Revival or Judgment
Dear Christian friends,
“I solemnly urge you…to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not” (2 Tim 4:1). “And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).
Greetings in the Name of our Wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Many of you getting this newsletter haven’t received one from us since last year. If you would like to get this letter monthly, and will read it and pray for us, please indicate this on the enclosed response sheet. We hope this letter will be a blessing to you, and will help you to grow in your knowledge and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the past forty years, Christians have been moving out of our cities into the suburbs. Without a strong gospel witness, city people turned to drugs, sexual immorality and crime. When these problems spread to the suburbs, we could no longer ignore them. Despite the billions of dollars we have spent on social programs, education and law enforcement, things have only gotten worse. The only solution is for people to turn to Jesus Christ.
Twenty-three years ago, God called me to preach the gospel to the people of San Francisco. During the early years of this ministry, some Christians believed that God would save multitudes in this city within a year or two as a result of our prayers and evangelism. Others were just as convinced that God would soon destroy this city because of its wickedness.
Americans are used to instant foods and instant cash machines. But God’s ways are not our ways. It takes time for prayer and evangelism to bear fruit. A day is with the Lord as a thousand years. So twenty-three years is but a few minutes according to God’s time. God never told me the timing or size of the harvest we would see in this city. He only told me to keep preaching the gospel here.
Noah preached God’s word for perhaps 600 years, but only his family was saved. Jonah preached a message of judgment without love for a few days, and everyone in Ninevah repented. Will the people of San Francisco be judged like the people of Noah’s day, or will they repent like Ninevah?
San Francisco is certainly one of the most influential cities in the world, along with New York, Los Angeles and a few other places. Its influence has been almost totally for evil. While most San Franciscans have heard about Jesus, they have seen a lot more religious hypocrisy than real Christianity. And there are thousands of children, immigrants and tourists here who have never heard the gospel. This city is still the third most popular tourist destination in the world.
So for the nineteenth year we are sending out an “SOS” — a call for Christians to “preach the Word of God urgently” (2 Tim. 4:1) to the people of San Francisco. God also wants to use this outreach to shake us from our spiritual apathy and lukewarmness and give us a new excitement about serving Jesus. Those who think Christianity is boring have never been to SOS-San Francisco.
Celebration in the Streets
Many San Franciscans are turned off to “organized religion.” They view Christians as self-righteous hypocrites who are unhappy themselves and want to spoil other people’s fun. Many have never been to a church where people love Jesus and are filled with God’s joy. If they will not come inside a church building, we can bring the church to them.
Twice a month throughout the year and every day during our SOS- San Francisco outreach, we hold a worship service on the streets. We set up a sound system in a park or on a street corner. Led by a music group, we worship God, preach the gospel, share testimonies, and invite people to receive Christ. As people walk into the area, they see a group of Christians filled with God’s joy and often sense God’s presence. The Bible says that Satan, the “god of this world,” has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. We believe that as we worship God, Satan’s hold over these people is momentarily disrupted and they are more receptive to a gospel witness.
Last summer, Pastor Gary Goodell from the San Diego Vineyard brought a team from his church, including worship leader Mark McCoy, to join our outreach. Another group of youth from Canada, led by Trey Bourette, also joined us. They led us in a very joyous form of worship at our outdoor outreaches, celebrating our joy in knowing Jesus through music and dance. These groups will be with us again this summer.
Last year was also the 30th anniversary of the “Summer of Love.” In 1967 and 1968, thousands of “hippies” (including myself) came to the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco looking for love and peace. What we found then was a counterfeit, but now we have found the real thing. This summer, we will be ministering throughout the city, but especially to the youth in the Haight-Ashbury district. We have applied for permits to hold two rallies at Sharon Meadow, near “hippie hill” in Golden Gate Park.
Thousands of youth are still coming to San Francisco each summer, seeking the same things the “hippies” were looking for 30 years ago. Several dozen of these youth have come to know Jesus. We hope many more will be saved this summer. Jesus said, “the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” We urge you to join us for a day, a weekend, or the whole week as laborers in our Lord’s harvest field.
