Category Archives: evangelism

November 16, 2019 · 11:00 AM

A Vision for the Next Generation

Dear friends,

Shalom in His grace and Happy Thanksgiving. I am sure you are grateful for all the Lord has done in your life and in the life of your friends and family.

Years ago, I did my master’s thesis in seminary on Psalm 119. I examined the supposed synonyms for the Hebrew word Torah (Law) in this lengthy psalm of 176 verses! I concluded that the various terms that seemed to be interchangeable with Law—commandments, testimonies, judgments, etc.—were actually different parts of the corpus of the Law and not merely synonyms. It was a fascinating study and I learned to love the Word of God even more than before! But one of the added benefits of the project was that I regularly had to pass through Psalm 118 to get there!

Psalm 118, which invites us to thank God for His lovingkindness and mercy, and for His person, is quite different from Psalm 119, which teaches us to appreciate God’s Word. The two psalms are fairly close in theme and are great portions of Scripture to read and reflect upon during the Thanksgiving Day meal. Of course, if you read all of Psalm 119, your turkey might get cold!

David writes regarding the Law, the true love of his life:

O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day (119:97).

How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth (119:103).

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (119:105).

Therefore I love Your commandments above gold, yes, above fine gold (119:127).

These are beautiful words and an invitation from the King to feast on Scripture and not just on mom’s delicious sweet potato casserole! I find myself grateful for His provision of the Bible as I am able to better understand the will and mind of God and be guided by His Word to live according to His holy plans and purposes.

I am thankful for the Word of God and the beauty of His person.

His nature is also revealed in Scripture and by His Spirit in my everyday experience. As the psalmist penned, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting” (Psalm 118:1).

I rejoice this Thanksgiving because of Him. He is good and He is gracious! The Hebrew term chesed, translated lovingkindness, should be understood as “covenant loyalty.” I am grateful He is a loyal God who cares for His children. And further, His grace and loyalty to me and to the Jewish people extends throughout eternity.

125 Years of Service for the Lord on Behalf of the Jewish People

Your Mission to the Jewish People has experienced 125 years of this loyalty and love! In fact, we only have one more month to go in our celebration of 125 years of ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It has been a wonderful year of joyous celebration. On November 15, we concluded our year of gratitude with a gala in Brooklyn, where we were born as a ministry. We heard from Jay Sekulow and we were blessed by Janet Parshall of Moody Radio, America’s most beloved radio host. We heard testimonies from Chosen People Ministries staff workers in Israel and Brooklyn and from friends of our ministry who were able to testify to God’s transforming power in their lives through the work of this 125-year-old ministry among the Jewish people.

Very Humble Origins

As you know, we were founded by Rabbi Leopold Cohn who came to the United States from his native Hungary in the late 19th century. Not long after he arrived, he heard a Polish Presbyterian missionary and preacher on the lower side of Manhattan proclaiming the gospel inside a Dutch Reformed Church. Once the Lord gripped the heart of the rabbi, he committed himself to the lifelong effort of reaching his fellow Jewish people with the gospel, and before his death, baptized almost 1,000 Jewish people!

I am the seventh president of the Mission and grateful to be called by God to this incredible position. I know the value of Chosen People Ministries because it was this mission that discipled me, paid my way through Bible college, and gave me opportunities to serve the Lord. Chosen People Ministries also helped me gain the skills to help others who want to tell their Jewish friends about Jesus.

My wife came to faith in Los Angeles through the work of a Chosen People Ministries missionary who trained a group of Korean Christian teens at a very Jewish high school to share the gospel with the Jewish people and, praise God, they shared the good news with my wife.

I have been president of Chosen People Ministries for twenty-two years, and am as excited as ever about the growth and potential of our ministry. Of course, you have heard the aphorism, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” Funny thing about this…it is true. Walking with Jesus is never static; it is always dynamic. Our world is changing, the Jewish community is changing, and Chosen People Ministries is changing, too.

We are not changing or adapting the eternal message of the gospel, although our culture pressures us to do so each day. We remain more committed to the essentials of the gospel than ever! But our strategies, methods, and tactics are changing in order to reach a new generation of Jewish people with the gospel.

Without you, we simply could not do the ministry to which God has called us. Your Mission to the Jewish People is now in more than twenty-five cities in North America and in nineteen countries around the world serving the Lord among the Jewish people.

And as we step into 2020—our 126th year of ministry—we are ready, available to God, and thankful for the opportunity to serve our Lord, Jesus the Messiah.

Three Major Focuses in 2020 and Beyond

After a long season of prayer, planning, and discussions with our staff, board, and friends, we have decided to embrace three major areas of ministry starting in 2020 and beyond.

Israel

First of all, we are going to do all we can to reach Israel with the gospel. There are more than six and a half million Jewish people in Israel, and more are moving there all the time. Israelis are now more open to Jesus than ever before. I believe that it is the time to strike while the iron is hot—we are increasing our staff and establishing congregations and centers all across the country. We now have ministries in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and in the northern part of the country among young adults, children, Holocaust survivors, and more! We have more than twenty staff members serving the Lord in the Holy Land.

