Coming Events
(Outreaches subject to change. Contact me at mail@sosmin.com or (510) 282-5629 a day before the outreach for details.)
Friday February 4, 11, 25 3:30-6:30 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Saturday February 5, 12, 26 11:30-4 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
ALEX’S STORY
Dear Christian friends,
By Alex Stewart. Alex moved in our ministry house in Feb. 2019. When the COVID lockdown began in March, 2020, Alex was eager to continue preaching the gospel. While witnessing, he put us in contact with several other Christians who were evangelizing in San Francisco. Some of them moved into our ministry house. Throughout the pandemic, he has been working at a grocery store near our house. He is 35.
Greetings Beloved Family in the Lord Jesus Christ! My father had met my mother on a Coast Guard ship he was stationed on. She was a cook on that ship. My father is an African American from Dallas and my mother is Filipino. Since their child was going to be biracial, they figured that the Bay Area would be a good place to raise me. That being the case, I was born in Fremont, California in November, 1986.
My father was raised Baptist and my mother Catholic but my mother was saved around the time she had met my father. She realized that there was more tradition and ritual in the Catholic church than sincerity and intimacy with Christ. So I was raised Christian all my life. I can even remember reading Proverbs at a very young age and feeling the peace and grace of God in my heart as a result, coupled even with a holy reverence for Him and His word.
But when I was 17, my father and mother separated because of his inability to break free from his addiction to pornography. He was the disciplinarian of our family so I ended up taking advantage of my mother’s leniency and started selling and eventually smoking marijuana. That took me down the dark road of substance abuse, including many years of heroin addiction, which I then struggled with on and off for many years.
During this time, I still knew there was a God and even still believed in the message of the Gospel, but I had conveniently put out of my heart the holiness of God, the need to repent, and the judgement and wrath that I could and would incur if I did not repent.
God began communicating to me increasingly louder that I was headed for destruction. It was around June of 2018 that God’s hand was so heavy on me that the first thought I had every morning for a week straight was of Hell and the eternity of it. In the fear of the Lord and trembling in my soul, I began to EARNESTLY seek the Lord! As I did this, I felt His hand lighten off me. He then brought a Christian into my life who brought conviction of how I was treating my body, which was made to be a temple for the Holy Spirit. He then invited me into a 3-day fast with his church. I was so desperate and excited that God was still even willing to work with me that I agreed!
At this time I was studying Celebrate Recovery and the scriptures associated with the 12 steps. So the foundation for this fast was Roman 7:18 which says “for in my flesh dwells no good thing” and Philippians 2:13 which says that “it is God who is at work within me both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” I went into this fast with dependence and faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to carry me through, and from that time forward, I have not smoked any cigarettes, drunk any alcohol, or used any drugs. This reminds me of Isaiah 10:27 which says, it is the anointing that breaks the yoke!
I have then had an urgency for others to experience this same deliverance and freedom from sin and the shame, anxiety, and separation from God it brings! Glory to Jesus!
I pray this testimony blesses you all! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen.
Sharing Faith Is Increasingly Optional to Christians
By George Barna Research
When was the last time you had a conversation about God? For most people, the unfortunate and surprising answer to that question is not very often. Spiritual conversations are exceedingly rare for most Americans, and even for Christians, who are at best reluctant to have them.
In 1993, Barna partnered with Lutheran Hour Ministries to research reasons why people did and did not engage in intentional outreach. A lot has changed since that initial study, so 25 years later we asked follow-up questions to see if talk of faith has become influenced by a culture that is more digital, secular and contested than ever.
A growing number of Christians don’t see sharing the good news as a personal responsibility. Just 10 percent of Christians in 1993 who had shared about their faith agreed with the statement “converting people to Christianity is the job of the local church”—as opposed to the job of an individual (i.e., themselves). Twenty-five years later, three in 10 Christians who have had a conversation about faith say evangelism is the local church’s responsibility (29%), a nearly threefold increase.
Yet the most dramatic divergence over time is on the statement, “Every Christian has a responsibility to share their faith.” In 1993, nine out of 10 Christians who had shared their faith agreed (89%). Today, just two-thirds say so (64%)—a 25-point drop.
“As spiritual leaders and practitioners, whose job it is to think and talk about matters of faith, it’s easy to imagine everyone is regularly doing the same,” says Roxanne Stone, editor in chief at Barna Group. “After all, aren’t these the big questions of life? Don’t these topics matter more than anything else? The truth is, most Christians are busy with other things: the day-to-day of normal life—jobs, kids, budgets, sports, weather and what’s premiering on Netflix this week. None of this is bad, but the unfortunate reality is that most adults don’t seem to connect their everyday experiences with their faith. Or, at least, they aren’t talking about it if they do.
“So what’s happening here? Why are Christians so reluctant to talk about their faith? The overarching cultural trends of secularism, relativism, pluralism and the digital age are contributing to a society that is less interested in religion and that has marginalized the place of spirituality in everyday life,” continues Stone. “As a result, Christians in America today have to live in the tension between Jesus’ commands to tell others the good news and growing cultural taboos against proselytizing—a core part of Christianity from its origins and something that is essential for the salvation of their listeners.”
(From Larry: This is not a survey of all born-again Christians, but only of those who claim they have shared their faith with others. I don’t know how often they actually witness. Perhaps it was only once in their lives. And, sadly, many who claim to be born-again never share the gospel with those who are headed for eternal Hell.)
On the Streets
On Friday Sept. 24, we witnessed at 24th and Mission. Alex witnessed to Elguardo, who is an alcoholic. His drinking has cost him his job and is causing problems with his family. As Alex shared the gospel, he began to cry and admitted he is not right with God. Alex prayed with him, and urged him to repent of his sins. Elguardo then became more argumentative and left shortly afterwards. Tats and Andy witnessed to Donnie, who initially said he believed in Jesus, then said he is Jesus.
Mike spoke with Amir, who had many questions about the Bible and God. He asked why homosexuality is sinful and why God created Hell. He was familiar with David Lynn and Christ Forgiveness Ministries (CFM), having watched some of their YouTube videos. Mike told him about the local CFM church and encouraged him to attend.
On Fri. Oct 1, we witnessed at 4th and Market. Andy spoke with Carl, who was an Eastern Orthodox Christian. Andy said he had a problem with them bowing down before statues in their church, saying it was idolatry. Carl said it made him feel closer to God and said he was trusting his good works to save him. He had little regard for the Bible. Tats was able to speak with three different groups of Japanese people. He preached to all of them in Japanese. They were very happy to have him speak to them in their native tongue. Two Japanese girls listened carefully as Tats shared the gospel.
The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Mike witnessed to Javier, who was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. Mike went into Biblical verses on the divinity of Jesus, and Javier was receptive. Alex witnessed to two 17 year old girls who had participated in a pro-abortion march. He warned them that their future husbands would be upset that they did not save themselves for marriage. He also said they have a soul that needs to be saved. The girls asked “how could you expect a seventeen-year-old girl to have a baby, ruining her future with her whole life ahead of her?” Alex responded that having a baby does not ruin a young woman’s life. That child can be a great blessing if raised properly.
A Final Word
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry.
Last year, Alex (whose testimony is in this newsletter) was cited by the SF Park Police four times for being part of a Christian church service in SF parks. Alex paid the first two tickets but he decided to fight the other two tickets. Andy’s brother is a lawyer who took the cases to trial. The Park Police did not show up so the cases were dismissed. This saved us over $700 in fines. As Christians, sometimes we need to defend our rights.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
