Economic Freedom
Dear Christian friends,
I once asked two pastors why it is so hard to get Christians involved in evangelism. Both pastored churches that were very much involved in street ministry 30 years ago. Today, few of their members are involved in evangelism of any kind. They gave several reasons for this. One main reason was economics. Over the past 30 years, there has been a great increase in the number of church families in which both parents work and in which the husband works overtime in order to pay their bills. Many families are heavily in debt and are trying desperately to catch up. They barely have time to attend Sunday morning service and possibly a home fellowship. Many say there is no time for anything else. Our nation’s current financial problems have made things even more difficult for many Christians.
When I was growing up, most families lived on a single paycheck. We thought that in the future, as automation took over the workplace, we would have more leisure time. Because of technology, the average workweek had decreased from 80 to 60 to 40 hours. We expected it to continue to decrease to 30 or even 20 hours. For a number of reasons, this did not happen. Today, most families need two paychecks to maintain their standard of living.
As Christians, how do we relate this new “economic reality” to our responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission? For some Christians, their increased prosperity had led to increased support for world missions. But giving is only one part of our responsibility as Christians. We are also personally responsible to bring the gospel to others.
Some Christians find that they have many opportunities to witness in their daily lives — at work, to their neighbors and friends, while riding the bus, etc. However, most Christians rarely witness in their everyday lives. We all need to set aside time to witness — on the streets, door-to-door, at prisons and nursing homes, etc. But where do we find the time?
One thing we need to consider is simplifying our lives. The Bible says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain…. And having food and clothing let us be content” (1 Tim. 6:6,8). Our actual needs are few. We need food, clothing, and shelter. But advertisers spend billions of dollars trying to convince us we need a brand new car, a new computer, the latest fashions in clothing, and so on. Many Christians work overtime or go into debt to purchase these things. We don’t want to deprive our children or ourselves of anything. Our children need us to spend time with them, teaching them God’s ways, much more than they need us to spend lots of money on them.
Our time is our most valuable asset. God will hold us accountable for how we use our time. Should we spend extra hours at work trying to support a lifestyle we don’t need and God does not want us to have? Then, when we come home from work, we are too tired and stressed out to spend time with the Lord, our family, our church, or reaching the lost.
One pastor gave another reason why few Christians witness: we have left our first love. We need to fall in love with Jesus again. If we love Him, we will want to tell others about Him. The sacrifices we must make to do this will seem small.
Witnessing at Work
One of our goals for this newsletter is to provide each of you with some practical help in witnessing for our Lord. I thought I’d start with some suggestions for witnessing at your workplace. Our time at work should accomplish more than making money. Some Christians have led many people to Christ through their jobs. The great evangelist D. L. Moody got saved through the witness of a shoe salesman, while he was trying on some shoes. God wants to use you to witness to others at your job, as well as at other times. Here are some tips that I think will help you:
1. Get and keep your heart right with God. Confess and forsake any known sin. Spend time in prayer and God’s word in the morning before work. The more you are walking in the Spirit at work, the better witness you’ll be and the more you’ll hear God when He tells you to witness to someone. At the same time, don’t fall into condemnation, thinking you can’t witness because you aren’t “spiritual enough.” If you lose your temper at work (for example), apologize to those who were affected.
2. Choose the right job. Are you where God wants you? God used Jonah while he was running away from Him, but He would rather use us when we are in His perfect will. If you aren’t sure you are in the job God wants you to have, ask Him. If He wants you somewhere else, He’ll make it very clear to you. When you are preparing for future work or looking for a job, spend much time praying for God’s direction. Some jobs provide more opportunities to witness than others do. This should be an important consideration in your job choice. Being used by God to witness at a job will greatly contribute to your happiness with that job.
3. Let everyone know you are a Christian from the start. The longer you work at a job without telling people, the harder it will be to do so. Also, once you tell people you are a Christian, you will be conscious of your need to maintain a good witness before them. One easy way to do this is to send each co-worker and client a personal card or letter at Easter or Christmas with a clear gospel message in it, perhaps with your testimony in it.
4. Be sensitive to each person and to the Holy Spirit as to how much you should witness to them, and the best way to do so. Everyone reaches a place of crisis in their life at some time, when they are desperate for help. If they see you as a friend and a stable person, they will be likely to turn to you for counsel. Then they will listen eagerly as you share.
