SOS Monthly Newsletter - November 2006

Salt of the Earth

Dear Christian friends,

Often, Christians ask me why we are still preaching the gospel in San Francisco. In their minds, San Francisco is hopelessly corrupt and headed for certain destruction. My answer to these people is first, that God has called me here and has not changed His instructions. Second, there are many people here who need to hear the gospel. Even if every adult resident of this city had heard and rejected the gospel (which hasn't yet happened), there are thousands of children born here every year, thousands more immigrants and foreign students, and millions of tourists who come here every year. These people have not all heard and rejected the gospel.

Finally, San Francisco is one of the most influential cities in the world. Over the past 40 years, our society has gone through tremendous changes ﷓﷓ away from God and Christian morality. To a large extent, these changes originated in San Francisco. San Francisco was a leader in the drug movement, the new age movement, occultism and satanism, radical left﷓wing political movements, sexual immorality and homosexuality, etc. It was the first U.S. city to allow "topless" bars and have a "Church of Satan." It was the first U.S. city to officially endorse homosexual relationships.

These changes did not remain confined to San Francisco and a few other cities. They have influenced every city and town in the United States, and almost the entire world as well. In the Bible, leaven (yeast) represents sin. "Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough" 1 Cor. 5:6. Sin does not remain confined in one location. It spreads everywhere. In 1965, illegal drugs were available only in large cities. Today, they are sold in every town in the U.S. One survey found that marijuana use among 8th graders has doubled in the past three years.

The United States is by far the most influential nation on earth. Almost every nation, even Communist China, is now seeking to adopt American﷓style capitalism. American movies and television shows are seen by billions of people in almost every nation. They show an extravagant standard of living and glorify our corrupt morals and hostility to Christianity. The moral decay of cities like San Francisco and Hollywood is spreading around the world ﷓﷓ rapidly.

Just as the spread of an infection is stopped by antibiotics, the spread of sin can only be stopped by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By mobilizing Christians to pray for San Francisco and proclaim the Gospel to the people of this city, we are helping slow the moral decay in this city ﷓﷓ and its spread throughout the world. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth" (Matt. 5:13). The Wycliffe Bible Commentary writes: "Salt. A common food preservative, often used symbolically. Believers are a restraint upon the world's corruption. Unbelievers are often kept from evil deeds because of a moral consciousness traceable to Christian influence."

Jesus said, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no man can work" (John 9:4). We too must seek to be a strong witness for our Lord Jesus Christ while we can. The day may soon be coming when we will no longer be able to witness openly for Jesus Christ in our nation. Please pray for us and help us be light and salt to a dark and decaying world.

On the Streets

On Sept. 2, we held our fourth and final Washington Square outreach for 2006. The band Machaira ministered. They also gave out many Bibles and music CD’s to people in the park. About 15 Christians were witnessing in the park. We gave out many tracts. May was able to witness to several Chinese-speaking people. Bethany witnessed for two hours to Tom, a commercial airline pilot. At first he was mocking the Christian message, but as they spoke, he became quite receptive to the gospel.

I witnessed to two young men from Ireland. Later I witnessed to Akira, a college student from Japan. He knew English and had a Japanese Bible. However, he had never heard the gospel, and I was able to explain it to him for the first time. He was quite receptive. Finally, I witnessed to two Jewish boys and one girl, aged 13-15. It was probably the first time they had spoken with a Jewish believer in Jesus, and they were quite interested.

On Sept. 8, we joined the prayer meeting on Treasure Island. S............ shared about his ministry to Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He gave an amazing testimony about how he was taken hostage in Afghanistan, and God delivered him! Afterwards, we witnessed at the Giants baseball game. We preached to thousands of people and had several good conversations. Loi spoke with a Jewish man who was quite receptive to the gospel. On Sept. 9 we witnessed in Berkeley. Seventeen Christians witnessed with us that afternoon. On Sunday Sept. 10, four of us decided to witness at the Solano Avenue Stroll, a Berkeley street fair that draws about 250,000 people. We gave out hundreds of tracts and had some excellent conversations, mostly with teenagers. I spoke with several teens, including one Jewish boy who had just returned from Israel.

On September 15, we witnessed on Valencia St. A few minutes after we arrived, Bethany and Mike spoke with Roger, who was near death with liver cancer. Roger said he wanted to pray to receive Christ, but would do it later. Bethany asked him, “How long do you have?” Roger decided to pray right then to get right with God.

On September 16, we held our first outreach at Dolores Park, in the Mission District, in 12 years. We were denied permits there in 1994 and had not returned. The police captain told me he had denied our request for a permit at 24th St. and Mission (somehow we got the permit anyway last summer) but didn’t object to our request for Dolores Park. Last Days Harvest Church from Sacramento ministered that afternoon. We witnessed to hundreds of people that afternoon. Bethany prayed with a 4th grade boy, Jose, to receive Christ while his father watched.

	Last Days Harvest ministers at Dolores Park
	Shelby and Katelyn sing with Paul in Berkeley.
	Bethany prays with Roger to receive Christ on Valencia St
	Bethany witnesses to Jose while his father reads a tract at Dolores Park

Coming Events

Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 or 541-9903 (cell phone) to confirm outreaches or for more information.

Friday November 3, 10, 17 7:30 - 10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. (Call for location).

Sat. November 4, 11, 18 11:30 AM - 5 PM San Francisco or Berkeley Outreach. (Call for location).

Ministry Needs

On September 6, Paul and Noreen Coca celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They have been great friends to me and a wonderful help to the ministry. We wish them many more happy years together serving Jesus.

We are happy to have a new member of our evangelism house. Bethany Elie taught elementary school at the International Christian School in Kabul, Afghanistan for two years. Before that, she taught for six years in South Korea. She had many opportunities to witness to people in Kabul, although she had to be very careful. She intends to go overseas after living with us for a year. Meanwhile, she wants to witness to Muslims in this area. She plans to visit a large Afghani community in Fremont several times a month. She also wants to minister to youth groups about evangelism.

If you live in the Bay Area and you would like for Bethany to share about her experiences on the mission field and teach on evangelism at your church or youth group, please let me know.

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We have printed 60,000 new tracts and hope to print another 60,000 by the end of the year. We still need a musician to lead worship on the streets on Friday nights. Also, we still need a volunteer to help with office work about six hours a month.

Our Tape of the Month is Small Town Evangelism by Scott Crawford. Scott lives in Colby, Kansas and has evangelized many small towns.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum