Unleashing the Church
Dear Christian friends,
I love to read books on evangelism. Recently I read a book called Unleashing the Church: Getting People out of the Fortress and into Ministry by Frank Tillapaugh. The book was written in 1982 and is available for $8 from Christian Book Distributors (508-977-5000 order # 18433). The author is (or was) pastor of Bear Valley Baptist Church in Denver, a church of over 1000 meeting in a sanctuary that seats 275. Instead of building a big, expensive facility in the suburbs that would be full only on Sunday morning, they chose to hold multiple services and spend their resources on outreach. They hired several full-time ministers to lead outreaches in various communities–such as to international students, refugees, and street people.
“The fortress church puts up its building, starts its programs and concentrates primarily within its walls….In the church unleashed an individual’s primary ministry may be within one of many traditional church programs such as Sunday School. But there is an equal chance that his ministry may be in a prison or working with a foreign student.” In the fortress church, most members participate only as spectators on Sunday morning.
According to Tillapaugh, since the 1930’s there has been a shift in which most outreach ministry is now done by “parachurch” organizations like Intervarsity and Campus Crusade. In 1982, Campus Crusade had over 11,000 overseas staff, compared to 3,000 for the largest denomination (the Southern Baptist Convention). In contrast, the local church has concentrated on ministering almost exclusively to the middle-class family. But most Americans no longer belong to “middle class families.” Tillapaugh is not opposed to parachurch ministries, but believes that the local church should also be involved in a variety of outreach ministries.
“Any Bible-believing church can have an effective ministry in the city.” But “the biggest obstacle to unleashing the church is…the senior pastor.” If he wants to release church members to minister, the church will develop effective outreaches. If he wants to control everything, the church will remain a fortress. “I believe that if he is really committed to the concept of the church unleashed, he can see it happen within five years.”
Legal Update
For the past few months, I have been telling you about the problems we have had getting loudspeaker permits in San Francisco. In April, I applied for a sidewalk permit for three dates in May, at a new location near 6th and Market. The permits were denied, so I asked for a hearing. The hearing was scheduled for May 8. Before the hearing, I went to Castro St. and saw a flier advertising the hearing on a newsstand. The flier urged homosexuals to attend the hearing and included a copy of a newspaper article from the Bay Area Reporter, the largest homosexual newspaper in San Francisco.
The article called us the “footsoldiers of the radical right.” It also attacked Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Youth With a Mission, and Open Bible Church. It said we had ties with “the violent military dictatorship of former President Rios Montt of Guatemala.” The article urged readers to attend the hearing.
When I arrived at the hearing, I expected large numbers of homosexuals to attend. Actually, only about 15 came, including Paul Bernardino, who has opposed us since 1978, and Michael Bellefountain from Act-up, who held a sign throughout the hearing: “Aids Bigotry rears its ugly heads. Get out of town.” Three homosexual newspaper reporters were there.
Pastor Gary Vian (Open Bible Church) and Raymond Landry (Independent Community Church, Richmond) spoke on our behalf. One woman who worked at the Tourist Information Bureau complained about our noise at 5th and Market. She said she first heard us last December, even though we had already done 30 outreaches there by that time. The rest of the complainants were homosexuals. Most complained about our preaching in the homosexual neighborhoods.
Captain Maron, who presided over the hearing, had previously written a letter to Gary Vian. In the letter, he said that Off. Gallagher’s actions in citing us was proper. He said that rejecting our permits “in no way violates your rights to free speech.” Capt. Maron had drawn conclusions about us without having met us. Although I presented a letter from the American Center for Law and Justice outlining court cases that demonstrated he had no legal basis for rejecting our permits, Capt. Maron nonetheless denied our May permits.
Since that time, Off. Gallagher denied Paul Coca permits for Union Square, the Embarcadero and Washington Square. So the situation as I write is that neither I nor anyone that Off. Gallagher thinks has any association with me can get a loudspeaker permit anywhere in the city.
Meanwhile, other groups continue to get permits to set up gigantic loudspeakers throughout the city. The “KFOG sky concert” at the Embarcadero had a sound system about 100 times as powerful as the one we use. On May 25 and 26, the Carnival on Harrison St. included several huge sound systems. One was set up a few feet from private residences and played loud music all day Saturday and Sunday. One sound system could be heard clearly six blocks away on Potrero Street! On June 21, “Making Waves” is planning its fifth annual San Francisco music day, featuring 200 bands with 20 large sound systems set up on stages along Market Street playing music all day and into the night. And during SOS week, the “Gay Freedom Celebration” is getting a permit to set up a huge sound system all day on June 22 and 23 at the Embarcadero, while we were denied a permit to set up a small sound system at the same location for one hour on June 28!