5. Avoid self-righteousness and legalism. Many people think of Christians this way. Let them see that your relationship with God is vital and gives you joy and peace, fulfillment and direction in your life. At the same time, we do need to take a stand as to what we will and won’t do at work. We must avoid all dishonesty and other immorality. It is better to leave your job than sin against our Lord.
6. Be a friend to your co-workers. Don’t gossip about them or anyone else. That way, they won’t be afraid to confide in you. Invite them to your house for dinner. Or invite them to go with you to a “non-churchy” Christian event that you think they might enjoy. According to a recent survey, 96% of non-Christians said they would be at least somewhat likely to attend church if someone invited them.
7. Use tracts. Ron Woodruff, who helped start SOS Ministries, worked at a glass factory when he got saved. He bought hundreds of comic-book tracts and left them in everyone’s lockers and everywhere around the factory. People avoided Ron because he talked to them about Jesus and wouldn’t listen to their dirty jokes. But they couldn’t deny the change they saw in his life. Within a few years, almost a third of the factory had gotten saved.
8. Become indispensable at your job. Be such a good worker that your boss can’t do without you. Your boss probably won’t mind if you witness to people as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work. Of course, this varies with the boss and the job. Once I worked at a hamburger stand and the manager (a Catholic) let me put tracts in the bag with each hamburger. Another time I worked as a cashier at a highclass restaurant. I witnessed to the waiters and quite a few customers. The owner thought it was cute and boasted of his “preacher-cashier.”
9. Don’t become a “workaholic.” Make sure your priorities are right. You need to spend time each day with God, spend time with your family, have regular church fellowship, spend time with friends, spend time in some kind of ministry activity, and have some time for rest and relaxation. If you find yourself working 50 or more hours a week, maybe you should look for a job with a better hourly wage, or simplify your lifestyle so you don’t spend so much money.
This is particularly true for single people. One of the main advantages of being single is the ability to give oneself more fully to Christian service without the responsibilities of family life. Many single people should be able to support themselves with part-time jobs, as I did for many years. I once got a call from a single brother. I invited him to witness with us, but he said he worked 60 hours a week. He liked making a lot of money, and was giving some of it to missions. Still, he was frustrated that he had no time to evangelize. His boss was unwilling to reduce his hours, so I encouraged him to find a different job. Our time is our greatest asset. “Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Eph. 5:15).
Coming Events
Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 761-6120 to confirm outreaches or for more information.
Friday August 13, 20, 27 Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. 7:30-10 PM (Call for location).
Sat. August 14, 28 San Francisco Outreach. 11:30 – 4 PM Fisherman’s Wharf (Call for exact location.)
Sat. August 21 San Francisco Outreach. 12-5 PM UN Plaza (7th St. and Market)
Ministry News and Needs
I am writing this letter a few weeks before our SOS-San Francisco outreach. Next month’s newsletter should include a report on the outreach. On Saturday June 26, we held outreaches at Washington Square and Union Square. Tim Moon played at Washington Square. Seven men from the Lord’s Ranch in Spokane spent the weekend with us. They preached and shared testimonies at the park. Calvary Assembly in Merced ministered at Union Square. They have an excellent worship group, and many people stood around listening to the music. I preached a short message at the end.
In the early 1980’s, we used to set up a booth at Jesus West Coast, a gathering of about 3000 Christians in Santa Rosa. Several hundred people from the event came to our SOS outreach each year. About 13 years ago, I set up a booth at Spirit West Coast, a gathering of about 14000 Christians in Monterey. Only one person from the event attended our SOS outreach. This year I again set up a booth at Spirit West Coast.
On Friday, a teenager approached me at the booth. He told me he wanted to join our ministry. After speaking with him, his pastor, and the family he was living with, I decided to take him with me. Leife is 18 and he is now living in our house. He has a real heart to serve God and witness for Him. As you know, we have been praying for some young people to live in our ministry house. Please pray for Leife, and pray that other young men will join him in this ministry.
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. Please pray for all those we will be witnessing to during the SOS-San Francisco outreach, that many will be saved and become disciples of our Lord.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
People listen to Calvary Assembly, Merced, worship band at Union Square.
Larry witnesses to man from Saudi Arabia at Union Square.
Chad from Lord’s Ranch preaches at Washington Square.
Leife passes out tracts at Union Square.