Coming Events
Because of the Coronavirus situation, California, like most states, has issued a “Shelter in Place” order. 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.
Once a week, we have been putting our 10 foot Christian banners up on a fence that overlooks Interstate 580. We estimate 5,000 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. A report on our April outreaches in San Francisco is below.
If you want, 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.
CRUSHED BY AN INVISIBLE BUG
Mike preaches at 24th & Mission SF on April 3.
Dear Christian friends,
Our world is changing – rapidly. Last fall, we in California were told we need to get used to annual power outages to prevent fires. This past month, much of the world has been ordered to “shelter in place” for an indefinite period of time. Never in our lifetime have any of us seen such extreme measures in response to a disease.
On March 26, San Francisco was the first place to issue such an order, followed quickly by other SF area counties, California, and most of our states. While about a dozen states have not ordered religious activities to shut down, most states have stated that religious activities are not essential, and have ordered them to stop. Meanwhile, California and many other states consider recreational marijuana and liquor sales, and abortions, to be essential activities.
The first person to be cited under the San Francisco order was an 86 year old who was protesting outside an abortion clinic.
We have been told to listen to the experts. The expert we have heard most frequently is Dr. Fauci, whom the New York Times called “the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases.” On Jan. 24, he said, “this is not a major threat for the people of the United States. And this is not something that the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about.” Fauci co-authored an article dated March 26 predicting the fatality rate for the coronavirus will turn out to be like that of a “severe seasonal influenza.” During the week March 30-April 3, he said “I’ve looked at all the models. I’ve spent a lot of time on the models. They don’t tell you anything. You can’t really rely upon models.”
However, on April 1 he said “I think … when it goes down to essentially no new cases, no new deaths at a period of time. I think it makes sense that you will have to relax social distancing,” And the next day, he said “every state should issue a shelter-in-place order.” I don’t understand why that’s not happening,”
Nothing to worry about. You can’t really rely on models. But every state needs to issue a shelter-in-place order and keep it in place until there are no new cases or deaths.
Nobody knows how long these “shelter in place” orders will last. On March 23, Pres. Trump said, “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. At the end of the 15 day period, we will make a decision as to which way we should go.” As I write this, the end date of this shutdown is nowhere in sight.
We need to be praying for our government leaders. They are concerned, as they should be, about the cost of doing nothing about this pandemic. As I write this, the number of those dying each day is increasing rapidly. The purpose of “Flattening the Curve” through “social distancing” is to slow down the growth of the pandemic so that our health care system is not overwhelmed. That should save lives—maybe a lot of lives. That is certainly a noble goal.
However, I wonder if they are equally concerned about the negative consequences of their actions. We are conducting a social experiment on billions of people around the world with no idea of the outcome. How many tens of millions of people will lose their jobs? How many millions of businesses will be destroyed? How many people will struggle to pay their bills? What will be the mental health consequence of socially isolating billions of people for an indefinite period of time?
What will be the long-term consequences of destroying the world’s economy and taking on unknown trillions more in debt? Many of India’s estimated 100 million internal migrant workers are trapped in cities after being laid off due to government measures. Public transportation has been shut down so they must walk home for hundreds of miles in over 100 degree weather. They have no money. Whenever this ends, there will be a lot of hurting people we can minister to.
Former White House Chief of Staff and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” If government leaders find that people will readily give up their constitutional rights to slow down a disease, what else will they be willing to give up their constitutional rights for? Is this the “new normal” – a regular series of unprecedented crises that require an unprecedented response? A new virus emergency every year or two? How much of our response to this virus is stoked by unending pressure from the media on public officials to do more? Especially in an election year. No politician wants to be accused of not doing enough or acting fast enough in a crisis. So they are all in a hurry to do something, possibly not considering the downsides of what they are doing. And every bill passed by Congress is filled with things that politicians couldn’t otherwise get passed, things that aren’t helping the virus situation.
Of course, the government does not consider preaching the gospel to the lost or providing spiritual counsel in hospitals to the sick and dying to be “essential businesses.” As Christians, we respectfully disagree. Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone. “How shall they hear unless someone preach to them?” Jesus did not say we should stop because of infectious diseases. Preaching the gospel has almost always involved a risk to our personal safety. People die every day for a variety of reasons. In the last 21 days, approximately 162,000 Americans have died. It is essential that they hear the gospel, repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing is more essential than that.
