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Coming Events
Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 to confirm outreaches or for more information.
Friday May 3, 10, 17 6 – 9 PM Witnessing inSan Francisco neighborhoods.
Sat. May 4 12-5 PM UN Plaza 7th St. and Market SF. Shelter Cove Church, Modesto
Sat. May 11 1-5 PM Dolores Park, 19th St. and Dolores, SF.
Sat. May 18 11 AM – 1 PM Fisherman’s Wharf (Jefferson St. near Mason)
3-5 PM Union Square (Powell St. near Geary) SF. Living Waters Church, Alameda.
Effective Street Preaching
Dear Christian friends,
Street preachers are representatives of Jesus Christ to thousands of unsaved people, but unfortunately we do not always represent Him well. I hope the suggestions below will help those of us who preach on the streets become more effective.
1. A wise man receives instruction. Often the world of street preachers is one of anarchy, where everyone does what is right in his own eyes and nobody listens to anyone else. First of all, I believe that God would have each of us be part of a home church and be accountable to its leadership. We need to have a teachable spirit, so we can learn from others. Ask other Christians to listen to your preaching and make suggestions as to how you could improve. Try to avoid getting defensive when people ‑‑ Christians or non‑Christians ‑‑ criticize your preaching. Perhaps they have something to say that will help you improve your preaching.
2. More of Jesus, less of me. We need to be careful not to allow our carnal nature to affect our preaching. For example, we may have had a hard day at work, but we don’t want to take our frustrations out on the people we preach to. Or someone on the street may have cursed at us, but we don’t want to respond out of carnal anger.
3. Spend time in one‑on‑one ministry. We need personal contact with unbelievers so we can listen to them and learn to relate better with them. We need to become proficient at listening as well as talking.
4. Preaching is communication. In order to preach effectively, our message must be heard and understood by the people we are preaching to. We need to speak distinctly and present our message in a manner that the people standing around us or walking by can understand. If our audience is moving by rapidly, we need to adjust our message so they can benefit from the short segments of our preaching they can hear. We could be preaching a wonderful message, but people could be walking by so fast they can’t understand what we’re talking about. Ask a Christian to listen to you and let you know if you can be heard distinctly and if you are clearly presenting the gospel.
5. Seek to become all things to all men. We are to consider our audience, using language and speaking of topics they can relate to. We can be contemporary and at the same time speak in a dignified manner, as befits the gospel.
6. Responding in the opposite spirit. If people are argumentative and proud in their reaction to us, we should respond in a gentle, humble manner. Don’t descend to their level. Try to be kind, polite and respectful to those who interrupt and heckle you. If possible, have a Christian with you to talk with people who ask you questions while you’re preaching.
7. When we preach about judgment and Hell, we must do so in an attitude of love towards the people we are speaking to. Avoid any hint of self‑righteousness. Show people that we grieve over their lost condition, as God does, and wish only that they would repent and turn to the Lord. We communicate by our tone of voice as well as our words. Many of the prophets wept as they spoke of God’s judgment, showing their love and God’s love for the people, even as He was about to bring judgment.
8. Stick to the Gospel. Don’t get sidetracked by other issues. Avoid alienating the people you are trying to reach by making controversial statements about peripheral issues. We don’t want people to reject Jesus simply because they disagree with us about matters not central to the gospel. Most controversial issues, especially political ones, are not keeping people from salvation and do not need to be dealt with before a person is saved. Keep illustrations brief and non‑controversial, and then bring your message back to the gospel, and the person’s need to make a decision to accept or reject Jesus.
On the Streets
On Sat. March 9, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Dave spoke with Jeff, a guitar player who was listening to Tim Moon sing and play guitar. He was quite receptive to the gospel. He also witnessed to Jackie and David, who stopped to listen to the music. Frank witnessed to Rachel, who grew up in the church but rejected the gospel message.
On Fri. March 15, we witnessed at Powell & Market St. Larry DuBois noticed that Michael was crying as he listened to our preaching. He prayed with him. Allan shared the gospel with Ricky, who was homeless and asked for prayer. They prayed together. Dave witnessed to Will, a young man who claims to be Christian but was caught up in the world. I spoke with his friend Josh, who attends church but is also quite worldly. Dave also witnessed to Victor, an Hispanic man and Sam, a Native American. Both were quite receptive to the gospel.
On Fri. March 22, we witnessed at 16th St. andMission. Cathy was listening to our preaching and was in tears. She was thinking about suicide. Allan ministered to her and prayed with her. Allan and Kris also prayed with Martin. Dave witnessed to Verdiana (about 20), whose father is a Christian. She was quite open to the gospel. I spoke with Georgio, who is Catholic.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th St. and Market. Eddie and Dave witnessed to Kate. She was from a Nazarene background, and had tears on her face as she heard the gospel. Dave bought her some food. Dave also witnessed to John fromSpokane. He said, “I am a good person.” Dave went through the law to show him how he had violated God’s law. He then shared the gospel with him.
On Fri. April 5, we witnessed at the Sony Metreon, at 4th St. andMission. This location has become extremely busy with a new Target store and food court. The last time we were here, the police shut us down. This time, we had no problem. We have also had many fruitful conversations at this location. Kris first witnessed to two atheists, Kevin and Bill, who were listening to our preaching. He also witnessed toTaylor and Kitty, both about 20. Kitty was in tears as she heard the gospel. He also prayed with Elvis.
James and Dave witnessed to Jay, a homosexual, and prayed with him. Dave also witnessed to Nayid, a Muslim man, and Rod, a professional guitar player. Eddie witnessed to Philip, who was unsaved but on his way to a Bible study. He thought he could be saved by his good works. Eddie shared the gospel with him and prayed with him.
Ministry News and Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for the ministry. We have obtained 15 permits in San Francisco parks this year – four at Union Square, three at Dolores Park, and 8 at UN Plaza. These permits cost $840.
We have set the dates for this year’s SOS-San Francisco outreach – July 10-13. This is our 34th year. Please pray for those people we have witnessed to this past month, especially those I mentioned in this newsletter. I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum