us to take our Christian signs off some poles, so several Christians walked up and down the street carrying the signs.
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