Digital and Social Media

We are using the power of digital and social media for His glory. We want to focus on evangelism, discipleship, and building community online for those who come to faith. We are having good success through our Facebook campaigns that engage people with Isaiah 53 and a new discipleship series entitled Follow Messiah. Soon, we will roll out other websites like Chosen People Answers, an almost encyclopedic apologetics website for Jewish people that I believe will revolutionize Jewish evangelism.

The Joshua Initiative

We are also investing in the next generation of Messianic Jews and leaders in the field of Jewish missions. This is why we started the Feinberg Seminary program in Brooklyn almost fifteen years ago, which has graduated thirty students, most of whom are serving the Lord in Jewish ministry. We are discipling new Jewish believers and helping them become part of our congregations and centers. We will also intensify our efforts on college campuses and emphasize children’s ministries through camping and providing educational resources. What a joy it is for us to train young people for the Lord.

The Future Is Bright for Israel and the Jewish People

According to the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:25–29, a day is coming when all Israel will be saved. But until then, please join me in praying, supporting, and helping us reach God’s beloved chosen people with the unchanging message of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.

On behalf of our staff, I cannot thank you enough for your faithfulness in response to His faithfulness.

Thankful to the Lord and for you.

Mitch

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation” (Romans 10:1).

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Filed under Brooklyn, Digital Media, evangelism, Israel, New York City, Uncategorized

November 1, 2019 · 8:00 AM

We live in exciting times!

Dear friends,

Shalom in His peace.

We are excited and energized by new ministry opportunities in 2020! Allow me to quickly share some thoughts on three trends in Jewish ministry that profoundly impact our work and that we believe will lead us forward in new and dynamic ways!

Three Significant Trends

An increase in congregations and believers in Israel

When I first went to Israel as a believer in Messiah in 1976, there were fewer than 500 Messianic Jews living in the land and just a handful of congregations, especially Hebrew-speaking ones. There were some Jewish believers who survived the Holocaust and a few who had moved from North Africa to Israel, but most of the believers were not native Israelis. They had come to Israel as believers from other parts of the globe. Some came to be part of the great Israel experiment and others came to serve the Lord in the Holy Land. Now, 70 years later, there are more than 150 congregations and upwards of 25,000 Messianic Jews, most of whom came to the Lord in Israel. 

In fact, I believe we are in the midst of a second-generation outpouring of the Spirit that has transformed the national Israeli Messianic body within the Holy Land. This movement of the Spirit has also transformed our ministry in Israel. We continue to reach younger generations of Israelis along with hundreds of elderly Holocaust survivors whom we have served for more than twenty years. 

This second generation of Jewish believers were born in Israel, speak Hebrew as their first language, were raised in Israeli schools, and served in the Israeli army. They are young, bold, Israeli through and through, and willing to give their all for Jesus the Messiah! 

This is the reason we continue our Living Waters mentoring seminar each year and why we have a newly rented center in the greater Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan. Each month, we organize outreach Sabbath dinners, concerts, café nights, Bible studies, reading groups for mothers and children, and so much more.

New ministry opportunities among traveling Israelis

We are also reaching post-army Israelis by meeting these wonderful young adults in places like the Upper West Side of New York City or on the South Island of New Zealand. We are also meeting them in India, Australia, Germany, South America, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. Additionally, we are about to open up a permanent mission station in Brazil to reach these young Israelis. We are sharing the gospel with them as they hike, over a BBQ, during hummus nights, through late night chats, or while enjoying a lovely meal of traditional Chinese cuisine! 

We engaged with 3,000 Israeli travelers this year, and we will be meeting more in 2020! Let me share a couple of stories:

“The Lord gave us such a wonderful surprise last weekend: an opportunity to host Idan.* Within 30 minutes of his arrival, Idan asked, ‘Why do you host Israelis?’ We love this question because it is such a catalyst to a deeper spiritual conversation with our guests. For the next two and a half days, our conversations about Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, were frequent! We quickly realized we were not the first to share with him. The reason our conversations were possible is because Idan was processing questions from the conversations he previously had with other Christian hosts. On the morning he left, Michael shared his testimony as well as the words of his very first prayer as a believer. We were able to give him a Hebrew New Testament as well as a copy of  Isaiah 53 Explained. Please pray for Idan as he continues to stay with other believing hosts in New Zealand!”
                        —Teresa and Michael, New Zealand

“Today I got an unexpected phone call from our Israeli friend, Tom, who wanted to congratulate us on our baby girl. Carissa and I met Tom on Christmas Day 2015 at the Shelter on the Lake where we were serving and sharing the gospel with backpackers from Israel and around the world. Those three weeks we spent in Bariloche, Argentina, were transformational. I got to teach my very first Bible lesson for seeking Israelis…on Christmas Day! We saw that hiking, rock climbing, and camping are strategic opportunities for sharing the gospel. We gained experience applying what we learned in Bible school. We stayed up until 2:00 or 3:00 AM many nights with Israelis talking about spiritual things.”
        —BJ and Carissa, Backpacking Ministry

An increasing openness toward Jesus and the gospel among Jewish young people

We are surprised by the great numbers of young Jewish people from all over the world who are responding to our social media and Facebook ads, as well as engaging with our new campus ministries. A Barna survey revealed that Jewish millennials (aged 23–38) are more open than their parents to the possibility that Jesus is both Messiah and God in the flesh. We also discovered that the majority of the more than 10,000 Jewish people we met online through our digital outreach campaigns are younger. These efforts include our Isaiah 53 Explained Facebook campaign in the United States and in Israel, as well as our I Found Shalom video testimonies broadcast on YouTube and other social media platforms.

