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ISAIAH 53 LOS ANGELES OUTREACH REPORT
The on-the-ground Isaiah 53 Los Angeles team enjoyed an incredibly fruitful outreach on the streets and beaches of Los Angeles during the Isaiah 53 campaign in March. Using book tables with evangelistic literature, Messianic music, door-to-door visits and other creative strategies, team members spoke with hundreds of Jewish seekers about the prophecy of Messiah found in Isaiah chapter 53. We now have contact information from many of the seekers whom team members met, and Chosen People Ministries’ staff workers will be following up to continue the conversations about Jesus.
TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE ATTEND MIDDLE EAST CRISIS CONFERENCE
More than two thousand people attended the Israel, the Church and the Middle East Crisis conference in La Mirada, California. Speakers Joel C. Rosenberg, Dr. Mitch Glaser, and Dr. Walter Kaiser discussed the End Times and the role of Israel and her neighbors in God’s plan. The conference also highlighted the testimonies of a Russian-Israeli Messianic believer and an Iranian evangelist and former Muslim. There were also seminars on how to witness to both Jewish people and Muslims. The conference DVD is now available.
NEW BELIEVERS ARE ONE IN MESSIAH
Lawrence Hirsch, director of Celebrate Messiah (Chosen People Ministries in Australia), tells about an exceptional event that had never happened in their ministry before: "We had a baptism service for eight new believers in Yeshua (Jesus): three were Jewish, two were Iranian, one Iraqi, one Afghani and one Italian. All of them attend our Messianic congregation in Melbourne and they were all baptized in faith and obedience to the Lord despite possible backlash from their families. It was a very moving and inspiring occasion, and a great testimony of what Yeshua has done in making us one in Him!"
REJOICING OVER A NEW SISTER IN MESSIAH
Staff members Eugene and Dasha have great cause for joy in the Messianic congregation where they serve in Germany. Magda,* a Jewish young woman, recently received the Lord! God faithfully answered Eugene and Dasha’s prayers for His Word to be effective and bring fruit in the lives of the Jewish people who come to the services. Magda has many questions concerning her new life as a believer, and Eugene asks for prayers for this new sister in Messiah.
JOYFUL PURIM CELEBRATIONS TOUCH HEARTS IN ARIZONA
Cathy Wilson, serving in Arizona, reports that God blessed the four Purim (Feast of Esther) outreaches there. Over one hundred people attended, including a great number of Jewish seekers. Cathy had wonderful one-on-one conversations with many of these folks during and after the festivities. At one condominium complex in Central Phoenix, where many Russian Jewish people live, the outdoor celebration included dancing, singing and reading from the book of Esther. Cathy writes, "A Holocaust survivor who joined us was visibly moved, and a young Russian Jewish woman was in tears as she sang ‘He Is My Defense’ with me. What a lovely Purim!" |
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DOORS OPEN FOR MINISTRY TO ISRAELI CHILDREN
Chosen People Ministries worker Maxim K. is thankful for a new ministry opportunity in a children's orphanage in Jerusalem. The orphanage is home to fifty children ages 6-16 whose parents have been denied parental rights by a court of law. During the Hanukkah holidays, Maxim organized a trip for these children to the place where David defeated Goliath. The group also visited our Messianic Center in Tel Aviv, ate pizza together, played, sang, and fellowshipped. Maxim writes, "All the children returned home with big smiles on their faces!"
SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION ON THE SUBWAY
Students at the Charles Feinberg Center have many opportunities to put their Jewish evangelism studies into practice—even during their commute! While riding the train home, one of our students from the Feinberg Center started a conversation with Noam,* a Hasidic Jew, by opening the Hebrew Bible to Isaiah 53 and asking Noam to read it. Noam admitted that he'd never read this passage before, and expressed curiosity about other Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. He gave our student his e-mail address, and they have since exchanged e-mails about Messiah and the Hebrew Scriptures. Please pray that God will open his heart and continue to bless the correspondence!
“VIRTUAL” WORSHIP SERVICES MAKE REAL IMPACT
Vladimir Pikman, the director of Chosen People Ministries' work in Germany, has been encouraged and motivated by outreach to Jewish people in Germany and beyond through the online broadcast of our worship services in Berlin. German, Russian, and even English-speaking people from different countries and continents hear the services, and Vladimir receives reports about the life-changing impact that they make. One woman recently wrote, "These worship services helped me through the toughest moments of my life. I am very thankful to God and to you."
TOUCHED BY FORGIVENESS IN ISAIAH 53
Greg Savitt, a staff member in South Florida (home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the USA), had an evangelistic visit with Reuben* and Deborah,* a Jewish couple. Reuben and Deborah were very open to discussing spiritual matters, but they had objections to the deity of Jesus and the historicity of the Bible. During the last part of the meeting, Greg read Isaiah 53 with them. Deborah said the passage sounded like it was talking about Jesus, but did not believe that He was the Messiah. Greg wasn’t sure if a seed had been planted, but later, Reuben and Deborah’s caregiver told Greg that Deborah had reconciled with her son after not talking to him for over 23 years because of something Greg had said about forgiveness in Isaiah 53. Pray for the Lord to nurture the seeds of faith in Reuben and Deborah’s hearts!
LAYING BRICKS FOR THE KINGDOM
Chosen People Ministries staff member Bob Seemar is in charge of the renovations on our new Brooklyn Messianic Center. Daniel,* one of the subcontractors with whom Bob is working, approached Bob with questions about combining Christianity and Judaism. Daniel had grown up in a Conservative Jewish home, and his wife was from a Catholic background. He and Bob had a stimulating discussion about the history of the Jewish people and the Church, the prophecies of the Messiah in the Jewish Scriptures, having a personal relationship with God, and much more. Next time they meet, Bob plans to give Daniel the book Isaiah 53 Explained as well as the DVD Joined Together?, which shows how a Jewish/non-Jewish married couple can be joined together in Jesus. Praise God for Daniel's openness, and pray that these materials would help lead him to faith. |
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The Isaiah 53 campaign's on-the-ground outreach team is off to an exciting start!
Saturday and Sunday we were out on the busy boardwalk of Venice Beach. On Saturday it seemed like a slow start, but by the end of the day we had had some deep conversations with Israeli, Russian and American Jewish people who seemed interested in what Isaiah 53 is all about.
On Sunday we were joined by about a dozen people from local Messianic congregations. With musicians from the congregation playing next to us, the buzz around the table was amazing. There were times that three or four different long conversations were happening near the table and many others were being handed the evangelistic materials as they walked by.
The Isaiah 53 T-shirts have been a hit on Venice Beach. As we walked around the boardwalk, people would ask us, “What is this about?” We were definitely being noticed. While having lunch in cafes as well, many people asked, “What is Isaiah 53?”
During the week we are on campuses such as Pierce, CSUN, and UCLA. Our day at Pierce was pretty amazing. There are so many Jewish students there, many of whom are from a Persian background. We packed more than usual for a book table and after a few hours we ran out of most of our materials. So many people were taking literature and stopping to talk, and some gave us their contact information so they could learn more. One of the guys came up with the idea of inviting students to a Havdalah (end of the Sabbath celebration) dinner, and people we meet are asking if they can come.
Today we are partnering with local Messianic youth for a free car wash, hoping to meet people and share Yeshua in the neighborhood around our Chosen People Ministries Messianic Center through the car wash and also by going door to door. Tonight we'll be headed to an Israeli cafe with a shesh besh (backgammon) board. Our team is fun and lively, and I know people will want to join the fun. |
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Shalom from Los Angeles!
I'd like to give you a quick update on our ongoing Isaiah 53 Campaign and our recent Israel, the Church, and the Middle East Crisis Conference.
Isaiah 53 on Television
The greater Los Angeles area, extending from San Diego to Santa Barbara, has almost 1,000,000 Jewish people – and probably less than 10,000 Jewish followers of Jesus the Messiah.
This breaks my heart – and it is the very reason we have launched the Isaiah 53 campaign in Los Angeles! We have an extensive public advertising campaign, including billboards and thousands of TV commercials, as well as outreach teams on the streets sharing that Isaiah chapter 53 is one of the clearest prophetic descriptions of the person, death and resurrection of our Messiah Jesus!
So far, over 1,000 people have requested the book Isaiah 53 Explained and over 2,500 have watched the evangelistic documentary The Mysterious Prophecy of Isaiah 53 – a beautifully-made evangelistic documentary (produced by our dear friends at Day of Discovery – RBC Ministries).
Israel, the Church, and the Middle East Crisis Conference
More than 2000 people gathered to hear about what God is doing today in the Middle East, as the Scriptures tell us what will happen tomorrow! Our main speakers for this unique event were Joel C. Rosenberg, Dr. Walter Kaiser, and myself as well as Hormoz Shariat, an Iranian believer who is a former Muslim, and Michael Zinn, the director of Chosen People Ministries’ work in Israel. Messianic musicians Marty Goetz and Steve Wiggins provided wonderful music and worship for the conference.
I asked both Joel and Marty to say a few words about the conference and the Isaiah 53 campaign, and I hope that you'll take a moment to watch these videos and to pray for the Jewish people of Los Angeles.
Videos: Joel Rosenberg and Marty Goetz
You can help us put Isaiah 53 on television!
The 30-second evangelistic commercials for the L.A. Isaiah 53 Campaign cost less than $10 each, so for $100 you could put 10 commercials on the air.
Would you consider sending a gift today to help reach the Jewish people of Los Angeles with the Gospel?
When you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, please remember not only the residents of Israel today, but also Jewish people scattered around the world: 3 million Jewish people in the greater New York area, 1 million Jewish people in Los Angeles, and many millions of Jewish people throughout the rest of our country and around the world.
I know that the Lord has not forgotten about the almost 15,000,000 Jewish people scattered around the globe – and I am confident that He wants you and me and to be involved in both praying for and reaching out to His chosen people!
Thank you so much for caring about the work of Chosen People Ministries.
Your brother,
Mitch |
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