October 22, 2010
I’m on the train to SLO, and it’s a perfect time to blog. This weekend I’ll be with ucravenslo.blogspot.com while the rest of the crew stays in Santa Barbara and continues the work on Del Playa.

A few Testimonies:
1) Last Friday, a guy talked to Phil briefly and then spent over an hour talking to Ian. Ends up the guy was the son of a preacher and knew he wasn’t living right. In the middle of the party street he was convicted by the cross. The following night he was out on the same street, but preaching righteousness rather than living in unrighteousness.
2) Last Saturday night, a group of guys I don’t even think I’ve met decided to set up a cross on the opposite side of Del Playa (near the Del Sur intersection, right outside of Jesus Burgers). Some Westmont students joined us at our intersection, bringing our number of evangelists to around 15. So Phil and Daniel decided to check out the other cross and ended up witnessing there all night. What is so amazing about this is two things. One, that enough harvesters are coming out that we are getting too crowded at one cross, sending guys elsewhere. And the second is that a second cross has been raised up on the other end of the street. For those who don’t know, the vision from the beginning has been to have a cross on every intersection of Del Playa…
3) On Wednesday I preached in my usual spot and while preaching, a guy named Kevin stopped and listened. After preaching I talked to him, and it ends up he’s 28 years old, been with the Lord for about 10 years, and currently trying to get his life together. All he’s really got to work with is that he thinks he can find a job and a place to live up north, and has some friends in the area. He told me he will be sleeping in the bushes that night. I invited him over and to make a long story short, he stayed with us for two days. We were able to get him some food, a couch to crash on, and this afternoon he hopped on a bus to head north. The entire time he was there he and Kyle were constantly discussing the Lord and his Word. Kevin attended a Bible study with Ian and the Real Life meeting with Kyle in his two day stay at our house, and now he’s on his way to Arcata. It’s amazing how things work. The Lord sends me to open air preach, and as a result I meet Kevin and my roommates and I were able to give him a hand and he got two days of solid Christian fellowship before heading north. You never know why the Lord sends you to preach.

Ministry Opportunities:
1) Del Playa Street Church: Jesus said “I will make you fishers of men”. DP is full of fish just swimming through life and we bring a cross out there to chum up the waters and attract every hungry person. Come stand for the Gospel with us and catch a soul for Jesus and a testimony to share with your grandkids. Contact: Josh (707-327-6343), Daniel (805-729-4023), or Paul (805-455-4242).
2) Storke Plaza Sanctuary: UCSB is a ripe harvest field. On Wednesdays two brothers from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara spend a majority of the day witnessing on campus and hold a Bible study at 1:00 PM at the Ucenn. In addition, Chris Comstock and Real Life witness on Campus from 12:00-2:00 every Wednesday. And finally, I open air preach, on Wednesdays starting at 1:45 PM to the passing bikers. Wednesdays are a busy day for Jesus. For witnessing, contact Chris (805-451-4387), Nate (909-638-6792). For an on campus Bible study, contact Nate. And to open air preach, learn to open air preach, or listen to some open air preaching contact me (707-327-6343).

Upcoming Events:
1) Halloween Outreach: Next weekend is the big outreach, with teams from SLO and Santa Rosa coming to preach. If you want to get involved call me (Josh Rowden) as soon as possible at 707-327-6343.
2) Homeless Outreach: In the next few weeks, we will spend a day with food in our backpacks and good walking shoes and march around Santa Barbara looking for homeless to feed, pray for, witness to, and encourage. It might become a regular thing. Call me if you are interested in donating homeless gear (toiletries, clothes, food) or if you’d like to join us.
3) Skid Row Outreach: It’s not for sure, but it’s a possibility that we might go to Skid Row and do an outreach. It’s still in prayer. Call me if you are interested in going to Skid Row.

Our Needs:
1) Prayer
2) Harvesters (people willing to witness and/or street preach)
3) Homeless kits
4) Material to build additional crosses.