I am also very excited about our new residential outreach ministry at New York University called The House of Living Waters. NYU has the largest concentration of Jewish students in the United States. We chose four young men to live in an apartment across the street from the campus, and they are actively engaged in sharing the gospel with dozens of Jewish students.  They also collaborate with and train Christian students to share the good news with their Jewish friends. 

Some of the conversations these godly young men are having are just wonderful:

“We met Isaac,* a young freshman photography major in nearby Washington Square Park. He was drawn to the Hebrew literature on our table. We showed him prophecies related to Israel and then had him read Isaiah 53. He was not sure who it was about, but, on reflection, he said it seemed like it could be Jesus. We asked him what he thought that would mean, and he said that if his family understood this connection they would not be happy. We gave him a copy of Isaiah 53 Explained and received his email address. Hopefully we will be able to meet with him in a few weeks and hear his thoughts about the book!”

“We met Eitan,* a young performer in Washington Square Park who sang us a song. We talked a little bit about I Found Shalom and what shalom is, and he expressed interest in receiving a book and making time for coffee. We had coffee the other day and began building a rapport with him. He is not particularly interested in spiritual things, but he said that recently he has gained more respect for the Jewish traditions of his youth. We gave him a copy of Isaiah 53 Explained and asked him if he would like to come to a Sabbath dinner, and he said that he would really enjoy that! We are going to invite him for the Sabbath in the next couple of weeks, and hopefully he will come!”

All of these opportunities and the openheartedness of a new generation give me incredible hope for the future of our ministry. Such new horizons build my faith in the Word of God where Paul tells us that the day is coming when “all Israel will be saved…” (Romans 11:25–29). However, we know what we need to do until that great day. By God’s grace, we must preach the gospel and be faithful to the unchanging message of God’s grace through Jesus the Messiah. 

With love and gratitude for His faithfulness and yours,
Mitch

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October 1, 2019 · 8:00 AM

It is often lonely being a Messianic Jew

Shalom,

I recently was reminded of the importance of what we do when I attended the funeral of one of my closest relatives. It was really painful.

It is often lonely being a Messianic Jew. Most of the people I love are not yet believers. It is so difficult to watch my parents’ generation pass away, as most of my loved ones do not believe in Jesus.

So, please pray for them…and for me! It hurts.

There is constant pressure on our staff to be more “accepting” of other faiths, especially Judaism, the faith in which I was raised. Yet, I know from Scripture and personal experience that Jesus is the Messiah and is the only way to be saved and to have a personal relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am pleased to serve with our 125-year-old mission to the Jewish people because we have not lost the fire as we share the gospel day in and day out with both Jews and Gentiles.

My wife, also a Jewish believer, was led to the Lord with the help of Chosen People Ministries. We even met at a Chosen People event! I was discipled years ago by a Chosen People Ministries staff member, and the Mission paid my way through Bible college! As a couple, we are grateful to the Lord for this ministry. In fact, our service to the Lord through Your Mission to the Jewish People is simply passing along the blessings that were bestowed upon us.

Chosen People Ministries is growing and continues to make the gospel known TODAY among the Jewish people in nineteen countries around the globe and in more than two dozen cities throughout North America.

  • We are working with students through our new House of Living Waters initiative on the New York University campus, which has the largest concentration of Jewish students in our country.
  • Our Israel team is serving throughout the Holy Land—in Tel Aviv, the Galilee, and in Jerusalem. We are sharing the gospel among young adults, Holocaust survivors, and conducting children’s camps six times a year, which serve hundreds of children.
  • I just returned from a training conference we funded and sponsored for Russian Messianic Jewish pastors, which was held in Kraków, Poland and attended by 150 servants of God from the former Soviet Union, North America, and more than forty were from Israel!
  • This summer, we had more than 125 staff and volunteers sharing the gospel in the greater New York area. The teams had more than 2,500 witnessing conversations in just two weeks!
  • We also had hundreds of Jewish seekers join us for a debate between Dr. Michael Brown and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in August. Perhaps one day many Jewish people who were impacted this summer will look back, as I now do, with gratitude to the Lord for using Chosen People Ministries to introduce them to the Messiah!
  • Our ministry through the internet has touched the lives of thousands this year. In fact, we have connected with almost 100,000 people, including thousands of Jewish seekers through our online Isaiah 53 Campaign and our I Found Shalom video testimonies of Messianic Jews, which now numbers more than 100!

Whew! I can barely keep up. God is doing so much through our dedicated and visionary staff! And you make it possible through your support and prayers.

We hoped to reach 125,000 people this year and to get their contact information for follow-up, and we are rapidly approaching this goal! We expect to reach our objective before the end of the year. Most of these contacts come from our online campaigns, though hundreds were generated from Jewish people we met on the streets of New York City during our summer outreach.

We spent the last nine months reflecting on our wonderful ministry heritage, celebrating our 125th year of work among the Jewish people.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We would have never made it to 125 years without you and previous generations of Jesus-lovers who had a big heart for Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people. Ultimately, that is what this is all about—seeing Jewish people come to a saving faith in the Messiah.

Your brother in Yeshua,
Mitch

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August 30, 2019 · 11:34 AM

Equipping Russian Jewish Believers to Share the Gospel

Dear friend in the Messiah,

Shalom in His peace. I hope you had a restful and fruitful summer and that you are ready for the flurry of activities beginning this month—kids back in school, college students back on campus, and local churches beginning their sermon series, Sunday school, and small group programs. Busy!

Thank you for taking the time to read this note and to pray for Your Mission to the Jewish People. We have an exciting upcoming ministry opportunity among a very significant Jewish community that I want to tell you about!

Training Russian Messianic Leaders

By the time you receive this letter, I will be in Kraków, Poland, which was once a great center of Jewish life and is about a 45-minute drive from Auschwitz. I am in this very beautiful city for a week to participate in a training conference attended by 150 Russian Messianic leaders. The group includes pastors of Russian Messianic Jewish congregations from all over the globe: Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Germany, and more.

It is sad that the Jewish community calls Poland the world’s largest Jewish cemetery, as about 3 million Jewish people died there at the hands of the Nazis. There were 11 million Jewish people living in Russia and Poland prior to the Holocaust, and almost half of them were murdered. It is hard to say how many were left and found themselves stranded behind the atheist Iron Curtain. Millions.

After the crumbling of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, many of the Jewish people living in these countries left for Western Europe, the United States, and Israel. Surprisingly, almost like a modern-day reenactment of Acts 2, the Spirit began moving in the lives of Russian Jews around the globe.

We have experienced an out pouring of the Holy Spirit upon Russian-speaking Jews, and tens of thousands have come to faith in Jesus the Messiah. Hundreds of Messianic congregations have been planted all over the world. Chosen People Ministries has more than forty Russian-speaking missionaries around the globe serving in those countries with large concentrations of Russian Jewish people. This movement continues, and some wonderful leaders have emerged to lead this great work of God. For example, the directors of our works in Germany and Israel are both Russian Jewish brothers. We have congregations in Moscow, Russia, and many throughout Ukraine, and it is a joy for me and for Chosen People Ministries to be a part of it.

A similar movement took place in Brooklyn. We have more than 200,000 Russian-speaking Jewish people living in the greater New York area, with the highest concentration in Brooklyn. I personally know of hundreds of Russian Jews who have come to the Lord in New York City over the last 30 years.

This global outpouring of the Spirit upon Russian Jews has not stopped! We continue in our outreach to this very special and large group of Jewish people through evangelism, discipleship, congregation planting, mentoring young leaders, and social ministries, including working with families affected by addiction and crime. In Israel, we have an amazing ministry among elderly Russian-speaking Holocaust survivors, very few of whom will be left after the next five years, making this ministry extremely urgent!

We will continue these ministries among Russian Jewish people for as long as we possibly can in the countries of the former Soviet Union, North America, and in Israel, where more than 1.6 million Russian-speaking Jews have settled since the early 1990s.

I believe this training effort in Kraków is important. In fact, we MUST train these leaders who will in turn provide leadership for thousands of Messianic Jews! 

We offer training on biblical and practical subjects, taught by those with many years of ministry experience. This is exactly what they and their congregations need right now. 

Here is just one testimony from a Russian Jewish leader who attended one of these conferences:

It is great to be a part of such a conference, as you can hear a lot of lectures, discussions, and sharing from our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in different parts of the world, learn about different situations, and pray for each other. However, the biggest blessing for me was not only to see again my old friends and co-workers for the Messiah, Jesus, but it was exciting to meet new leaders: the number of them is growing every conference. Praise the Lord for His work, it is so visible in events like this. — Klaudia

The Jewish Holidays: Your Prayers Will be Appreciated!

The Jewish community will celebrate the High Holidays in just a few short weeks. The Jewish New Year—called Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew—will begin on the evening of September 29, 2019. Ten days later we will observe the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, and conclude the season with the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot, which begins the evening of October 13, 2019. All of these festivals are found in Leviticus 23.

The Chosen People Ministries staff will share the gospel with many Jewish seekers who will attend our Messianic High Holiday services. Our services will point attendees to Jesus, who beautifully fulfills the holidays, which I believe are a roadmap to redemption. This coming High Holiday season, I will be celebrating my 49th year as a Jewish believer in Jesus. The Lord used these Jewish holidays, which I observed my entire life, to help me recognize that Jesus is Jewish, celebrated the Jewish holidays, and is my Messiah!

Please pray for the many Jewish non-believers who will be coming to our services. Thank you again for caring and praying!

