Cloud of Witnesses
From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: a Biographical History of Christian Missions by Ruth Tucker is a 500 page history of Christian missionaries from the book of Acts to the present. As I read this book, I was most impressed with the suffering and sacrifice so many have endured for the Gospel. In the Congo, only one in four missionaries would survive their first term of service. They would see their wives die, their children die, or they would leave their families behind and not see them for many years. They were murdered and sometimes cannibalized by the people they were trying to reach, but most died from diseases such as malaria.
In 1876, Alexander Mackay led a team of eight English missionaries to Uganda, responding to an invitation by King Mtesa for missionaries. By the end of the second year, only Mackay was still alive. There was tremendous persecution of the church there, led by the King who killed 30 Christian boys one year for not submitting to his homosexual passions. Mackay died of malaria in 1890 at the age of 40, but by that time the Uganda church had grown to 65,000!
The book is filled with similar examples of sacrifice. In some cases, missionaries saw much fruit to their labors. In other cases there was little apparent fruit. William Carey labored for seven years in Bengal, India without a single convert. He spent many years translating the Bible into native languages, only to have his work destroyed in a warehouse fire. His first wife was totally opposed to the missionary work. After she lost her 5 year old son, she became totally deranged. Carey’s missionary team had many conflicts and ended up splitting over personality clashes. Despite all this, he inspired hundreds of Christians to enter missionary work. Carey was called the “father of modern missions” because of the way he approached missionary work–being sensitive to the culture of the people he was reaching, instead of trying to substitute western culture.
Why the sacrifice? The only thing that could possibly motivate people to make such sacrifices was the prospect of saving people from eternal Hell. As A. B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance wrote,
“A hundred thousand souls a day
Are passing one by one away,
In Christless guilt and gloom.
Without one ray of hope or light,
With future dark as endless night,
They’re passing to their doom.”
Several of our states even include evangelism in their charters as their reason for existence. Virginia’s charter opens with the King blessing the colonists “in propagating the Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance.” The Massachusetts Bay charter pledged to “wynn and incite the natives of the Country to the Knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Savior of Mankinde, and the Christian fayth.” The seal of the colony was an Indian crying “Come over and help us.” Connecticut’s charter maintained that “evangelization” was the “onlye and principal end” for the colony’s existence. Similar statements about the need to convert the Indians are in the charters of Pennsylvania and other states. How far have we moved from our origins!
Coming Events
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.
Saturday January 10 San Francisco worship rally and outreach. 11 AM – 5 PM (note new time). 941 Market St. (near 5th St. /Powell St BART station.) Call (510) 531-5325 to confirm.
Saturday January 17 San Francisco worship rally and outreach. 11 AM – 5 PM Cable Car Turnaround, Powell and Market St.. (at Powell St BART station.) Call (510) 531-5325 to confirm.
Saturday January 24. Berkeley outreach. 12-5:30 PM. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
February 19-25 Mardi Gras outreach, New Orleans. Call (414) 445- 9490, (770) 924-0201 or (703) 368-6286.
Ministry News
On November 8, we ministered at the Cable Car Turnaround, Powell and Market St., in San Francisco. We had two excellent music groups who work with us frequently: “Salt” and “Children of the Rock.” At times, over a hundred people were standing around, listening to the music. In addition, there is a “captive audience” of people lining up to ride the cable car. Please pray for Rafi, an Israeli Jew living in Oakland, who prayed with us this day.
On November 15, we ministered in Berkeley. Paul and Noreen Coca sang and several people preached. Despite two hecklers, the afternoon was peaceful and we prayed with several people.
On November 22, we held our first outreach at 941 Market St., near 5th St. This is a closed storefront. Harvest Church from Sacramento ministered until 4 PM, when “Children of the Rock” arrived. Please pray for Keith, John, David, Eramos, and Jesse, who prayed with us this afternoon.
Charles Simpson of Harvest Church has ministered with us many times and has witnessed in the Sacramento area for many years. We recently learned that he has cancer, which doctors consider terminal. Please pray for Charles.
During the winter, there is often a threat of rain. We hold outreaches throughout the year and rarely are forced to cancel because of rain. When I applied for a permit at 941 Market St., I didn’t realize that it had a large overhang that protects us from the rain. It began to rain at 5:15 PM, but the musicians and sound system stayed dry. Also, the merchants at this location don’t seem bothered by us. Some customers in a nearby shoe store danced to the music while they were trying on shoes!
Thank you for mailing us your prayer requests. We pray for these needs at our Wednesday night house meeting. Please pray for those who have written us this past month in response to tracts, including James, Vinh, Adelaida (SF), Samuel and Beverly (Oakland), Jessie (Novato), Lisa and Chuck (Corte Madera).
Please continue to pray for our lawyer, Russell Davis, and for us as we continue our lawsuit to end the arrests and permit denials to Christians in San Francisco. We need about $3000 additional funds to pay our legal costs. This past month, we filed a second lawsuit in state court relating to Eric Livingston’s citations and imprisonment.
The city is trying to keep us from getting the information we need. This requires us to have special hearings to require them to turn over evidence. A judge dismissed the criminal charges against Eric on June 20, but the District Attorney has appealed. Please pray that the appeal will fail. Also, pray that we will continue to get permits and will not be arrested for preaching the gospel.
Once again, we are offering a special book: Street Smarts: A Survival Guide to Personal Evangelism and the Law by Steve Levicoff. This 228 page book has chapters on witnessing on the street, in shopping malls, at school and work, at stadiums and concerts, at airports, prisons and at home. It covers court cases regarding our rights and gives practical advice in handling problems.
We still need a handyman with carpentry and/or roofing skills to help with repairs on our house. We also have an opening for one Christian to live in our ministry house. This house is not for new believers but for those who are ready for evangelism minis try. We have one new house member–Derek Scholl. Derek is 21 and graduated from the Great Commission Bible School in Oregon. Another house member is on the way. Eric and Cammie Livingston are expecting their third child (a boy), this spring.
A new coalition of Christians is being established called “Soulwinners International Fellowship.” It is a network of churches, street/inner-city ministries, and evangelists. The fellowship was founded by Scott and Nancy Hinkle, who organized the National Street Ministry Conference for many years. For more information, contact them at Box 30642, Phoenix, AZ 85046, (602) 942-6362. I believe that it is important for street ministers to work together, and pray that this fellowship will succeed in its purpose.
Our Tape of the Month is “Revival in China” by Dennis Balcombe. Dennis has been a missionary to Hong Kong since 1969 and has been visiting and ministering to Christians in Communist China since 1979, making over 450 trips to the mainland. During that time, over 4 million Bibles have been given to Chinese Christians through his ministry. In this teaching, Rev. Balcombe talks about the fear of God as it relates to the revival in China.
By the time you receive this letter, we should have the dates for next year’s SOS outreach. Please call us if you need to know them now to get the time off work.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
