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SOS Ministry Newsletter - October 2009
High Visibility Evangelism
Dear Christian Friends,
Often, Christians ask us if it is effective to preach, give out tracts, and carry signs. Isn't it better to develop a friendship with a single person, and spend a lot of time witnessing to him? Certainly, friendship evangelism is very much necessary, but it does not eliminate the need for mass evangelism.
Today, we are obsessed with the need to justify everything with statistics. We at SOS Ministries are frequently asked how many people were saved at our last outreach. Of course, we desire to see many people saved, but this does not justify our ministry. Noah was called a preacher of righteousness, and he warned his generation, probably, for hundreds of years, yet only his family was saved. The important thing is to obey God.
Throughout the Bible, we see God calling His servants to publicly proclaim His word in the public places, to multitudes of people. Jesus preached in the open, as did His disciples. The early believers preached publicly in the city centers wherever they went. Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone. While one-on-one witnessing is a very important kind of witnessing, little is said about it in the Bible and only a few instances are recorded.
Preaching, on the other hand, is a major theme in the scriptures from beginning to end. Today, however, very few Christians preach in the public places and many argue that open-air preaching is ineffective and should be avoided.
Tract distribution is a form of preaching. Many people will not stay around long enough to listen to gospel preaching, so we can put the message on a tract for them to read later. Often a person will leave a tract in his pocket, or stick it in a drawer, and read it at a time when he is depressed, or thinking about the meaning of his life. Many people have been saved through a tract they picked up off the ground. Even if a person isn't saved through a tract, God can use it to get him to think about his relationship with God, or to understand better what it means to be born again.
Signs are another form of preaching. A person may not take a tract, but he can't help reading the sign you are holding. God will use that brief message to convict a person of his sin and need for salvation. People who are passing by in their cars will also read your sign.
Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." In this newsletter, I am constantly stressing the need for more workers to witness in San Francisco. In this city as in many others, the voices advocating sexual immorality, drug abuse, occult activities, and Eastern religions and cults are very loud. The voices calling people to turn from such things to faith in God through Jesus Christ have been virtually silenced. As God's word is continually proclaimed boldly and openly in the public places of the city, people will be continually confronted with their need to make a decision regarding Jesus Christ. Satan is seeking to distract people from that reality. We need to remind people continually that they have a choice to make which will determine their eternal destiny.
Is Witnessing Dangerous?
Christians often ask us if witnessing on the streets is dangerous. Actually, several thousand Christians have witnessed with us in San Francisco and Berkeley over the past 30 years. A few people (including me) have been hit, but nobody has been seriously hurt. Compared to driving a car, witnessing (at least in the U.S.) is extremely safe. Lots of people are killed in auto accidents, but that doesn’t keep us from driving. However, witnessing is dangerous—to the Devil and his kingdom. That’s why he tries so hard to prevent Christians from witnessing.
On The Streets
We had only expected a few Christians to join our August 8 outreach at UN Plaza, but God had different plans. I knew that James Croci and Tim Moon would be playing music that day. I had also invited Raymond Landry, but didn’t know until the day before the outreach that he would be coming. Raymond used to be a homeless drug addict over 20 years ago. He often heard our outreaches at Powell and Market. He was saved 20 years ago, graduated from college, and is now married with two children. On August 8, he preached and gave his testimony, which really ministered to the many homeless people and drug addicts in this plaza.
Raymond also brought several people from his church, a dozen Christian youth from a church in Concord, and about 15 Christian youth who were visiting from Australia. Two young men did Christian rap. One of them had been sentenced to 15 years in Federal prison, but after he was saved, the judge released him after he served less than 2 years! The Australia group preached and did some skits. Also, when we arrived, about 20 Hispanic Christians were witnessing in the park. They witness there almost every week. Many people gathered to hear the music and preaching, and we prayed with quite a few people that afternoon.
We knew a large group would be with us on August 15. Sixty youth from Shelter Cove church in Modesto were joining us for the first time. Their worship band played at Fisherman’s Wharf and later at Union Square. The band “Factor 11” also played at Union Square. There was an art show that afternoon, which drew many people to the park. That day, some of the largest crowds that we had ever seen at Union Square gathered to hear the music. That evening, Paul, Noreen and I visited the Carlos Annocondia crusade at Civic Center. Several thousand people, mostly Hispanic, were present at the crusade.
Coming Events
Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 or 926-3299 to confirm outreaches or for more information.
Friday October 9, 16, 30 Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. 7:30 - 10 PM (Call for location.)
Saturday Oct 10, 17, 31 Evangelism outreach. Berkeley (Telegraph & Haste St.) or San Francisco (Jefferson St. between Powell and Mason). (Location depends on weather. Call Sat. from 8-10 AM for location.)
Ministry Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry.
Please pray for those who have written us recently in response to tracts, including Henry (SF), Casey (Jericho, NY), Carlos and Ray (Soledad CA prison), Lonnie (Tecumseh NE prison), Anthony (Murietta CA prison), Bobby (Wasco CA prison), Kevin (Vacaville CA prison), Donald (Corcoran CA prison), and Eric (San Luis Obispo prison). As you can see, most of the people who write us in response to tracts are in prison. We don’t know if they are given the tract by someone while they are in prison, or if they are arrested after receiving a tract from us on the streets. However, prison gives someone an opportunity to see the consequences of their sins and have time to reflect on their lives. Many people do turn to Jesus while in prison.
We have three openings in our Oakland ministry house. We are looking for men in their 20’s or 30’s who are spiritually strong 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. We are also open to having older Christian men live in this house.
Please pray that God will bring the right people for our house. 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 Effective Ministry to the Homeless by Patrick Martin. Patrick directs the Homeless Ministry at the Potter’s House in Dallas.
I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month.
Yours in His Love,
Larry Rosenbaum
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