A Fruitful Shalom New York Outreach

Meanwhile, Your Mission to the Jewish People is rejoicing over the success of our recent outreach, Shalom New York. More than 125 staff and volunteers came from all over the globe to impact thousands of lives. In fact, things are just settling down, and our follow-up teams have remained in the greater New York area to administer what I call “spiritual triage,” making sure that we are caring for those who are genuinely interested in the gospel. Please pray these contacts will be willing to meet with us individually or attend our Bible studies.

Additionally, we have rolled out our new video-based discipleship series for new Jewish believers and seekers, called “Follow Messiah.” This new follow-up tool is already working well, and we actually assign a mentor to each Jewish person who enters into the Bible study series, which is based on the Sermon on the Mount. This is the first online Bible study and discipleship series tailored specifically to new Jewish believers and seekers.

We cannot continue this work without your faithful prayers that allow us to minister and help so many, including Russian Jewish leaders in Israel and around the globe. Thank you so much for your love and concern for God’s chosen people.

Like you, I am looking forward to all that is in store in the exciting days ahead.

Your brother in Messiah,

Mitch

P.S. I hope that you might consider coming to our gala on November 15, 2019 in Brooklyn to celebrate our 125th anniversary as a ministry. If you would like more information about this event, please visit chosenpeople.com/anniversarygala.

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August 19, 2019 · 4:31 PM

Ministry Update: Shalom New York & Oppose Antisemitism

Shalom from New York City, the home of more than two million Jewish people. Throughout July and August, we have enjoyed the privilege of sharing the gospel intensively with Jewish people throughout the metropolitan area. Our team of more than 125 staff and volunteers have spoken to hundreds of Jewish people about the gospel. I wish you could have been here!

Good News from the Streets of New York City

We are in the midst of following up with the many Jewish people who indicated they are interested in hearing more about Jesus.

We also had two major events that drew many Jewish seekers. We sponsored a well-attended dialogue between scholars about the value of the Old Testament Scriptures. We also held a debate between Messianic apologist Dr. Michael Brown, and Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. The title of the debate was, “Is the New Testament Antisemitic?” This is a hot issue in the Jewish community today as antisemitism is on the rise. The purpose of this debate was to show that the New Testament and Jesus Himself are Jewish.

Showing Jewish People the Love of the Messiah

So, how do we respond to common historical and theological objections Jewish people have from considering Jesus? This is done one heart at a time. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans of the critical role believers, especially those who are not Jewish, play in the salvation of individual Jewish people. The Apostle writes:

“I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous” (Romans 11:11).

This passage may encourage Gentile believers to share the love of Jesus with their Jewish friends from a heart of gratitude for what God has done through the physical seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

During our recent outreach campaign in New York City, we had dozens of Gentile believers on the streets of New York City speaking to Jewish people about the Lord. They also brought food to the poor and elderly and cleaned homes for those who cannot keep up because of age or illness. Showing love in practical ways gave power and authenticity to our proclamation!

Hundreds of us also marched over the Brooklyn Bridge in an effort to call upon the public and Christians to oppose antisemitism!

Oppose Antisemitism

Christian opposition to antisemitism is a powerful witness to our Jewish family and friends. This reshapes the gospel playing field by showing from the start that real Christians love the Jewish people and condemn antisemitism.

Would you stand with us against antisemitism? Believe me, our actions as the Body of Messiah will make a difference in how the Jewish people feel about the Messiah Jesus.

Think Globally, Act Locally!

You can help put a stop to antisemitism in your community! Let me suggest a few ways to do this:

  • Educate your church on the evils of antisemitism—we have great materials on our online store.
  • Encourage your pastor to preach about this issue from the pulpit.
  • Pray for the Jewish people in your community.
  • Attend Jewish community events in order to build bridges with the Jewish people.
  • Say something if and when antisemitism arises in your community.
  • Make sure the Holocaust is taught in your local school systems and especially at Christian schools and homeschooling associations.
  • Encourage your church or Messianic congregation to teach about the history and current expressions of antisemitism from a biblical perspective.

It is critical that we make our Christian community aware of the problem and that you positively engage the Jewish community where you live so that you can build loving and respectful relationships with the Jewish people.

Our love will be used by God to create a bridge for the good news.

Partners in the Gospel

Thank you for taking the time to hear my heart for my people! I hope you will pray for the Jewish people and for Your Mission to the Jewish People as we share the good news in nineteen countries across the globe.

I pray the Jewish people in your community will take notice of your efforts to stand with them and to finally see that true Christians love the Jewish people!

Thanks for caring!

Mitch Glaser

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August 1, 2019 · 10:21 AM

Holocaust survivors experience “heaven on earth”!

Zhava and I recently returned home after being in Israel for most of June. I am amazed by the wide range of people we are reaching for Jesus in the Holy Land. Our dedicated staff of about 25 workers, most of whom are Israelis, focus on reaching students and young adults. But they also conduct children’s camps and minister to very elderly Holocaust survivors.

It reminds me of the words of the prophet Joel who told us of the marvelous things the Lord would do for Israel and the world: “…I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28).

