Bay Area Outreach Ministries Newsletter
In Jail for Jesus
Dear Christian friends,
We have all heard stories of those who have been imprisoned, tortured, and put to death for their faith in Jesus Christ in times past and in other nations. It seems incredible to us that such things could happen in the United States, with all our constitutional protections. Yet the same sinful nature that causes those in other countries to persecute Christians also exists in unsaved people in the U.S.
“Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also” John 15:20.
As our nation turns farther from God and deeper into immorality and occultism, as evangelical Christians become increasingly the object of ridicule in the press, TV, and movies, the restraints that once protected Christians from persecution in the U.S. have grown significantly weaker.
I have been involved in street evangelism for 18 years. During this time, I and others in our ministry have had numerous confrontations with the police, but never before had anyone been arrested. We seek to obey the law and to cooperate with the police, except when they violate the law by infringing on our constitutional rights. Also, we seek to present the gospel in a loving and gentle manner, without compromising the message. We do talk of God’s judgment, but we emphasize God’s love and His desire that all people be saved.
In the last newsletter (write us if you didn’t get it), I described our Berkeley outreach, some of the opposition we had faced, and also the large crowds that had gathered to hear the gospel. On Saturday afternoon September 17, I was preaching at our usual location at Telegraph and Durant, at the entrance to the University of California, with a loudspeaker permit. About 100 people, mostly students, had gathered to hear the gospel. I was preaching and answering questions. Some in the audience were not pleased with our message, but they were listening and the gathering was very peaceful.
Sergeant Buchanan of the University Police Department came up to me and told me that they had received some complaints about us and she wanted to solve the problem. I asked her what the problem was. She didn’t answer me, but said she wanted to talk some more with the people complaining and would get back to me. She returned about 20 minutes later and invited me into the police station to discuss the matter with her. As I went with her, I realized that she didn’t want to discuss anything with me, but had gotten a citizen’s arrest on me for disturbing the peace. I spent the next 12 hours in jail.
It was not the most pleasant experience, but it was a real faith-builder. If we are to be obedient to God, we must not fear imprisonment. Persecution has always strengthened the church while complacency and materialism have greatly weakened the church today in the U.S. We all love to claim the promises of God, but how many of us claim this promise: “All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12)?
We have obtained a Christian lawyer, Julia Spain, who is donating her services to help us. The Rutherford Foundation, one of the largest Christian legal organizations, has agreed to help with the case and be a sponsor. But our opponents have written letters against us, and have obtained a letter from the City Manager asking the police to restrict our activities. At my arraignment, the judge told our lawyer that she felt that fundamentalist preachers needed to be stopped from attacking gays and lesbians with loudspeakers. Fortunately, she won’t be trying our case, but it shows the kind of prejudice we are up against.
Our first hearing, on a motion to dismiss the case, is scheduled for December 2. If this fails, our trial will probably be in January. Please pray for us, that we will get a not-guilty verdict and be able to continue our evangelism in Berkeley without police opposition. Also, while we do not have to pay for our lawyer, we will have to pay for some fees and expenses connected with the case. Our lawyer estimated the cost at between $500 and $3000. This could become a major case and the legal fees, if we had to pay them, could cost $50,000 or more, so we are very thankful to Julia and others who will be helping us. We also appreciate whatever you can do to help with these legal expenses.
I realize that there is a difference between persecution for Christ and persecution for being obnoxious, stubborn and insensitive in our evangelism. I believe that our evangelism approach has been right in this situation and that this is an incidence of genuine persecution for the gospel. While I would rather be preaching the gospel than spending time in court, I do believe that God is directing us to go to court in this situation. The apostle Paul spent much of his time in jail and used the Roman legal system to plead his case. He was able to witness to kings and high-ranking officials in court and he wrote many of the epistles from jail. But some Christians criticized Paul and deserted him when he was imprisoned.
I am convinced that God will use our situation to advance the gospel. The case will undoubtedly get into the school paper, and should draw many students to hear us out of curiosity. A victory in this case would help other street evangelists who are being harassed by the police in other cities. If we lose, it would encourage police to put other Christians in jail for preaching the gospel.
Meanwhile, we have continued our outreach in Berkeley. We are witnessing on the other side of the street at Telegraph and Bancroft, away from the university. So far, the police have not bothered us here, but the location is not as good, since there is no room for a crowd to gather to listen. But we can give out tracts, say a few words to those who walk by, and talk with those who are interested.
Other Outreaches
In addition to our Berkeley outreach, we have witnessed at several special events this past month. We witnessed at street fairs in Niles Canyon (Fremont), San Rafael and San Bruno. We also witnessed at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. This event involves about 200,000 people from all over the Bay Area. Because of its connection with Halloween, it also provides an opportunity for witches and satanists to “come out of the closet.” We encountered a group dressed in bizarre black costumes, reciting a strange chant as they went down the street. As we followed them with our Christian signs, we realized that they were seriously engaged in some occult ritual, perhaps casting spells on people in the crowd. They got very angry when we tried following them, and they started pushing us and then surrounded us, chanting loudly. Some Christians from Santa Cruz saw us and joined us. Quite a crowd gathered, with many becoming aware of the contrast between light and darkness, and the spiritual battle we are in.
One Saturday night we joined with SOS Ministries and GO Ministries from San Jose to witness at a rock concert at the Cow Palace. Slayer, one of the most satanic of all rock groups, and Judas Priest were playing. The Cow Palace has designated three areas in their parking lot as “free speech areas” where we can preach and give out tracts. The security guards even helped protect us. Ten thousand drunken teenagers and young adults poured out of the concert, many yelling “satan” as they saw us. But others, disgusted with the behavior of their peers, listened and some stayed to talk with us.
Testimony
John is 19 years old, the son of a wealthy politician in Colorado. While in college, he had been spending up to $1000 weekly on cocaine. He had left college to travel and had recently had a frightening experience with some people who were heavily involved in witchcraft. He had come to the Bay Area to attend a rock concert. One Friday night last month, he received one of our tracts as he walked down Telegraph Avenue with a friend. After reading the tract, he came back and began to talk with Kevin, one of our workers. His friend left, but John decided to go home with Kevin. John stayed at Kevin’s house for a week, then stayed with us for two weeks before going to Lighthouse Ranch, a Christian discipleship ranch near Eureka, California. Pray for John that he will grow strong in the Lord.
Ministry Needs
Friends, we are on the front lines of a major battle. Satan is attacking everyone in our house and everyone who witnesses with us, trying to get them to stop. In some cases, he has succeeded. Please pray for us that we and all those who witness with us will be strong in resisting these attacks.
As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” We need more workers to help us accomplish more on the streets. We need people to worship, pray, give out tracts, and witness one-on-one. It really encourages us when Christians join us for our outreaches. If you live in the Bay Area, please consider setting aside even one afternoon or night a month to witness with us. Also, we have begun a prayer meeting for the Bay Area and our ministry on the first Tuesday of each month. We welcome you to join us.
We have one opening in our ministry house in Oakland for a dedicated Christian who wants to help us in this ministry. Our house is the center of our ministry, and we need mature Christians with a servant’s heart and a commitment to evangelism to help us with this work. Please call or write me if you are interested.
Our secretary Shanna Atkinson has been calling pastors, asking them if we could come to their churches and help them start outreaches in their communities. Please pray that the pastors would welcome our help and want to get their churches involved in evangelism. Let us know if you think your church would be interested.
We want to thank each of you for your prayers and financial support. When we are out on the streets, especially when faced with opposition, it is a real comfort for us to know that Christians are praying for us. We try to keep our expenses to a minimum but it does cost money to run a ministry and we appreciate your help with our ongoing expenses and our special legal expenses.
Each month, we want to make available to you some resource that will help equip you in evangelism. This month we are offering a cassette tape, “Legal Issues in Evangelism” by Christian attorney Michael Imfeld. This tape is available upon request for a contribution of $5 or more to Bay Area Outreach Ministries. This tape contains one of the best teachings I have ever heard on this subject, and will help you understand what our rights are in this country.
God bless you all. I hope you can join one of our outreaches this next month. Remember to pray for us.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
