Monthly Archives: June 2016

Dear friend in the Messiah,

I’m writing to you on behalf of those who would never communicate with you.

I’m writing on behalf of my mother and father, grandparents, uncles and aunts and literally hundreds of thousands of Jewish people who were born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City—the current home of almost a million Jewish people.

I’m writing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish people and Russian Jewish immigrants—many of whom cannot write in English and are already quite elderly!

By now you realize I’m writing to you on behalf of the many Jewish people in the borough of Brooklyn, who do not believe in Jesus.

These are the people who would never ask you to send them a missionary!

Believe me, so many of these dear, precious Jewish people in Brooklyn are very able to communicate. As you well know, there have been many famous Jewish people from Brooklyn, who are teachers, professionals, thinkers, artists, and musicians. Within the Jewish community, we know that most of our leading Jewish rabbis and Jewish theologians either come from or still live in Brooklyn, which I affectionately call the other Holy Land.

There are also hundreds of thousands of Jewish people in Brooklyn who are more secular and do not think they need a relationship with God at all.

Allow me to tell you a quick story about one of my favorite Brooklyn Jewish family members—my father.

Whereas my mom was raised in a more Orthodox Jewish home, my paternal grandpa was a tailor and a butcher and did whatever it took to help his family survive. He was a good man, but not religious, though his family, of course, celebrated all of the Jewish holidays. My dad followed suit.

Some years before my father passed away, we were sitting in his car in an area of Brooklyn called Bensonhurst, where he lived. I was speaking to him about Jesus, and the conversation went on for about 15 minutes. He listened attentively, and I actually thought that he was more open to the Gospel than ever before. I was excited! So I kept on talking.

By the way, this is a mistake some of us make when sharing the Gospel with non-believers. We should make sure to take a breath every once in a while and ask the person we are speaking to if they are still interested in what we are saying!

Eventually, I paused, and my father looked at me and said, “Son, I really love you, and I know it makes you happy to talk to me about your faith; I’m always happy to listen.”

I stayed quiet for a moment to see what else my dad would say and thankfully he kept talking! He continued, “It’s not that I have anything against Jesus, but I don’t even believe in God.”

I was stunned and disappointed because I thought that he was becoming more open to the Lord. I thanked my dad for being so honest. He knew I would not be happy with his position, but loved me enough to tell me the truth.

My dad was typical of many secular Jewish post Holocaust men and women who live in Brooklyn, in Israel and around the world! A recent study of Israelis reported that 50% of those living in Israel claim to be secular Jews. This does not mean they do not identify as Jews—as my father had a strong Jewish identity. It simply means that they do not practice the Jewish religion outside of celebrating many of the holidays which are viewed as part of the Israeli national calendar.

Those who need the Gospel the most do not know it…and would never ask us to send them missionaries. We know Jesus said the field is ripe for harvesting and the laborers are few, but those who are part of the harvest are SILENT.

They will never issue the invitation for us to come!

My dear brothers and sisters—the initiative is ours to take, as Jesus has already told us to go!

Shalom Brooklyn
Your Mission to the Jewish People has been preaching the Gospel to Jewish people day in and day out…in Brooklyn and throughout the world for almost 123 years! Sometimes we intensify our efforts, as we will this summer in both Brooklyn and Israel.

Would you please pray for our intensive summer outreach in Brooklyn called Shalom Brooklyn?

The Hebrew word shalom means “peace” and Jesus is the Prince of Peace according to Isaiah 9:6. These verses adorn the plaque on the front of our Brooklyn Messianic Center, in the heart of Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn. Isaiah writes,

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Dozens of Chosen People Ministries’ staff and volunteers will be on the streets of Brooklyn for two weeks proclaiming the Good News of Jesus the Messiah to both religious and secular Jewish people. We will be reaching out to both Russian Jewish and Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn. Additionally, we will be placing evangelistic ads on Facebook directed towards Jewish people in the greater New York area.

We expect there will be hundreds of Jewish people who will be interested in receiving a copy of Isaiah 53 Explained and in learning more about the Lord.

I would also appreciate your prayers for our two short-term mission trips to Israel this summer. Chosen People Ministries’ staff and volunteers will be reaching Holocaust survivors, young secular Israelis and religious Jewish people who will listen.

Give on Behalf of Those Who Would Never Ask for Help
We also need your financial support. This summer of outreach is going to be a huge investment, especially as we enhance the work on the street with our Facebook ad campaigns. We are offering a free copy of Isaiah 53 Explained in English, Hebrew and Russian. We can deliver this book into the hands of a Jewish person for $5, inclusive of printing costs as well as the ads.

Your gift of $50 will enable us to send ten books and your gift of $500–100 books. We also need your support to help
underwrite the evangelistic outreaches on the streets of Brooklyn and in Israel. We have budgeted $10,000– $25,000 per week for these efforts, and we have four weeks of outreach planned between Brooklyn and Israel.

Thank you for your willingness to pray and give generously so that we can reach Jewish people with the Gospel of Jesus our Messiah. I especially want to thank you on behalf of those who would never ask or thank you—until they come to faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Have a joy-filled summer in the Messiah and please pray for our summer outreaches!

Yours on behalf of those who are SILENT…but desperately need the Lord,

Mitch