Revival Time
The San Francisco Examiner rarely prints any articles that por
tray Christians in a favorable way. However, their June 15 paper
featured an article written by Lyn Duff of Youth Outlook (YO!), a
newspaper written by San Francisco area youth. The article,
“After Littleton, Students Turn to Christianity,” was about teen
agers who were saved in the aftermath of the Columbine High
School tragedy.
Irene was a Catholic girl who left the Columbine lunch room
minutes before the first gunshots. She credits God with giving
her a “strong feeling” that she should leave at that moment. She
noticed something different in the way the Christian students
faced death on April 20. “The Christian students were afraid, but
at the same time they weren’t. They were holding hands and pray
ing, right in the middle of all that craziness. It was weird.
here are all these people running away from the school and
they’re standing in the parking lot praying.” A few days later,
at a memorial service, Irene responded to an altar call and
publicly became a Christian. “I never thought I’d ever do any
thing like that. But just at that moment, I knew. I just knew it
was all true. And I didn’t want to wait any longer. I couldn’t
wait, because you never know when your end is going to come.”
The article continues to tell of hundreds of other youth who have
received Christ in the aftermath of this tragedy. A CNN reporter
estimated that 200 teenagers responded to an altar call at one
memorial service. Another 75 teenagers responded to an altar call
at Cassie Bernall’s funeral, which included a video in which she
explained why she became a Christian.
The article also related the testimony of JR. He was a Methodist
because his parents were. “I didn’t put much thought into God or
an afterlife. I felt like I’m a good person and that’s good
enough.” The night of the shooting, JR borrowed a Bible and
started to read the New Testament. “I just couldn’t sleep. I had
this desire to know. As I was reading, it was like I saw my life
in a whole new way. I saw not just how I’d failed but how I
couldn’t really do good on my own, how I really needed to make
God the priority in my life.” A week later, JR responded to an
altar call at a memorial service.
God is able to bring good even out of an event as horrible as the
Columbine massacre. “And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to
his purpose” Romans 8:28.
Legal Update
Our hearing on our motion to dismiss the criminal charges against
me from last August is now over. Closing arguments were made on
June 17. As I write, I await Judge Mason’s decision in the mat
ter. Unless she dismisses the charges, I will have to go to
trial, which could last a month or more.
Meanwhile, I appealed the Police Department decision to limit all
permits at Powell and Market to one hour. I think the hearing
will be held on Wed. August 18 at 5:30 PM (San Francisco City
Hall room 416). The more people we can get to speak on our be
half, the better our chances of winning. If the hearing is held
on this date, we can get many people to the hearing, since it is in the middle of SOS week. Last weekend, I collected 500 signa
tures on a petition opposing the Police Department regulations at
two San Francisco street fairs. This is in addition to the 1500
signatures we collected last year.
Powell and Market is the best location in the city for outreach
es, so we are making every effort to win this appeal. Please call
me if you want to attend this hearing. If the date is changed, we
will need all the help we can get. Most of all, please pray that
the Board of Appeals will reject the Police Department regulation
limiting permits at Powell and Market to only one hour.
SOS-San Francisco
August 13-21
The Devil does not want the Gospel preached in San Francisco. He
is trying to stop us through permit denials, criminal prosecu
tion, and confiscation of our sound system. Still, God gives us
grace to continue preaching His Word.
I believe that God wants to save many people in San Francisco
this summer. But Satan will make every effort to keep God’s
people from witnessing for Jesus in this city. He will tell you
that you’re too busy with other things, that you’re not called to
witness, that San Franciscans don’t want to hear the gospel.
For too long, Christianity has been a “spectator sport.” Most of
us have heard hundreds of sermons and attended dozens of teaching
seminars. It is time for us to apply what we have learned. The
Great Commission is for all of us. We each need to get personally
involved in bringing God’s Word to a lost world.
The Columbine tragedy reminded people of the urgency of the
gospel. The students attending High School did not know they
would be murdered that day. Just as we urge the unsaved not to
postpone their decision to make Jesus their Savior, we must not
postpone our decision to make Jesus our Lord and preach His Word.
Now is the time to preach the gospel. If you need training in
evangelism, SOS-San Francisco is an ideal opportunity to receive
teaching and on-the-job training in evangelism. We urge you to
set aside the week of August 13-21 to attend the SOS outreach and
bring a friend. If you can’t be here the whole week, come for a
day, a weekend, or in the evening.
We have enclosed a registration form with this newsletter. Free
housing is available at Glad Tidings Church. Bring a sleeping bag
and foam pad. If you prefer, we can send you hotel information.
We will be serving breakfast and lunch starting Monday August 16.
If you live in the Bay Area and must work, you may join us at
night and on weekends. Please call, write, or e-mail us if you
have any questions. See the bulletin insert enclosed with this
newsletter for more outreach details.
Coming Events
Note: All outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 the
day before to confirm outreaches or for more information.
Friday August 6 7:15 PM. Witnessing in various S.F. neighbor
hoods. (Call us meeting location and directions.)
Sat. August 7 Berkeley Outreach 1:30-5:30 PM Telegraph and Haste
May 1-October 17 Mario Murillo Ministries San Francisco Outreach
(925) 820-5470.
August 13-21 SOS-San Francisco. Set aside this week to join us for our 20th annual outreach to the people of San Francisco.
Ministry News and Needs
While we are busy preparing for the SOS outreach, we are also
involved in a court battle and an appeal involving our permits.
If this were not enough, yesterday the main water pipe broke in
front of our house. We need to tear up our driveway and replace
the pipe. This will cost thousands of dollars.
Still, we continue to preach the gospel. In June, we held two
worship rallies at Powell and Market, two at Union Square and one
in Berkeley. We also witnessed on Castro Street, Haight Street
and Fisherman’s Wharf. We met a Jewish woman named Nikki on
Castro Street. She was very receptive to the gospel and wanted to
contact Jews for Jesus. I sent her some information about the Old
Testament prophesies that Jesus fulfilled. Please pray also for
Lorrie, a woman we met at Union Square. She asked for prayer to
be set free from prostitution and crack addiction.
We really appreciate your prayer for us and continued faithful
ness in supporting us financially. Please continue to pray for a
quick and favorable end to our legal struggles. Pray that we will
continue to get permits at Powell and Market for 5 hours and will
be able to minister without fear of arrest. Pray that we will get
the permits we need for SOS-San Francisco, and God will send
forth many laborers to help us bring in a great harvest of souls.
Our Tape of the Month is Mobilizing Youth for Outreach by Mel
Rolls. Mel was formerly a youth pastor in Florida and now directs
a street ministry named Rescue Atlanta.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
