Click Here to View This Month’s Slideshow
Coming Events
Friday February 9, 16, 23 5 – 8 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Sat. February 10, 24 5th St. and Market SF 12 – 4 PM
Sat February 17 Shattuck and Center St. Berkeley 12:30 – 4:30 PM
Redeeming the Time
Dear Christian friends,
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5: 15-17). Many Christians drift through life with no clear understanding of God’s will. Sometimes we think of God’s will as a mysterious thing, but the greatest part of God’s plan for our lives is clearly revealed in scripture. First, God desires that we will know Him. Second, He wants us to make Him known to others.
How much time should we give to evangelism? The average Jehovah’s Witness spends four hours a week spreading their false message. They work, spend time with their families, and are involved in “church” activities, but still find time to “witness.” Should we do less than they with the true gospel? They are also persistent–it takes them about 16 years to make a single convert!
We find time for the things that are important to us. But are our priorities the same as God’s? For most Christians, evangelism is at the bottom of their list of priorities. As we enter into 2018, let us reevaluate our priorities, making time for the things that really matter. Let us redeem the time (make the most of every opportunity), find out what God wants us to do, and give ourselves to His work.
If you are not presently involved in some kind of evangelism, consider joining us once a week, either on Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
If you are timid about witnessing, come out with us and pray for the other workers. One easy way to start witnessing is by giving out gospel tracts. If you make yourself available, God will use you, giving you boldness and an anointing to witness for Him. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Jesus is coming soon, and we need to make an extra effort to bring in an abundant harvest before He returns.
On the Streets
On Sat. Sept. 2, we held our last Union Square outreach of the year. My home church, New Life Christian Church, Hayward, ministered. Several church members gave testimonies. Dave witnessed to Jose and Blair, who were very receptive to the gospel, and Elias, 20, who had been involved in Bible studies in prison and appeared to be selling drugs. He also ministered to Sandip, a Christian from Camaroon. Cal witnessed to Kurt, his wife and daughter, all Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs). They could not answer his questions. Kurt gave him his phone number and wanted to talk more. Jacob witnessed to Brad and Michelle, also JWs. He said, “I have heard you are not supposed to talk to Christians. Is that true?” They said it was not, and proceeded to talk to him. (In fact, JWs are instructed not to talk with born-again Christians.)
After the outreach, as we were driving half a mile to 5th and Market for our second scheduled outreach, we were hit by a truck, causing damage to the back right side of our van. After dealing with that, our van stalled three times, and wouldn’t start. We stopped at Geary and Mason for an hour, waiting for the van to cool down. We gave out tracts and witnessed at that location. After an hour, we tried again to get to 5th and Market (a few blocks away) but the van stalled three more times and finally wouldn’t start. We were forced to call a tow truck, and have it towed to our house.
On Fri. Sept. 8, we witnessed at 5th and Market. Jacob witnessed to Nick, 23, who claimed to be a Christian but was smoking marijuana while they talked and was clearly unsaved. Dave witnessed to Koby, a Chinese student who is Buddhist. Yan, who was witnessing with us, translated into Chinese for Dave. Dave also witnessed to Emily, who grew up in a Christian home. Her parents were hippies who got saved and her father is a pastor. She was troubled about God’s rules about sexuality and also about people going to Hell.
Dave also witnessed to Steve, a Chinese student who attends UC Berkeley. He has been in the US 4 months and is learning English. After he left, he came back and asked Dave for his email address. Dave and Cal have been communicating with him by email. Cal invited Steve to attend The Ark church with him, and he been attending there regularly. He also came to our house. A Chinese member of The Ark church witnessed to Steve for an hour in Mandarin. Afterwards, Steve committed his life to Jesus. The church is arranging for him to get baptized.
The next day, we held our last Dolores Park outreach of the year. This is a difficult outreach for us, since we are not allowed to play music here, and people often complain about our preaching. There were about 10,000 people in the park. We were careful to keep our sound volume down and had few complaints. Cal witnessed to Ronnie and Edward, who were smoking marijuana. Dave ministered to Vince, who attends the International Church of Christ, which is a very legalistic, controlling group. He gave him an article he had written on the subject and they exchanged email addresses. Dave witnessed to Murat, a Turkish Muslim from Germany. He said he was gay, but had some exposure to the gospel and was receptive. He also witnessed to William, who was listening to me as I shared my testimony. He said that like me he had studied atheistic existentialism. Mike witnessed to Tim, 22, whose mother brought him to Sunday school when he was young. He believed the gospel but was not attending church. He also witnessed to his friend Henry, who grew up in a Christian home.
On Friday Sept. 15, we witnessed at 24th St. and Mission. Dave witnessed to Christian, 25, who asked if he remembered him. Dave had witnessed to him a few months ago at the same bus stop, but his bus came and they were unable to finish their conversation. This time, Dave was able to continue their discussion before his bus arrived. He also witnessed to Ryan, 30, a chiropractor, and Wes, 25, a student at UC Berkeley. Both were Catholic and had lots of questions. Mike witnessed to Felicia and James. While they were staying at a local shelter, a social worker took their children away from them. Mike prayed with them and invited them to City Impact. I witnessed to Marty, 16. He is an orphan who is living with some friends and attending high school. He said he was an atheist, and I showed him some Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus.
The next day, we held our last park outreach of the year at UN Plaza. Two bands, “Tim Moon and the Stars” and an all-girl band called “Priscilla” played music. Dave witnessed to Jordan, 40, who spent a lot of time in prison and was into New Age philosophy. He also witnessed to Rob, an Ethiopian who was born in the US and a nominal Christian. He also ministered to Bryan, 16. Bryan and his girlfriend had recently gotten saved and had given up fornication. Dave and Jacob witnessed to Max, a biology major who grew up in a Christian home and is now an atheist. After they spoke with him for 30 minutes, he said “I must admit you really stumped me on some things.”
Kathy witnessed to Frank, a homeless man, and gave him some money for food. She gave him a gospel tract and encouraged him to read it. Afterwards, Frank told her, “You gave me hope. You made me feel like a human.” Mike witnessed to Liote, from Romania, who seemed to be malnourished. She said she had never heard the gospel before. He invited her to City Impact.
Cal and Ken witnessed to Ahmed, a former Muslim who said he hates Islam. He said he had had a dream about Jesus and wanted a Bible. Cal and Ahmed exchanged phone numbers so they could stay in touch. Ahmed lives in Oakland.
Ministry News
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for the ministry.
For several months, I have shared about the problems we have had with our ministry van. We replaced the van’s computer, and, so far, it has been running well. Thank you for praying for it.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