We are printing 3000 posters and 15,000 bulletin inserts to let Christians know about this outreach. Please help us get this literature to churches, Christian bookstores, and Christian schools in your area. You can give it out at Christian concerts and other events. Also, talk with your pastor and Christian friends and encourage them to get involved. Set aside the week of July 31 – August 8 to attend the SOS outreach and bring a friend.
We have enclosed a registration form with this letter. If you register by June 25, you will receive a free SOS T-shirt. Free housing is available during the outreach. Bring a sleeping bag and foam pad. If you prefer, we can send you names of hotels in the area. See the bulletin insert enclosed with this newsletter for more outreach details.
DON’T DELAY. SEND IN YOUR SOS REGISTRATION FORM TODAY!
On the Streets
On Good Friday we witnessed on Castro Street. We stood next to the Castro Theater, which was hosting an “animation festival.” The movie line stretched around the block, and we offered gospel tracts to everyone. We sang worship songs, gave out hundreds of tracts, and spoke with a few interested people.
On the next day, we set up our sound system at the Cable Car Turnaround at Powell St., the busiest location in the city. By the end of the day, about 300 people were standing around listening to the music. Some of these people were receptive to the gospel. Others seemed hardened to the message, but they loved the music. God was ministering to them as well. We prayed with several people that afternoon, including Carlos, Don and Ivory.
Lynette sang with Paul and Noreen Coca that day. Two years ago, she went to Berkeley to buy drugs. While there, she received one of our tracts and Noreen witnessed to her. A few months later she was saved and led her husband to Christ. A year later she called me asking about a street outreach in San Jose. I gave her Paul and Noreen’s number. She called them and now regularly witnesses with them on Friday nights.
On Saturday April 18, we ministered at 5th and Market St. About 20 people prayed with us that afternoon, including David, Rodney, and Myron (San Francisco), Shavon (Alameda), and Clarence and Eugene (who went to the Richmond Rescue Mission). Please pray for them, as well as those who have written us in response to tracts, including Jamar (SF), Estrella (Daly City), Kazutaka (Artesia, CA), and Ron (San Diego prison).
Coming Events
EVERY FRIDAY 7:15 PM. Witnessing in various S.F. neighborhoods. Meet at Vineyard, 7th St. and Harrison, San Francisco. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
June 2-4 Great Commission Conference. Lake Worth, FL; June 22-27 Rescue Atlanta Outreach. Contact Rescue Atlanta, Box 965039, Marietta, GA 30066, (770) 924-0201.
Saturday June 13 and June 27 San Francisco worship rally and outreach. 12 – 6 PM. Cable Car Turnaround (near the Powell St. BART station). Call (510) 531-5325 for time and meeting location.
Saturday June 20 Berkeley outreach. 12-5:30 PM. Call (510) 531- 5325 for more information.
July 31-August 8 SOS-San Francisco/Summer of Love Outreach. Year 19. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
Ministry Needs
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We have had no problems with the police for over a year. Please continue to pray that the criminal charges against Eric Livingston from February, 1997 will finally be dismissed. Also pray for a speedy victory in our lawsuits so that we will have continued freedom to obtain permits and minister without fear of arrest.
Please pray that many Christians will participate in this sum mer’s SOS outreach and that God will guide us in planning it. Please pray for more workers for our Friday night and Saturday afternoon outreach groups. We still need one Christian to live in our ministry house. This house is not for new believers but for those who are ready for evangelism ministry. Finally, we still need to print several hundred thousand tracts to use this coming year.
Our Tape of the Month is Bringing the Church to the Street by Richard Paradise. Richard is Director of Proclamation at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Sacramento and one of the founders of SOS Ministries. Also, many of you have never read my book: You Shall Be My Witnesses: How to Reach Your City for Christ. This 140 page book tells the story of SOS Ministries and contains teachings to help you reach your community for Jesus.
God bless you all. I hope many of you will join us for an out reach this month and especially for SOS-San Francisco.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum