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SOS Ministry Newsletter - November 2008AT&T Park Scorecard by Larry DuBoisDear Christian Friends, What comes to mind when you think of evangelizing a stadium full of people? If you’re like me you think of a Billy Graham crusade or a Harvest Crusade with Greg Laurie. This certainly is the modern day model. Not so here at SOS. During the baseball season we go out to AT & T Park in San Francisco where the Giants play. We go about three or four times during the season on Friday night. We leave the house later than usual, getting to the game at around 8:30 pm. We position ourselves at the main gate until the game is over. Sometimes the crowds come out before the game ends, depending on how the Giants are doing. Once they start coming out we start to preach the Gospel and hand out tracts. There is only a small window of opportunity as they whisk by us to go to their vehicles or public transportation. These baseball fans are not always attentive or interested in what we have to say. Some have been drinking before and during the game, adding to their courage to disrupt the preaching. Although many tracts are taken, many are discarded as well. Larry Rosenbaum has made this observation: the reception we receive at these sporting events today is similar to the reception we received at rock concerts twenty years ago. Over the years, people’s hearts have become increasingly hardened to the Gospel. Whenever the Los Angeles Dodgers come to town to play the rival Giants there is always a great turnout, even if the Giants are having a losing season. This year we noticed that they filled the stands even without Barry Bonds, long-time Giants slugger. Tonight’s attendance was 40,000 plus. Besides the rest of our staff, Carol who is a long-time SOS participant and Eric Martinez from my church joined us. One of the characteristics of going to AT & T Park is that we stack our lineup with preachers who can endure the distractions and preach the Gospel, while the others faithfully hand out tracts and deal with problem people. Eric Baxter, one of our main preachers, was out with a severe cold and bronchitis. That left Richard, Larry R. and I to preach. I started off and preached for about twenty minutes with Richard following me. Larry Rosenbaum preached the remainder of the time. Dan Losak handed out tracts to as many of the thousands passing by him as he could. Eric Martinez, not strange to evangelism, although a rookie to the ballgame told me that he thought it was a good place to have one-on-one conversations with people. He definitely liked going there. All in all it was a good outreach night. The Giants lost. You would think that would be to our disadvantage, since people might take it out on us. However, I have observed the opposite phenomenon. When the Giants win the crowd is louder and more unruly. However, we know the real winner is the one who puts his trust in Jesus Christ. A hundred years from now, nobody will care who won this game. But on this night thousands of people heard the Gospel and made a decision either for or against Jesus Christ, a decision that will affect their eternal destiny. Preaching to GentilesOver the past few months, we have been looking at New Testament preaching. So far, all of the preaching has been directed primarily to a Jewish audience. In Acts 14, we see the first message directed to gentiles. After a crippled man was healed in Lystra (located in modern Turkey), the people thought that Paul and Barnabus were gods, calling them Jupiter and Mercury. Paul and Barnabus tore their clothes and cried out, “We are men of like passions with you, and preach to you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God, who made heaven, and earth…” “In past times he allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain…” Here we see a big difference from past sermons. Instead of speaking about Messianic prophesies, and the death and resurrection of Jesus, Paul and Barnabus give a very simple message. They speak of the fact that there is one God who created all things, and that God’s goodness is revealed in creation. Their immediate goal was to keep the people from offering sacrifices to them as gods. However, the Jews soon persuaded the people that they were evil, and Paul was stoned and left for dead. In Acts 17, we have another message by Paul to the gentiles, this time on Mars Hill in Athens. This small hill is located next to another hill, the Acropolis, home of the Parthenon and other Greek temples. Paul begins by stating that among all the religious temples and statues, he saw one altar reading “to the unknown god.” He proclaimed that this God, unknown to the Greeks, was the one true God who created all things. He does not dwell in temples and has made all nations of one blood. He quotes from two Greek poets, Epimenides and Aratus. He concludes, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commands all men every where to repent. Because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained, whereof he has given assurance to all men, in that he raised him from the dead.” Again, Paul starts his message simply. He uses an inscription on a Greek temple and quotes from two Greek poets to help make his case and identify with the people. He speaks of one God who created all things, and who does not dwell in a temple or desire us to make an image of him. Then he tells them they need to repent of idol worship and that all men will one day be judged by the one true God through one man who was raised from the dead. Some of his audience mocked the idea of the resurrection, while others wanted to hear more. A few people became believers. While some have criticized Paul’s approach on Mars Hill, there is nothing in the passage to suggest that he did anything wrong. Paul’s audience was not familiar with Jewish law or the Old Testament. He started with things they were familiar with, and used those things to make his case. The Greeks worshipped many gods who had all the faults of humans. Greek mythology is filled with stories of one god fighting with another god, or tricking another god. Many educated Greeks realized that these stories were nothing but myths. Paul didn’t try to preach the whole gospel to this audience. He wanted to lay a foundation for them to understand the gospel. Paul’s Greek audience is much like the audiences we preach to in Berkeley and San Francisco. They have heard about many different “gods” – Buddha, Krishna, Allah, etc. They don’t know if they believe in any of them. Often, we need to start with the existence of one God, who created all things, and left us a witness that He is good. Then we can talk about our need to repent from sin and to trust in the one who proved He is God by His resurrection. ON THE STREETSOn Friday September 5, we held our last outreach of the year at AT&T Park. We preached to thousands of people, and had a few good conversations. The next day, Paul and Noreen Coca ministered with us at outreaches at Washington Square and Union Square. On September 13, we held two simultaneous outreaches. Most of our house witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf with Tim Moon doing music. I went with the band Machaira, who played at Dolores Park. It was a warm, sunny day and the park was filled with hundreds of people. On September 20, we witnessed in Berkeley. Mark Whitehead brought 10 people from the church he pastors, Victory Assembly of God in Ceres (near Modesto). Paul and Noreen also ministered that afternoon. Click on Photos to Enlarge
Coming EventsNote: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 or 541-9903 (cell phone) to confirm outreaches or for more information. Friday October 3, 10, 17 7:30 - 10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. Sat. October 18 Berkeley Evangelism Outreach. 12:30 PM – 4:30 PM Telegraph & Haste St. Friday October 31 Halloween Outreach 7:30 – 10 PM Powell and Market St. Friday November 7, 14, 21 Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. 7:30 - 10 PM Sat. November 8 San Francisco Evangelism Outreach. 11:30 AM - 4 PM Fisherman’s Wharf. (Jefferson St. between Powell & Mason). Sat. November 1, 15, 22 Berkeley Evangelism Outreach. 12:30 PM – 4:30 PM Telegraph & Haste St. Ministry News and NeedsThank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We need to print about 60,000 more tracts. The cost will be about $1300. Also, we now need to pay $300 a year for liability insurance so we can get permits at Fisherman’s Wharf. We still have two openings in our Oakland ministry house. We are looking for men in their 20’s or 30’s who are spiritually strong, have administrative gifts, and are committed to evangelism. We need to train younger believers in evangelism – to reach a new generation and help us continue this work of evangelizing San Francisco and Berkeley. Please pray that God will bring the right people for our house. Also, please continue to pray that the Berkeley City Council will not take away our freedom to minister in that city. Our CD of the Month is the New Age Movement by Bob Burrows. Today’s “new agers” are much like the people Paul preached to on Mars Hill. I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month. If you live too far away, find some Christians to witness with in your own community. Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
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