As I write this, we have obtained only one permit during SOS, for one hour at the Embarcadero on Tuesday June 25. We still hope to get other permits. But regardless, we intend to witness on the streets the best we can, using our 9 watt maximouse amplifiers which do not require a permit.
We do intend to file a lawsuit, but it may take some time before this injustice is corrected. Please pray for us and our lawyers that we will have wisdom in pursuing the matter and that we will get a speedy ruling in our favor.
Coming Events
June 21-29 SOS-San Francisco. Our 17th annual week-long outreach to the people of San Francisco. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
July 8 – August 6 Olympic Outreach, Atlanta. Contact Rescue Atlanta, Box 965039, Marietta, GA 30066, (404) 924-0201.
August 15-17 National Street Ministries Conference-West. Phoenix, AZ. Contact N.S.M.C., Box 30642, Phoenix, AZ 85046, (602) 942-6362.
EVERY FRIDAY 7 PM. Witnessing in various S.F. neighborhoods. Meet at Vineyard, 7th St. and Harrison, San Francisco. Call (510) 531- 5325 for more information.
EVERY SATURDAY Noon. San Francisco or Berkeley witnessing. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
Waterworld Benefit for SOS
On Friday August 2, from 10:30 AM – 6:30 PM, a special Christian day is being planned at Waterworld, a new water park in Concord. Christian music groups will play all day and we can witness to those who come to listen. The brother who is organizing it, Rick Herd, is donating all proceeds to SOS Ministries. Tickets are available for $15.99 from many Christian bookstores, or $16.99 at the gate. Waterworld is located on Waterworld Parkway, 2 blocks east of I-680. Take the Willow Pass Road exit. I hope to see many of you there. (Call first to confirm: (510) 531-5325.)
March for Jesus
On Saturday May 25, millions of Christians around the world joined in the annual March for Jesus, including approximately 2 million across the U.S. Another 2 million marched in Sao Paulo, Brazil! San Francisco held its march the next week, on June 1. About two thousand Christians participated from many different ethnic, racial and denominational groups. Hundreds of gospel tracts were given out along the parade route. It was a powerful witness to the people of San Francisco.
At the march, I met a man named David. He had been a crack addict. A Christian witnessed to him last July at an outreach we had at Washington Square. She invited him to an outreach the next day at the Embarcadero. A Christian witnessed to him there and gave him a New Testament. He read it through twice. In January he went to the Salvation Army and is now in their discipleship program, free from drugs and serving the Lord!
Ministry News
On May 16-18, I went to San Diego to teach a workshop at the Southern California Evangelism Conference. It was an excellent conference, but unfortunately the turnout was small. On May 24, I was interviewed by two brothers from the Northern California Christian Times. I spoke about the upcoming SOS outreach and our legal problems. They went to Haight St. with us that night. On May 25, three brothers from Last Days Harvest Ministries witnessed with us in Berkeley. They sang Christian “blues” songs. Several people who normally com plain about our preaching and music, told us they enjoyed the music. Even the “Hate Man” (Mark Hawthorne) liked it.
Again we thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We still need to get a sound system for the ministry. We continue to witness every Friday night and Saturday afternoon. We have several outdoor rallies planned each month, assuming we can get permits. Otherwise we will still witness on the streets.
We still have an opening for two Christians to live in our ministry house. This house is not for new believers but for those who are ready for evangelism ministry. We are looking for soldiers who will endure hardship and persist in God’s calling to evangelize the San Francisco Bay Area.
If you get this letter before June 29, please try to come for some or all of the SOS outreach. Meetings are held daily except Sunday at 9 AM and 6 PM (7PM on Friday and Saturday) at Vineyard Christian Fellowship, 1098 Harrison St. at 7th St. in San Francisco.
Our Tape of the Month is Starting a Street Witnessing Team. This is the teaching I gave at the Southern California Evangelism Conference. Also, we still have copies of our 1996 Street Ministry Directory, a listing of 500 ministries around the country, with special sections on tract sources and legal help.
Please pray for those who have responded to tracts this past month: Jessica (Turlock), Loreto (SF), Timothy (Castro Valley) and Becky (Pleasant Hill). Please pray for Chris (Concord) that he would be set free from drugs and commit his life to Christ. Please continue to pray for us especially in regards to our legal problems, that we would once again be able to get loudspeaker permits in San Francisco.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
