Dear friend in the Messiah,

Shalom and Happy Thanksgiving!

I pray that you will have a wonderful time with your family and friends as you celebrate the goodness of the Lord. I know I speak for our staff when I say that without your prayers and support, we could not do the work we love among the people we love. So THANK YOU from the entire Chosen People Ministries staff serving in thirteen countries and in more than a dozen cities across the United States.

Update on the Brooklyn Center

As you may know from reading The Chosen People newsletter, my heart breaks for Jewish people everywhere— but my deepest personal burden is for the more than three-quarters of a million Jewish people living in Brooklyn—the “Jerusalem of the West!”

May I give you a quick update on the progress of our Brooklyn Messianic Center in the heart of Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn? Once the facility is renovated, I know that it is going to revolutionize our ministries in the midst of the largest concentration of Jewish people outside of Israel!

Let me summarize where we are and what God is doing. We purchased an 11,000-square-foot former Jewish funeral home in the Midwood section of Brooklyn—one of the larger Orthodox sections of the borough. There are dozens of yeshivas (Jewish parochial schools) and synagogues, as well as more kosher restaurants than you could visit in a lifetime. There are also a multitude of Jewish bookstores, institutions and businesses surrounding our new Center.

Our renovation work on this new facility has not gone unnoticed. In fact, we made it into the most well-read English-language Orthodox Jewish magazine in the area! The article, entitled, “A New Missionary Threat—Exposing a Messianic Center in the Heart of Flatbush,” reports that “Chosen People Ministries has announced that it is targeting what would be the biggest prize in evangelism to Jews: the Orthodox Jews of Brooklyn” (Ami magazine, June 22, 2011, p. 48).

This article is written by and for Orthodox Jewish people, so it is understandable that they would cast our efforts in these terms. They have correctly understood that one of our goals in establishing the Brooklyn Messianic Center is to reach out to our new Orthodox neighbors! In addition, many non-Orthodox Jewish people live in the area where the new Center is located—including thousands of Russian Jewish immigrants, Israelis and American Jewish people.

Our prayer to God—like that of our Messianic Jewish forefather, the great Rabbi and Apostle Paul—is that the Jewish people might be saved (Romans 10:1)! And we will preach the Good News at all times, praying that many of our beloved Jewish people will hear the Gospel, take it to heart and put their trust in Messiah.

The Design of the Center

The new facility will enable us to expand our current Brooklyn ministries, give us a fully-functional space for the seminary program, and allow us to fulfill our vision for congregational planting as well.

We have already planted a Russian congregation in Brooklyn and plan to start an English-speaking congregation as well. In the new facility, we will expand the outreach ministries that we are already doing in Brooklyn, including evangelistic Bible studies, ministries to individuals and families of those who are struggling with drug and alcohol addictions, and ministries to the elderly and poor—especially among the Russian Jewish community.

The crown jewel of the Center will be the sanctuary that will seat more than 150 people, providing a place where Jewish people can hear the Good News through concerts, lectures and services where those who become followers of the Messiah can worship!

The Brooklyn Messianic Center will also house our Charles Feinberg Messianic Jewish Studies program, where the majority of the courses are taught in New York City by Chosen People Ministries staff. This is a unique program, in conjunction with Talbot School of Theology and Biola University, that is designed to train a new generation of Messianic leaders.

In fact, if you know of someone who would like to study full-time to serve in Jewish ministry—please tell us about him or her so we can be in touch. It took us quite a bit of time to get all of our building permits—which is typical in New York City—but we now have them and are making progress in the renovation. If you or members of your congregation are skilled in carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, or have other construction skills, we would love to have you come and help us with the renovation! If you are interested, please return the enclosed card or click here to let us know. It would be great if you could bring a group of volunteers from your church!

The Cost of the Renovation

As you may already know, we are praising God that the building is completely paid for and we do not have any debt! We do not have debt on the renovation so far either, and if we can keep from taking on debt it would be wonderful! As often happens with construction, the costs have been a little more than expected: we needed to put in an elevator to comply with building codes, as well as an extra staircase for fire safety. We need only $750,000 more to reach our goal!

The good news is that we have been offered a matching grant of $250,000 if we can raise $500,000!

I pray and hope you will be able to give generously as we approach the home stretch. We would love to have these funds in hand by the first of January, so that we can focus on the ministry rather than the fund raising!

Would you pray about giving a gift this month to the Brooklyn Messianic Center—knowing that your gift will be increased by this generous match? Your gift of $1,000 can become $1,500 and your gift of $100 can become $150. This is a tremendous opportunity to multiply your gift and especially to think about giving a larger end-of-the-year gift for the Center.

However the Lord leads, please consider doing what my wife and I are doing—we are giving to the building in addition to our regular missionary support, so as not to take anything away from the missionaries and programs we regularly support.

You can get a look at the design of all three floors of the Center by going to www.chosenpeople.com/building—and you can even give your gift online!

I hope you enjoy the article on Hasidic Jewry written by one of our graduating Feinberg students. Hasidic Jews are dedicated members of the Jewish community who are unreached with the Gospel, and it is our hope and prayer that we might touch their lives through the new Messianic Center in Brooklyn.

Once again, I hope you have a joy-filled Thanksgiving with your family and friends—and remember, we will be giving thanks for you and for the partnership the Lord has given us to reach His chosen people for our Messiah Jesus together.

With gratitude in the Messiah,

Mitch