We respect those in authority and in general submit to them. However, we also “must obey God rather than men” when they command us not to preach the gospel. While doing this, we must use wisdom to find ways to minimize risking our health and the health of others. We should not tempt the Lord.
On Sat. April 11, for the first time, we put our 10 foot Christian banners up on a fence that overlooks Interstate 580 near our house. We estimate 5,000 people an hour saw these banners as they drove down the freeway. One side reads “Only One Way to God: Jesus.” The other side reads “Jesus: Open your heart/Open your mind.” A number of people honked as they drove by — probably Christians.
I encourage each of you to 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.
Another way is through internet evangelism. I am asking everyone in our ministry to look for ways to reach others with the gospel during this time. Over the years, I have witnessed to various people online. When I did an online search for “internet evangelism,” I didn’t see many good sites. Some sites were outdated and their links didn’t work. Here is one that looks good:
https://bloggersforthekingdom.com/internet-evangelism-church-priority/
If we are shut-in at home, if we have internet access, we can witness to people all over the world through the internet. Please let me know any ideas you have for witnessing online or any helpful websites you find. Also, please share your experiences with us.
Ministry News
After reading countless articles on the subject, spending many hours in prayer, trying to weigh the pros and cons of continuing to do street evangelism in San Francisco, I decided to support a plan to continue our street outreach. The San Francisco order (like almost all other orders) allows us to walk on the street, as long as we stay 6 feet from those not in our household. A Christian friend, Ryan Simpkins, has been preaching in San Francisco at least 7 times over the past three weeks. He and several other Christians have been preaching using an amplifier, holding up a banner, and passing out tracts at two main locations: 4th and Market and 16th and Mission. They reported no hostility from people on the streets in either location to their doing evangelism at this time. People were taking even more tracts than usual, and seemed more receptive to the gospel than usual. Usually, police have stopped to watch them from their cars, but no police officer has approached them.
After discussing this matter with our house, Mike, Alex, and I held our first outreach since the order on Friday April 3. Each preacher had a separate microphone. Everyone carried hand sanitizer, and sanitized their hands after touching anyone or any questionable surface. Thus, we took more precautions than grocery workers, who do not disinfect their hands between customers whose food they touch. We went to 24th and Mission. Of course, the street was not as busy as usual, but there were plenty of people to hear the gospel. We did not publicize this outreach, but three Christians came by and joined us. Two of them, Pastor Ray of House of Faith Church, Hayward, and Corey Colavito, preached. I had never met them before, but both are excellent preachers. Before he was saved, Pastor Ray sold drugs on this corner for many years. We also gave out food to those in need.
On Friday April 10,we held our second outreach at 4th and Market St. in San Francisco. We set up our banners, preached, and shared the gospel with a few people. Numerous police officers drove by, but none of them stopped.
Ministry Needs
Please pray for us as we seek to bring the gospel to people in these difficult times. Pray for our government leaders, that they would handle this situation wisely.
Pray also for our churches as almost all meetings are being cancelled. What if this order continues for many months? When do we say NO? Church should be a place of genuine fellowship, not just passively listening to a sermon. Online church is not enough. And many have no internet access.
“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned: they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” Ezek. 16:49-50. This sounds a lot like the US and the Western World today. People have become proud, prosperous and preoccupied with selfish pursuits. They do not see themselves as sinners in need of a savior. Pray that God will use this crisis to humble our nation and cause multitudes to repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ.
We still need two persons in our ministry house. We are looking for younger Christians, as none of us are getting younger.
Please pray that God will keep us healthy and we will use wisdom in protecting ourselves during this time. Three of us are over 70 so are at high risk. Alex, 33, works at a grocery and is in close contact with hundreds of people daily. Mike, 55, picks up food for City Impact to give to the poor. I pray also that God will give each of you wisdom to know how to reach others with the gospel during this time. This is not time for a vacation from the Great Commission. What are you going to do?
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum