Newsletter & Coming Events – January 2013

Click Here to View This Month’s Slideshow

Current Outreaches – January

Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 to confirm outreaches or for more information.

Friday January 18 and 25 7:30 – 10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.

Sat. January 19 and 26  12:30 – 4:30 PM Berkeley Outreach, Telegraph and Haste  St.

Caring For The Lost

by Amanda Moghadas

(Amanda is an Iranian Christian who lives in Modesto and frequently witnesses on the streets with us. Her family moved here from Iran to escape persecution.)

Go  therefore and  make  disciples of  all the nations” (Matt 28:19).

As some of you may know, I first joined SOS in 2006 and I have known some of these brothers for over six years now. These brethren honor the Lord by sharing the Truth (with grace, not condemnation) and without compromising the gospel of Christ. Joining these brethren for the last few years has been a growing experience for me. It has given me many opportunities to talk to strangers, to relate to them, to share my faith with the unsaved, and to encourage believers. In short, I have learned how to share the simple gospel of Christ with the unsaved through the power of God (not wisdom of men and not by using persuasive words). I have learned how to honor the Lord by sharing the Truth with the unsaved without compromising. And I have learned what it means to be a true follower of Jesus and to make a “full-time commitment to the Lord” – to take our cross and to follow Him wholeheartedly. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.

As you know, SOS is an interdenominational, evangelical ministry in the Bay Area (specifically Berkeley and San Francisco) that has been serving the area for over 35 years. The ministry’s purpose is two-fold: (1) To share the gospel of Christ with the people of the Bay Area; and (2) To train Christians and churches in evangelism and help them reach their own communities for Jesus.

SOS is also well known as “church on the street.” Is this what Jesus has commanded us to do? Absolutely! It is indeed Jesus’ style. Jesus and His disciples “went out” and ministered to “complete strangers” by proclaiming the message of salvation. They did not bring people in. They went out to people in the communities. And this is exactly what these brethren do. They go out on the streets of Berkeley and San Francisco and they preach the simple message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified to complete strangers.

I see Jesus’ heart, love, and compassion for the lost when I fellowship with my brothers in Christ in the Bay Area. These brethren have a burden for the lost – like our Savior, Jesus, did. I was once told that the true believers in Christ (those truly transformed in the image of Christ) know the cost of redemption and they hold the cup of salvation in their quavering, trembling hands.

My brothers in Christ see that they were not redeemed with material things but with the precious blood of Jesus and, therefore, they are holding to the cup of salvation with weakness, trembling, fear, but with the joy of the Lord. Because they are born of God’s spirit, they have a new heart that enjoys doing God’s will – which is reaching out to the unsaved. They want to share what they have with the lost.

On the other hand, these brethren do not draw attention to themselves. In fact, they seldom are acknowledged or recognized for the work they do for the Lord simply because they do not expect recognition; they do all things heartily unto the Lord, not to men (Colossians 3:23). The Lord is exalted and glorified through the work He is getting done through these brethren.

Who are these brethren? These brothers are ordinary people and sinners – like you and I – saved by the precious blood of Jesus. After a long day of ministry today (Oct. 6), 11 of us went out for dinner and had a great time of fellowship. During street witnessing, we don’t really get to fellowship and talk because we focus on sharing our faith with the unsaved and we do not want to take time away from ministry. So the dinner was an opportunity to talk to these brethren. I also had an opportunity to talk to some of our new brothers in Christ.

For instance, one of the brothers (24 year old) came to know the Lord only two years ago. At that time, he approached two men (not knowing that they were Christians) and he asked for a cigarette. “Instead of cigarettes, they gave me Jesus,” he stated. This brother is completely transformed into the image of Christ and he is in full-time ministry doing street preaching and witnessing. Another brother (36 year old now) is a Jew that came to know the Lord when he was 17. Two Christians approached him in the train station. “One of them came toward me, with his hands in his pocket, and with shaky voice, asked me if I knew Jesus, and explained why I needed a Savior.” These are only two examples but they are  powerful testimonies of how the Lord uses what we share with total strangers on the streets.

Jesus is counting on each one of us. A brother recently shared with me that “if only one third of all Christians would go out to the streets to share Jesus, we could cover the whole country in a very short time, and then the world.” I’m inviting you all to come and join us when you can. Even if you each get to share the gospel with only one person, soon we will have the whole country covered. May we all have a burden for the lost like Jesus did and may we delight in His heart and compassion for the lost.

On the Streets

On September 29, we held our last outreach of the year at UN Plaza. Dave and Eddie saw Monica, whom Dave had witnessed to a few months ago. She was no longer pregnant, and didn’t want to talk with them. Dave also saw Danny, a Catholic he had witnessed to atUnion Square. Danny was still open to the gospel, and Dave gave him a gospel of John. Dave also witnessed to John, another Catholic who was a merchant marine and was quite interested in the gospel. Allen witnessed to Brett, who was weeping during the music and quite receptive.

On October 5, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. It was Fleet Week, so a lot of extra people were there. Several times, a group of people stood around listening to the preaching. We also had some drunk hecklers. Allan witnessed to Damon. He asked him if he ever thought about what happens after we die. Damon said that he did. This opened him up to hear the gospel.

The next day, we witnessed inBerkeleyfor the first time since last summer. As Tim sang, Brett started weeping. He admitted he was hurting, and was quite receptive to the gospel. Dave witnessed to John, a merchant marine who was Catholic and also quite open to the gospel.

On October 12, we witnessed at 16th St. and Mission. Eddie witnessed to two young men. One was a Mormon and the other an atheist. Both had lots of questions. Dave witnessed to Jackie, who was raised a Mormon but does not believe their teachings. She was listening to the preaching, and later Dave shared the gospel with her in detail. He also witnessed to Emmanuel, who was listening to the preaching. Eddie witnessed to Rina, who was giving out needles to drug addicts. Eddie also witnessed to Marvin, who had a Christian background, and  his  girl friend, who was an atheist. Larry D. prayed with a woman who was truly wanting to know God.

The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Eddie witnessed to Jaline, a meth addict who said she was a backslidden Christian. He also witnessed to Dennis, a traveler into New Age philosophy. Dave witnessed to Roy, who was fromKenya.Roysaid “God can’t forgive me” because he had killed 39 people as a soldier. He was drunk and suicidal. Paul and Noreen Coca played music.  Luzario, a Christian fromNew Mexicowho was passing by, did some Christian rap and shared his testimony.

Ministry Needs

Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We have received the funds needed to print tracts. Thank you for helping us with this need. Allan, Eddie and Larry D. still need work. Please contact me if you know of any jobs in this area. I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum