August 1, 2002

It may be hard to believe, but Terri Palmquist of LifeSavers Ministries in Bakersfield, California, is being brought to court because she read Bible verses to an abortionist from a public sidewalk. To find out more and learn what you can do to stand up for our rights to proclaim God’s Word in public, come to a rally which will be held Sunday night, August 4, at 7:30 pm at First Baptist Church of Greenacres in Bakersfield, California, on Rosedale Highway just west of the Jewetta Avenue railroad overpass. (See link at bottom of message for map/directions.) I will be there -- will you join me? For more information, see below, or contact us.

We are facing serious persecution because as part of our "pregnancy evangelism" ministry, we proclaim God’s Word on the public sidewalk, and we need your help right away. My wife Terri is being threatened with criminal prosecution by the FBI. She has also been served with a Temporary Restraining Order which prevents her from going within 100 yards of the FPA abortion chamber (where she usually offers help and Christ’s love to women who are seeking to abort their children). Our LifeHouse pregnancy help center is only 20 yards or so from the FPA property, within the "forbidden" zone. A hearing on the Restraining Order will be held on August 13, but in the meantime, will we allow the ministry of God's Word to be removed from the public sidewalks?

The accusations against Terri began when she read Ezekiel 33 from the sidewalk as abortionist Kenneth Wright was entering FPA on July 9. Wright called the police, telling them that what Terri read constituted a death threat. Terri has repeatedly assured Wright that she would never harm him in any way, and that she does not desire that any harm would come to him. She has often communicated the Gospel to him. As she told him on July 9, even though he is covered with the blood of the hundreds of thousands of babies he has aborted, Christ’s blood can cover all of that sin if he repents.

As we discussed and prayed over our alternatives, we sensed that we must fight this battle with the very weapon which the forces of darkness are so furious about: God’s Word.

And so this morning, we contacted Pastor Chet Gallagher, who conducts Word in Warfare seminars across the nation. Chet agreed that the Lord was leading him to come here, to encourage Christians to take a stand for God's Word in public. Gallagher is a former police officer, and currently serves as Missions and Outreach Pastor at Evangel Christian Fellowship in San Jose. (To learn about his ministry vision, go to www.wordinwarfare.com, or call him at 408-279-2133 ext. 318.)

Can you please plan to come to our rally Sunday night, and challenge your friends to join you? Please let me know. (Upon request, we can provide you with flyers you can hand out to inform people at your church or elsewhere. We can also provide you with a letter for your pastor about this situation.) Please, please, at least call your pastor and challenge him to stand up and be counted as a leader who will not compromise on the public proclamation of God's Word!

I'm sure you're aware that in our over 15 years of this "pregnancy evangelism" ministry, we have consistently opposed violence of any form. Even when we have been violently assaulted, we have never fought back. When we have been in court in the past, our commitment to non-violence has been recognized by everybody. If you have any questions, or if you wish to see any of the documentation we have on how this ministry is conducted, or to discuss our legal approach to this situation, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Please pray for Terri, and consider contacting the judge to politely express your concerns to him about this effort to restrict our First Amendment rights to proclaim the Gospel on the streets of Bakersfield. The judge's address is:

Arthur E. Wallace
Kern County Superior Court
1415 Truxtun Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93301

• Rally details
• Background information