God promised through His prophet that His Spirit would touch the lives of people of all ages! Here is an update from one of our staff in Israel, Maxim Katz, who is leading many of these important ministries:

We just returned from Poland, where we spent ten days together with a group of twenty-three Holocaust survivors. This year marks the tenth year we have been bringing these groups to Poland. Many have not been back to Poland since the days of the Holocaust! You can only imagine the personal pain these mostly non-believers face on these trips. The Polish Christians who serve as volunteers are committed to giving the survivors an experience of God’s love by providing food, company, activities, and of course, some Bible studies. What an incredible testimony for the Lord! 

Even though it takes a physical toll on us, we persist because the need is urgent. The survivors are passing away at a rate of about 15,000 per year, which will only grow, and we think we have no more than five years for this ministry! 

During our worship and Bible study times, there was not one dry eye in the room! It is not insignificant to be shown love simply because you are Jewish, especially since they were once hated for the very same thing. This little group from Israel was provoked to jealousy, just as the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11:11.

One lady even shared, “I did not expect to experience heaven on earth.”

Maxim and the Israeli staff are doing an incredible job of sharing the love of Messiah with so many who have lived lives of such profound loss. But as I mentioned earlier, they are not the only ones served.

In addition to our ministry to Holocaust survivors, we also minister to children, young adults, and families—both in Israel and abroad as they travel. We could not reach Israelis of all ages for the Messiah Jesus without your prayers and generous support.

Your love and faithfulness mean so much to us!

Yours in Messiah,
Mitch Glaser

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July 16, 2019 · 3:12 PM

Ministry Update from Israel

Shalom from Israel!

As I write to you, I am looking out over the beautiful Dead Sea. I am in Israel for several weeks to encourage our twenty-five staff members serving the Lord in the Holy Land. What a joy to see the power of God unleashed in Israel today.

But first of all, let me thank you for praying for Chosen People Ministries. We could not do this work without your love, encouragement, prayers, and faithful support!

I believe our ministry is in good health in all areas: spiritually, financially, theologically, and strategically. I thank God daily for the wonderful sense of unity within our ministry, from the board level to the staff. We have so much to be thankful for over the course of more than a century of ministry.

Our staff continues to be filled with vision for the future and an enduring passion for the salvation of our Jewish people. The heartfelt cry of those who serve with Chosen People Ministries resonates with the words of the great Apostle Paul who wrote: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them (the Jewish people) is for their salvation” (Romans 10:1).

Please allow me to reflect for a moment on some of what the Lord has accomplished through our dedicated staff this past year in His Land!

We maintain two outreach facilities: one in Jerusalem, which we own, and another in greater Tel Aviv, which we rent—the Ramat Gan Messianic Center. Through these facilities and others, we distribute food and relief across the country, sponsor concerts, Sabbath meals, Bible studies, and ministries to young parents and their children.

Our Isaiah 53 online campaign continues to reap good results in Israel. During this past fiscal year, we received more than 3,000 requests for the Isaiah 53 Explained book in Hebrew. Of these requests, 90 percent are from non-believers.

We continue a robust program of children’s camping programs in Israel, as well as trips for Israeli children to Poland and Germany. During this past year, we had more than 600 children and teens in our programs, with dozens of decisions for the Lord among the young people we are serving.

Our ministry among Holocaust survivors continues to thrive as we serve this rapidly diminishing community throughout Israel. We sense an urgency for this ministry, as Holocaust survivors will not be with us for much longer. Maxim Katz, our dedicated staff member who needs a kidney transplant, is the one who leads this ministry. He continues to need our prayers.

We are also serving the next generation of Israeli Messianic leaders by training them through our Living Waters mentoring retreats each summer. We usually take a group of 35–40 leaders, which includes husbands and wives, and oftentimes children. We usually go to a hotel on the beach for a retreat and provide a speaker from the United States who addresses a relevant topic. It is our vision to help equip both vocational Christian workers as well as those in a variety of occupations, including army careers, to develop in their leadership as they serve the Lord through their local congregations or in some type of ministry.

Our Partnership
Thanks so much for your prayers and faithful support. Without you, none of the above would be possible. We are partners in the gospel! We are looking forward to the most intensive outreach we have ever had as we bring more than 125 people to serve on the streets of New York City from July 27 until August 10, 2019.

Again, Zhava and I are grateful for the opportunity to serve with Chosen People Ministries in the United States and around the globe in reaching our Jewish people for Jesus! The fiscal year 2019 was a year of good growth and celebration of our 125 years of faithful service to the Lord, and we look forward to continued celebrations through the end of December. We are especially looking forward to our November 15 banquet in New York City, which is part of our Chosen People Ministries heritage weekend. For more information, please visit chosenpeople.com/anniversarygala.

Thanks for caring, and have a blessed remainder of the summer!

Your brother in the Messiah,

Dr. Mitch Glaser
President, Chosen People Ministries

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July 1, 2019 · 1:20 PM

You can make all the difference!

Chosen People Ministries is getting ready to send out more than one hundred staff and volunteer evangelists onto the streets of New York City. We believe the secret to Jewish evangelism is prayer!

So please keep our staff and volunteers in your prayers!

We are already following up with hundreds of Jewish contacts received during our month-long online evangelism campaign in June. Hundreds have received copies of Isaiah 53 Explained and additional follow-up materials. At this moment, phone calls are being made to those who expressed an interest in Jesus, and we are visiting those open to a personal meeting. So, keep praying and look out for more emails to follow what God is doing through Shalom New York.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

We thank God that we have well-trained missionaries and evangelists who can teach the Scriptures from a Jewish perspective, as there will be hundreds of contacts made during Shalom New York, as well! I believe we must provide deeper and more extensive training to a new generation of young evangelists so they can be used by God to spread the gospel message, make disciples, and lead Messianic congregations!

This is why we continue to recruit new workers and train them at our Charles L. Feinberg Center for Messianic Jewish Studies in the heart of Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn!

DANIEL FUCHS: THE FOURTH PRESIDENT OF CHOSEN PEOPLE MINISTRIES

Daniel Fuchs was one of our great leaders of Chosen People Ministries. I owe so much to this great man of God because he helped me receive a Chosen People Ministries scholarship to attend Bible college. I was nineteen years old, and just leaving the hippie life in San Francisco. I wanted to serve the Lord but my beloved parents were not willing to help at the time. What Jewish parent would pay for their Jewish son or daughter to study to become a missionary for Jesus to the Jewish people?

Dr. Jerry Johnson, a Southern Baptist leader, met Daniel Fuchs many years ago and remarked:

“I heard Daniel Fuchs teach a Bible study at a Chosen People Ministries board meeting and was impressed with the gravitas of his person and his love for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I want to tell you he was a great man.”

Your brother in the Messiah,


Mitch Glaser

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June 17, 2019 · 4:58 PM

Jewish Evangelism: Now More Than Ever!

Dear friend,

I hope that you are enjoying the beginning of your summer. The weather in New York City is beautiful! Our New York staff is working hard to prepare for 125 staff and volunteer evangelists who will be joining us for one of the most significant outreach campaigns ever conducted by Your Mission to the Jewish People—Shalom New York.

We will focus our efforts this summer on the greater New York area, which is home to more than two million Jewish people. New York has the largest concentration of Jewish people in the world, which is why I sometimes call it “Israel West”! This is why we have our International Headquarters in Manhattan and our training and seminary program in Brooklyn. It is also why we will take the last week of July and first week of August to passionately share the gospel with the Jewish people of 
New York City.

Your prayers for our preparation will be deeply appreciated. We have already initiated our digital media campaign, offering our evangelistic book, Isaiah 53 Explained, and the opportunity to sign a petition against antisemitism. We will be reaching folks in the New York area through intensified Facebook and YouTube ads, as well as promoting the more than eighty testimonies of Messianic Jews on our website, ifoundshalom.com.

Also, because we are developing such a great love and burden for the ultra-Orthodox Jewish people in this area, we are advertising the Yiddish version of the Jesus film (thanks to the generosity of Cru, formerly Campus Crusade for Christ). In a previous experiment, hundreds of Yiddish-speaking Jewish people watched a ten-minute portion of the video, where they clearly heard the gospel of our Lord Jesus in their very own language.

It is our plan to have our volunteers who are coming to New York City for this outreach follow up with the Jewish people with whom we have made contact through these digital media campaigns.

We are excited and looking forward to this time of preparation for our on-the-ground campaign, which will take place in parks, on the beaches, and in other public places. Staff and volunteers will be reaching out to Jewish people through book tables in Jewish areas, by handing out gospel tracts on the streets, as well as performing skits and music.

Two Major Outreach Events

We are planning two major events for which 
I ask your prayers. First, we will conduct a seminar called “The Value of the Old Testament Scriptures for 21st-Century Life.” We believe this will be of interest to both the Jewish and Christian communities. We have two great speakers: a professor from Kings College in New York City and another from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. On Thursday night, August 8, 2019, we have scheduled a major debate in Manhattan between Dr. Michael Brown, a Messianic Jewish apologist, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a well-known Orthodox rabbi.

We are going all out this summer, and what better way to celebrate our 125th anniversary than to reaffirm what Chosen People Ministries has been all about for more than a century! Our mission statement says it all: “Chosen People Ministries exists to pray for, evangelize, disciple, and serve the Jewish community everywhere, and help fellow believers do the same.”

Your brothers and sisters who serve with Chosen People Ministries in more than twenty cities in the United States and in sixteen other countries around the globe believe that Jewish evangelism is a special mandate from God. It can only be accomplished when men and women who love the Messiah work together for the salvation of God’s chosen people.

It is my hope that we are on the same page biblically, and that this will encourage your financial support of our efforts this summer. We hope that you will be motivated to share our ministry with friends from your Bible study, church, or congregation, as well. Perhaps they can also engage with Your Mission to the Jewish People in support of this great effort in New York City this summer.

