Coming Events
Because of the Coronavirus situation, San Francisco area counties have all issued “Shelter in Place” orders. We are praying that God will give us wisdom to continue reaching people with the gospel while seeking to protect ourselves and others from this virus. Meanwhile, we encourage Christians to be in prayer for our nation and seek God for ways to share the gospel with others.
This Friday April 3, for the first time, we will be putting our 10 foot Christian banners up on a fence that overlooks Interstate 580. We estimate 20,000 people an hour will see these banners as they drive down the freeway. One side reads “Only One Way to God: Jesus.” The other side reads “Jesus: Open your heart/Open your mind.”
I encourage each of you consider doing something similar. Find the busiest spot in your area, make or purchase a Christian sign or banner, and hold it or put it up somewhere. People are probably more receptive to the gospel now than any time in recent memory.
Also, I recommend that each of you consider becoming an online missionary. Here is a good site with helpful information: https://bloggersforthekingdom.com/internet-evangelism-church-priority/.
If you email me at mail@sosmin.com, I will keep you updated on our ministry plans during this pandemic. I can send you the artwork we use for our signs and banners and let you know where you can get them printed. Also, I would like to hear what you are doing to reach people for Jesus during this time.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF STREET MINISTRY
Dear Christian friends,
There are many examples and teachings in the Bible related to street evangelism. Jesus’ great commission was for his followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel, making disciples of all nations. Throughout church history, there have been individuals who preached the gospel openly in public places, and who shared the gospel with strangers.
However, the idea of establishing a street ministry, the purpose of which is to organize outdoor evangelism outreaches on a regular basis, seems to be a new one. Around 1867, William Booth had gathered 42 full-time evangelists and 1000 volunteers for the Salvation Army. One of the things they did is to organize events in which the gospel is proclaimed in public places. The Salvation Army is still involved in street evangelism, but today it is a very small part of their ministry. Many of their leaders and staff members today are unsaved and most of their energy and resources are focused on ministering to the physical needs of the poor.
Open Air Campaigners (OAC) began in 1892 by E P Field in Australia. He preached to lunch crowds in Sydney. The ministry has continued in Australia, using sketchboards and “gospel wagons” to preach the gospel. In 1954, Jim Duffecy brought a team from OAC to North America. Today, OAC operates in 19 countries with about 100 full-time evangelists.
In 1951, Bill Bright began Campus Crusade for Christ. The purpose of this ministry was largely to evangelize college campuses, though it also expanded to other ministries. By 2011, Campus Crusade had 25,000 missionaries in 191 countries. Bill Bright resigned in 2011, and the ministry name was changed to “Cru.” He died in 2013. Since that time, there have been changes in that ministry’s focus. It appears, at least to me, that there is less emphasis on evangelism and more on social action. In part, this appears to be a reaction to changing attitudes towards evangelism in the evangelical world, especially on college campuses.
I was saved in 1970 through a ministry called Shiloh, which existed from 1968-1978. I think it was the largest of the Jesus Movement communities. At one time, it had a network of about 50 Christian houses in different cities, with up to 1500 members. We lived together in a communal lifestyle, working mostly at group-labor jobs in which all funds went directly to the community, and holding almost all things in common. We invited “hippie” travelers to come to our houses for dinner, Bible study, and a place to stay. When they visited, we witnessed to them and many were radically saved. Many of them moved into our houses. This was our chief means of evangelism, and at times we saw one or more persons radically saved almost every day in some of our houses. However, we also all engaged in street evangelism. We would go to a busy street or park, pass out gospel tracts and witness to people one-on-one. While we witnessed to everyone who would listen, most of those we saw getting saved were from the “hippie” lifestyle. Usually people did not get saved on the streets, but we would invite them to our house, where they would hear more about Jesus and often get saved.
In 1975, I moved to San Francisco. Since 1978, we have had an ongoing evangelism team witnessing on the streets of San Francisco and Berkeley. In the early 1980’s, a lot of street ministries were established around the country. Many were started by ex-hippies who were saved in the Jesus Movement, often through street evangelism. In 1984, the first National Street Ministries Conference was held in Dallas, bringing together about 1000 Christians. At the time, there were about 100 street ministries in cities around the nation, as well as many in other nations. The International Street Ministries Association was established to provide a way for these ministries to communicate with one another. I was a director of that organization, and put together their monthly newsletter.
Around 1987, there were two major scandals in the Christian world involving Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. As a result, donations to many Christian ministries dropped dramatically. Many street ministries shut down around this time. Many other ministries changed their focus from evangelism to social action.
Raven Ministries in New Orleans is one of the largest street ministries I know about today. They have a large training center and organize a variety of outreaches almost every day. World Changers for Christ in Denver conducts outreaches throughout the year and has an annual city-wide outreach. There are other ministries I have not mentioned or do not know about. But, it seems to me, there are far fewer street ministries today than there were in the 1980’s.
According to a Barna survey, 47% of evangelical millennials (age 20-40) agree at least somewhat that it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith. Preaching the gospel involves rejection and possibly persecution. Christian morality is unpopular in our society. The Christian concepts that there is only one way to God and that there is a Hell for those who reject Christ are both extremely unpopular today. As a result, many Christians would rather get involved in feeding the homeless or working to stop human trafficking – causes that our society approves of – than preach an unpopular gospel.
On the Streets
On Fri. October 25, we witnessed at 4th and Mission St. Alex witnessed to Jonathan, who wanted to know the difference between Jesus and other religious leaders. He also witnessed to Brandon, 17, who had questions about slavery and the Bible. Kathy witnessed to John, 16, a Catholic, who said he really liked what we were doing. Mike witnessed to Keifer, 15, who is an agnostic but said he believed in “something bigger than ourselves.” He asked for some Christian literature and Mike gave him the book One Heartbeat Away by Mark Cahill and a gospel of John.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th and Market. Alex ministered to David, a meth addict who became very agitated when I preached. He suffers from demonic oppression and allowed Alex to pray for him. Mike witnessed to Anthony, 86, who used to play with the Harlem Globetrotters. He had witnessed to him several years ago. Mike shared that the gospel is about faith in Christ, not works, but Anthony seemed to be resisting the message. Mike also spoke with Ray, a Christian who was saved in prison. He said that even in prison he thought he was a good person, but after reading the Bible he realized that he was a sinner in need of salvation.
On Friday Nov. 1 we witnessed at 16th and Mission St. That night, Ryan showed me a video he took the week before of another Christian preacher, Daniel, having his amplifier destroyed by a man who was selling phones at a nearby table on that corner. Daniel refused to do anything, and later that week, several people who witnessed the event prayed to receive Christ. We had no problems that night. Alex witnessed to Jamir, who said he struggles with drugs and believes in a “higher power.” He was receptive to the gospel message. Brandon witnessed to Natasha, 35, who had been listening to our preaching for two hours. He prayed with her and gave her his Bible. Kathy witnessed to John, who is almost blind. He said he did not believe the Bible is God’s Word.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th and Market. Mike witnessed to Junior, 23, who lives in Golden Gate Park with his mother. He said his mother used to tell him about God. Mike shared the gospel with him, prayed with him, and invited him to City Impact. Scott witnessed to Ward, who is homeless. He shared the gospel with him and prayed with him. James Croci, Alex and Steve all witnessed to Anisa. She said all morality is relative. Alex asked, “Is that statement absolutely true?” Then she said that it is wrong to judge. Alex responded, “Aren’t you judging that it is wrong to judge?” She laughed.
On Friday November 22, we witnessed on Castro Street. The Castro Theater was showing a ski movie that drew several hundred people, including many families with children. Alex witnessed to Justin, who grew up Christian and claimed to be born again but was homosexual. Mike witnessed to Omar, from Vermont, who had been arrested for soliciting a 15 year old minor. He also witnessed to Cameron, 23, who had just gotten out of jail. He had been baptized several times but was not saved. Brandon and I ministered to Robert. I have known him for about 30 years. He is a Christian from a homosexual background. He is addicted to pain pills and is homeless. He spoke about how angry he was with his parents and we both tried to urge him to forgive them, but he got angry and walked away. I also spoke with Paul Bernardino, who was one of the main instigators of homosexual attacks on our ministry 40 years ago. He no longer attacks us, but was not receptive to the gospel.
Ministry Needs
As I write this, San Francisco has declared a Coronavirus emergency. Until March 14, we continued to witness on the streets (using hand sanitizer frequently). The city was not as crowded, but there were still many people to witness to. The disease mainly harms older people and those with pre-existing conditions. I am 74 and Scott is 80. Fortunately we are in good health.
Please pray for us as we seek God for wisdom as to what we should be doing. Presently, there is an emergency order requiring those who do not live in the same household to stay 6 feet from each other in public places. Perhaps this crisis will end quickly and we can resume our regular outreaches.
On the other hand, if this crisis continues, our economy will be devastated as millions of people lose their jobs, businesses are forced to close, our health system is overwhelmed and our government increases its national debt by trillions of dollars. Perhaps this will cause millions in our nation to humble themselves before God, repent of their sins, and put their faith in Jesus Christ.
We all will die one day (if Jesus doesn’t return first), but those who die without Jesus are in big trouble. Stay healthy, walk close to Jesus, and seek Him for ways to share the gospel with others.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
