Newsletter November 1992

ISEMA Newsletters

Why We Need a Street Ministry Association

by Larry Rosenbaum

All  across  America, and around the world, it  is  evident  that Satan  is  holding his end-times revival. The  drug  epidemic  is destroying  our  society. Meanwhile, we are  reaping  the  consequences  of what was called the “sexual  revolution.”  Television and  movies  pour  out increasing amounts of  sex  and  violence, stretching every limit of good taste and morality. Thirty million unborn babies have died in the past 20 years in the U.S.  through abortion.  The  U.S. has the highest divorce rate  on  earth–the result being millions of children growing up in broken  families, or no family at all.

These are but a few of the symptoms of decay in a nation that has turned away from God and Biblical morality. But God has already given us a solution to this problem: God’s people need to come to Him in repentance for our prayerlessness, worldliness and apathy and begin to obey the Great Commission, to go into all the world, preaching the gospel and making disciples for Jesus Christ. God is raising up an army of evangelism workers to reach the unsaved and to train the church to witness for our Lord. These godly warriors are giving their all  to  reach the lost, often with little or no pay,  and  often with very little appreciation or support from much of the Body of Christ.

What is ISEMA?

In 1984, leaders of street and evangelism  ministries from around the  U.S.  joined together to form the International  Street  and Evangelism Ministries Association (ISEMA–pronounced iz’-ma). The purpose of ISEMA is to provide a network of caring, outreach, and support  for  evangelism ministers and ministries.  In  addition, ISEMA  also  provides  churches with teaching and  “on  the  job” training in front-line evangelism, as well as helping new  ministries get established.

Until now, evangelism ministries (coffee houses, rehab- discipleship  houses,  hotlines, street  ministries,  campus  ministries, etc.) have had no means of coordinating their efforts and looking out  for and caring for each other. Lawyers,  carpenters,  senior citizens,  even  pastors  and Christian  businessmen  have  their associations.  But,  up  until now, there has  been  no  national organization to promote and aid the street-level ministries.

Why You Should Join ISEMA

1. You will receive a monthly newsletter. This newsletter contains reports of what God is doing in ministries around the world, teachings on evangelism, and the most complete listing available of upcoming outreaches around the world. The newsletter also is a forum for discussing issues related to evangelism.

  1. As  we receive the latest in evangelism  tools  and  teaching materials,  we will let you know about them and make them  available  to  you. If a church in your area needs  training,  we  can refer you to experienced evangelists who can help you. If you are conducting an evangelism outreach, we can let hundreds of  interested  people and ministries know about it so they  can  participate.
  2. We  publish each year a directory of hundreds of  street  and evangelism ministries  around the world. Each listing includes  a brief description of what the ministry does. This directory  will help you locate ministries in your area, tract sources, discipleship programs, and ministries which can provide follow-up for new believers who live in other places. Write us if you would like to purchase a copy of the 1992 directory ($10 per copy).

4. As God directs, we will continue to organize regional evangelism  conferences  across  the U.S. and around  the  world.  These conferences  are designed to promote love, fellowship, ideas  and teaching  along  with a time of personal ministry  to  encourage, nourish,  and  refresh those in  evangelism ministry.  They  also provide training in evangelism for all interested believers.

  1. If you are involved in evangelism ministry, we want  to  help you any way we can. We also welcome your input, your ideas.  Your suggestions  are  needed in putting together  this  network.  God wants  to  use you in an important way in taking  our  World  for Jesus.  We  invite YOU to become a member in God’s  Army  on  the front lines. Write us today for further information. You can  use the coupon on the back page.

SOS-Hollywood

from  the Oasis Newsletter, Box 1590, Hollywood, CA 90078,  (213) 469-3027)

I know the forces of hell are furious because of the souls  saved during our 8th annual S.O.S. Hollywood outreach…About 75 S.O.S. foot-soldiers from across American just spent the last nine  days lifting  up the name of Jesus on the streets of  Hollywood….Our S.O.S. teams carried the cross throughout Hollywood and held mass praise rallies on the steps of Hollywood High School and down  on Hollywood  Blvd…We held a kids fair in the parking lot  of  the Catholic Church where many children enjoyed pony rides, Hollywood stuntmen  and  “movie  star” animals…We  had  daily  Children’s Outreaches with puppets and music at the Oasis…We had a  Picnic in  the  Park  and gave away free hotdogs…We  blocked  off  the street in front of the Oasis up to the corner of Hollywood  Blvd. and held an outrageous Jesus Block Party Concert…the two  altar calls that night reaped about 50-60 souls for the Kingdom…

Our  last  order of “Holy Ghost business” during  S.O.S.  was  to share  Jesus on the streets of West Hollywood (proclaimed in  the L.A.  Herald  Examiner as America’s first gay  city)  during  the annual  Gay Pride Festival and parade, where the L.A.  Times  reported  over 200,000 in attendance. Many people were open to  the Gospel…Early Sunday morning, hours before the start of the  Gay Pride Parade, two major earthquakes shook Southern California!! I believe  we are truly living in the last days. We must  work  for the Lord while we still can!!