Romans 1:16

So what does the Bible teach about Jewish evangelism? Clearly, one of the foundational passages, which we have explained before, is found in Romans 1:16. The Apostle Paul writes,
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

This passage is easily understood, but not as easily applied. I am sure that Paul did not expect the Roman Christians to evangelize the Jewish people in their area first, and then once they were done, to begin working among the Gentiles. It is not a sequential mandate but rather a priority of heart Paul had in mind. Sharing the gospel with the Jewish people should be viewed as a priority, which he links to the second coming of Jesus. In effect, the apostle is telling us that we can all have a small part in bringing about the Lord’s return by sharing the gospel with the Jewish people. When God’s chosen people respond positively to Jesus, repent, and return to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by accepting the One who was pierced (Zechariah 12:10), then Jesus will return and establish His Messianic kingdom.

That is quite a plan! It motivates me to share the gospel with the Jewish people.

What about those of you who do not live in an area like I do, where you can easily walk out of the door and begin sharing the gospel with Jewish people? I think the message is clear that the priority is one of the heart, so that if you cannot share the gospel with Jewish people where you are, you can do everything you can to help those who are able to fulfill this mandate. So when you pray for us and support our ministry, it helps you fulfill the mandate in Romans 1:16. And further, Paul writes in Romans 11:11, “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.”

The apostle teaches that Gentiles have a critical role in reaching Jewish people. Non-Jewish believers in Jesus are called to reach Jewish people for the Messiah with their faith, love, and transformed lives—which make Jewish people jealous—and also when possible through their proclamation. One of the reasons I am so excited about Shalom New York is because we will have Gentile believers from all across the United States and around the world joining us in New York City from July 27 through August 10 for the outreach! This will give many believers who are not usually able to share Jesus with Jewish people a great opportunity to reach God’s chosen people with the message of Jesus.

Romans 9–11

Another key portion of the book of Romans that reiterates this message is in chapters 9–11. I have already mentioned the teaching in Romans 11:25–29, which presents the connection between the second coming of Jesus and the end-time repentance of the Jewish people. It also reveals the need for Gentile believers to make Jewish people jealous with the gospel (Romans 11:11). But what will motivate us to do this on a very practical level? Let me share two more passages from Romans 9 and 10 that further develop the basis for Jewish evangelism in the Scriptures.

Paul speaks about his broken heart for the Jewish people in Romans 9:1–3:

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that
I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh….

How could we possibly relate to the above verses when we have so little in common with Paul—a Messianic Jew himself who was willing to step into hell so that a Jewish person might enter heaven? When I think of a burden for the lost, especially for the Jewish people, this is the passage I have in mind that motivates me to give my life in service to the Lord for the sake of my Jewish people. This passage has been the very bedrock of Chosen People Ministries for the last 125 years.

Additionally, in Romans 10:1, Paul speaks about the desperate prayer from the depth of his heart: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.”

May I ask you to join the global staff and families involved with Chosen People Ministries by praying for the salvation of the Jewish people? Pray especially that Jewish people will come to know Jesus as their Messiah this summer as 125 evangelists share the good news with Jewish people from every walk of life. During Shalom New York, we will meet secular and religious Jewish people, as well as many from the former Soviet Union, Israeli expats, and students. We will also witness to many others who need to find the Lord!

Thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Jewish people and to Chosen People Ministries. We could not do the work God has called us to do without your partnership.

Blessings to you, and have a great summer! Please remember to pray for us as we reach out to this incredible number of Jewish people living in the greater New York area next month.

Your brother in the Messiah,
Mitch Glaser

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June 3, 2019 · 3:38 PM

Digital Evangelism Reaches Even Further

Facebook Isaiah 53 Explained Campaigns

As we celebrate our 125th anniversary in 2019, it is good to remember the ways in which the Lord has led Chosen People Ministries in using technology for the purpose of creatively communicating the gospel!

In every decade, these creative gospel efforts used the most modern technology of the day and catapulted our “Jewish” gospel message into the public arena where many Jewish people heard the good news.

GOD IS USING THE WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Now, in the 21st century, Chosen People Ministries is a pioneer in using digital media to proclaim the gospel to the Jewish people. This would include our use of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and a variety of websites, including our Isaiah53.com website where we offer a free book detailing the death and resurrection of Jesus as described in this chapter of the Bible.

A partnership with Cru’s (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) Jesus Film project made it possible to produce this wonderful movie in Yiddish, the language spoken by almost one million Orthodox and Hasidic Jews around the globe. Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish people have clicked to view the video, and dozens have watched the video for five to ten minutes, which means they clearly heard the gospel message!

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF JEWISH EVANGELISM—SHALOM NEW YORK!

We will continue our legacy of street outreach during Shalom New York, which begins the last week of July and continues through early August.

We will also be placing Facebook ads and other online digital advertising focused on the New York Jewish community so that when our over 125 volunteers and Chosen People Ministries’ staff hit the streets for the Shalom New York outreach, they will already have hundreds of seekers to contact.

JOIN US…PLEASE!

We could use your prayers! Please pray for the Lord to break through to the Jewish community we meet.

We are hoping to influence 125,000 people for Jesus during this anniversary year…both Jewish and Gentile seekers and those followers of the Lord who want to share the gospel with their Jewish friends.

Blessings,


Mitch Glaser

P.S. Thank you for encouraging us to stretch in our strategies and efforts to reach Jewish people for our Messiah Jesus!

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