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Coming Events
Friday July 7, 14, 21, 28 5 – 8 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Sat. July 8 and July 29 UN Plaza (7th St. and Market) SF 12 – 5 PM
July 12 – 15 SOS-San Francisco – Year 38!
Sat. July 22 Dolores Park (18th St. and Dolores) 1 – 5 PM
SOS – San Francisco Schedule
Wed July 12 5th and Market St. 12-4 PM
Thurs July 13 1st and Market St. 11:30 – 3:30 PM
Fri July 14 5th and Market St. 12 – 4 PM Haight and Masonic 6-8 PM
Sat. July 15 Union Square (Powell & Geary) SF 12–2 PM 5th & Market 3–6 PM
SUMMER OF LOVE – 50 YEARS LATER
Dear Christian friends,
1967 was San Francisco’s Summer of Love, which ignited a “hippie” counter-cultural explosion of drugs, casual sex, and eastern mysticism that swept around the world. Over 100,000 young people from around the world flocked to SF’s Haight-Ashbury, Berkeley, and the cities of the Bay. In the midst of all this, out in the streets a powerful move of God began sweeping thousands of kids into the Kingdom. Many of the pastors and leaders in the church today were saved during this revival later dubbed The Jesus Movement. According to one account, the Jesus Movement began in 1967 with the opening of a small storefront evangelical mission called the Living Room in San Francisco’s Haight – Ashbury district by Ted Wise .
I first came to San Francisco 50 years ago for the “Summer of Love.” Here is my story:
It is hard for those growing up in the new millennium to understand the radical changes that took place in the 1960s. Those changes have had a profound effect on the world in which we all live. Although my testimony is unique, I hope it will give you some idea of what the Jesus Movement was like. I also want to give some historical context for understanding it.
After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, our nation entered World War II. Our young men (and their wives) made great sacrifices to win this war. When it ended in 1946 (the year I was born), these men returned home to build their families. At this time, the world learned fully about the holocaust – the murder of six million Jews. Soon after this, the Cold War began. We grew up facing the prospect of nuclear annihilation.
The 1950s decade was an amazing time. People were marrying, buying homes in the suburbs, and living “normal” lives. Watching reruns of “I Love Lucy,” “Father Knows Best,” or any TV show from that era gives a somewhat accurate picture of the times. Television became very popular in the 1950s. The black-and-white sets with no remote control, though expensive, were soon in almost every home. At first there was programming only at night on one channel. Eventually it was extended into the day on three channels. Then color TV was introduced. With TV came the first generation of “couch potatoes” – whole families spending their evenings in the living room, glued to their TV sets, with little conversation.
Americans in the 1950s were very religious. Most attended church weekly. Most claimed to believe that the Bible is God’s Word and that Jesus died for the sins of the world. However, few had a relationship with God that was evident in their lives. Although I grew up in Indiana (part of the “Bible belt”), nobody ever explained God’s plan of salvation to me. I attended a few “Youth for Christ” meetings in high school and was favorably impressed, but never heard the gospel.
Many churches had been weakened by liberal teachings that cast doubt on the truth of the Bible. The apparent conflict between Darwinism and Christianity also created a serious problem. Darwinism was accepted as “gospel truth” by the overwhelming majority of scientists and educators. Many of us wondered how the Bible could be more than a fairy tale. (to be continued)
On the Streets
On Sat. April 8, we witnessed in downtown Berkeley. Dave met Steve, whom we had met six months earlier in Berkeley. At the time he was homeless. We gave him a BART ticket and sent him to the Richmond Rescue Mission. He is still in their discipleship program and attends Bible studies three times a week. He is doing very well and is totally changed from the last time we saw him.
Dave also witnessed to Sam, from Libya, and Issa, a nominal Muslim from Burundi. Jacob witnessed to Daniel, who was dressed like a hippie. He saw him again the following Tuesday and witnessed to him some more. Kathy gave him a Bible.
On Friday April 14, we witnessed at 24th and Mission. Dave witnessed to Lynn, who was raised a Muslim in Lebanon, but became an atheist and is now into the New Age. He urged her to ask Jesus to show her who He really is. Jacob witnessed to Leo, who attends an Assembly of God church but is an alcoholic and was drunk. He said he had never been born again, so Jacob shared the gospel with him.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th St. and Market. About 20,000 anti-Trump protesters came down the street. We had a big PA system so they heard the gospel as they passed by. Fortunately, there were a lot of police and the protest was peaceful so we had no problems.
On Fri. May 5, we witnessed at 16th and Mission St. Mike witnessed to two brothers, Demanuel (16) and Romeo (9). Their mother is a lesbian. Mike invited them to City Impact, and they said they would go. He also witnessed to a drug dealer who had been an ordained pastor.
The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Cal witnessed to Dave, who was holding a “Need money for weed” sign. He had attended Bible school, and Cal warned him about marijuana use being sorcery. He also ministered to Jim. Several weeks ago, we had given him a ride to a shelter. At the time, he was unable to read a tract because his vision was bad. After Cal prayed for him, his sight was improved and he was able to read a gospel tract!
On Sat. May 13, we held our first park outreach of the year at UN Plaza. Cal, Dave and Mike all witnessed to Tory, 25, whose mother is a San Francisco police officer. He said he was a mess and couldn’t quit drugs and drinking.
On Fri. May 19, we witnessed at 24th and Mission. Matt Dumanovsky joined us. His mother, Vicky, was our ministry secretary and lived in our ministry house in San Francisco in the 1980’s. Since that time, she has married and moved to Colorado. Matt is one of her sons and it was great meeting him and having him join us on the streets. He works in Berkeley. Matt and Jacob witnessed to Andre, who said he was addicted to sex. He asked if he could be freed from this addiction. They prayed with him.
The next day, we witnessed in Dolores Park. The Park Department does not allow us to play music here, so we preached for four hours. It was a warm, sunny day and there were about 10,000 people in the park. Most were professionals in their 20’s or 30’s and many were using drugs. As usual, we had lots of people approach us to complain. Some of them changed their attitude towards us after we spoke with them. Jacob and Dave spoke with a lady who called herself “Pony.” She took a gospel of John and said, “I do need to be forgiven for a lot of stuff.”
The Sound – July 6-8
The summer of 2017 is the 50-year mark for three significant events: the San Francisco Summer of Love, the Jesus Movement, and all of Jerusalem coming back into Jewish hands for the first time since AD 70! Since Jerusalem is a sign in the natural of what God is doing spiritually, 1967 marked the beginning of a huge shift in the spirit world.
On July 6th – July 8th, Christians from all over the nation will gather in San Francisco, CA. They will worship God in the public spaces of this city. We hope to join with them in this outreach. www.thesound2017.com
Ministry Needs
In May, I wrote that we were hoping to get our tracts printed in India in 4 colors printed and shipped for about 1 cent each. Unfortunately, this turned out to be incorrect. The shipping costs are much higher than we expected, so this is not practical for us. However, we can print a 4 color tract in the US for less than 3 cents each. It will cost about $900 more to print 90,000 tracts in color. We think this will greatly improve our tracts, so Cal is redesigning them in 4 colors.
Our 38th annual SOS-San Francisco outreach is scheduled for July 12- 15. Our outreach schedule is above. Please pray that we will get the permits we have requested for these dates. Chuck Girard, Paul and Noreen Coca and Tim Moon will all be with us. I hope many of you will join us for this important outreach.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