SOS-San Francisco Outreach Report

Our  13th annual SOS-San Francisco outreach was certainly one  of the best. On Saturday June 27, at a Union Square worship rally, a backslidden Christian, a cocaine addict, rededicated his life  to Christ.  We  saw him again on Thursday and  the  final  Saturday, still  drug-free  and following Jesus. On Saturday  he  gave  his testimony  at a banquet. Another cocaine addict received a  Voice magazine on the streets, attended the Full Gospel Convention, and was set free from the addiction.

On  Wednesday  and Friday, we did outreaches at  the  Embarcadero Plaza, in the Financial District. Each day, about 200 Full Gospel businessmen  joined us and were actively involved in  ministering to  hundreds  of businessmen in the area. On  Wednesday,  several businessmen gave their testimonies, including Gene Ellerbee,  one of  the  top executives at Procter and Gamble. On  Friday,  Jerry Brandt  led worship and preached. A blind woman from the  Tenderloin  who was a Christian but out of fellowship had  been  prayed for earlier by one of our workers and received some of her sight. She attended the Embarcadero outreach and was prayed for again by Jerry  Brandt.  Afterwards, she could see even  better,  noticing Jerry’s green tie. Also, a 12 year old skateboarder said he had a dream the previous night of the death and resurrection of  Jesus. He knew God was drawing him, but wasn’t ready to commit his  life to the Lord.

On Thursday and Saturday, we were able to feed the people on  the streets,  serving  over 400 hot dogs with chips and  drinks  each day. A worship team ministered one night near Ghiradelli  Square. A young man walked by them and began to shake under the power  of God. He repented of drugs and other sins and received Christ that night.  On  Saturday July 4, about 200  Christians  marched  down Stockton  St. to the Powell St. BART Station, where the New  Life worship  group led our closing rally. The police closed one  lane off the street so we could march down the street as thousands  of onlookers saw the banners and heard us sing worship songs  exalting Jesus.

On  the final day, one of the Full Gospel businessmen  planned  a banquet for our workers and 300 street people at the Hilton Hotel Saturday  night.  All day, our workers invited people  they  were witnessing  to,  especially the homeless, to the  banquet.  These people,  who  have experienced so much suffering  and  rejection, were  taken to a fancy banquet room and served by  waiters.  Mark Anderson, a top athlete who became a cocaine addict after missing the Olympics, gave his testimony. About 100 people responded  the gospel  message.  Two gang members wearing  bandanas  were  among those  who received Christ. One of them had been to Victory  Outreach  and told the other, “We’ve got to get to Victory  Outreach this week.” When Mark asked people who wanted to be set free from cocaine addiction, a dozen came forward and were prayed for. Mark and  several  others  continued to pray for  people  for  several hours. This dinner was truly an unforgettable experience and  the highlight of the outreach. And our workers got a special blessing on  Friday and Saturday nights. A Full Gospel business  man  paid for rooms for all of our workers at the Hilton on those nights!

Coming Events

October  31 Halloween Outreach, Berkeley, CA.  Contact  SOS Ministries, Box 27358, Oakland, CA 94602, (510) 531-5325.

October  3-11 International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta,  Albuquerque, NM.  $90.   Contact  Christ in Action, Box  100,  Chatsworth,  GA 30705, (706) 695-1868.

October 28-31 Fantasy Festival Outreach, Key West, FL. Call (813) 683-5728.

December  31-January 1. Rose Parade Outreach, Pasadena, CA.  Contact  Sondra Berry Young Ministries, Box 3044, Newport Beach,  CA 92659, (714) 650-0525.

A Final Word

Many  of you are learning about ISEMA for the first time  at  the National Street Ministries Conference.   If so, we welcome you to sign up to receive our monthly newsletter, which we send free  to all those who want it. If there is no sign up sheet, please  mail us  the coupon at the top of this page. Next  month’s  newsletter will  include  a report on the Rescue Atlanta outreach,  plus  an article  on  Servant Evangelism–how a church  in  Cincinnati  is reaching  their  community by washing people’s  cars  and  mowing their lawns for free, then praying for their needs.

Please send us evangelism reports  from your area and a  schedule of upcoming outreaches to include in this newsletter. We want  to provide  practical  help  and encouragement to  everyone  who  is involved in evangelism ministry. Write or call us and let us know how we can help you. Each month we offer a special teaching tape. Our  Tape  of the Month is “Worship, warfare and  witnessing”  by ISEMA Vice-President Chuck Girard. This tape outlines a  strategy for  reaching  our cities through concerted prayer,  worship  and evangelism.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum