Shalom and Happy New Year! For almost a century, the prayer partners and supporters of Chosen People Ministries have received a January reminder of the imperative to bring the Gospel “to the Jew first…and also to the Gentile.” This is a phrase drawn from the wonderful and powerful passage penned by Paul in Romans 1:16,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

I believe that the message of this passage is as true today as it was in the first century. It compels us to witness for Messiah in the power of the Holy Spirit as often as possible, so that our family, friends and coworkers have the opportunity to believe and be saved. This verse also reminds us that the Gospel we preach is powerful to change lives and change our world.

Kina Forman was born and raised in a Messianic home in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Both her Jewish father and her Gentile mother are deaf. Her father was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home and received Messiah after meeting her mother in 1970. However, growing up, Kina attended neither synagogue nor church, as there were very few places of worship for deaf people.

As she reached adolescence, Kina began to search spiritually. One afternoon, she noticed an old, beat-up station wagon with a sign in the back window citing Scripture. Curious, she inquired about it and the driver of the station wagon invited her to a local youth group meeting that evening.

At the meeting, she noted that the young people in the youth group were different from the average high school student; they had a purpose and drive that she envied. Kina was invited to return for another gathering at the youth pastor’s house the following Friday evening. She joined the group while they sang praise songs to God.  While surveying the room, she saw young people worshiping God as though He were real.  Kina asked God at that moment, “Are you who they say you are? If you are, would you show yourself to me right now?”

Then, she says, “The moment I prayed, the youth pastor said to the group, ‘There is someone here searching for the Lord! The Lord has heard you!’” Shocked that God had heard her prayer, she approached the pastor—but she wasn’t approaching the pastor as much as she was approaching the living God! She asked Jesus to be her Savior—her Messiah—and was born again.

My name is Rebekah. I am a Messianic believer and attend a Messianic congregation (a local body of worship in which Jewish and Gentile believers celebrate their faith in Jesus in a Jewish way) in California. I am also recently graduated from Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU) in Pennsylvania. When people ask me if I am Jewish, I usually tell them that the important thing to know is that I have a Jewish heart, and that my heart, mind, and soul are on fire for the Jewish people to come to salvation through knowing Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah.

There are two passages Adonai (God) has put on my heart concerning this passion for the Jewish people. The first is 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, where Paul says that Adonai’s Word can lift the spiritual veil from a person’s heart, especially a Jewish heart. The Jewish heart can be so deeply rooted in the Law, culture and tradition that they become spiritually blind and their hearts are veiled.

The second passage is Romans 2, which explains that every person will be judged according to his or her actions and deeds. For me, to think that Jewish people can spend eternity without God if they don’t accept Yeshua simply breaks my heart.

For four years, I have been at PBU studying the Bible. I have gone through the one-year Institute of Jewish Studies (IJS) program and have continued studying the Bible in PBU’s regular program during the last three years. I have studied Biblical doctrine, church history, general religion, and philosophy. Today, because of my education, I am stronger than ever in my belief that Adonai has not given up on the Jewish people and that He still has a special and beautiful plan for both Israel and the church.

Starting as a freshman at PBU was difficult because other Christians did not understand why I was Messianic (a lifestyle of believing in Jesus and celebrating Jewish culture, tradition, and religious aspects), why I kept kosher, and why I preferred to spend my Saturday at a Messianic congregation instead of going to church. When they asked me why I was Messianic, I would respond by saying that Adonai has given me a calling to share the Gospel, and a love for a people who have been hated and persecuted, yet still hold their beliefs very seriously.

As those around me became better acquainted with my ideas and ways of thinking, they came to understand that I was just as much a believer in Yeshua as they were, but that I simply had a unique calling. Overall, my studies at PBU have grown my own personal faith along with my knowledge of the Bible, which helps me continue to share Yeshua and His love.

Now that I have graduated from PBU, I have a dream opportunity to work with Chosen People Ministries in Brooklyn, NY. My vision is to work with the recovering drug addicts in the Russian Jewish community, among other ministries. I have not always known God’s plan for me or why this desire and passion consumes me. Yet the Lord has confirmed this calling by bringing certain individuals into my life, making it possible for me to attend a Biblical university, and by giving me opportunities to visit Israel (during my second trip, God gave me more clarity on my specific ministry to Jewish people). So, I can say that God has called me to the Jewish people, and more specifically the Russian Jewish community. My goal is to love them, share Yeshua’s love, and tell them about their Messiah. Yeshua is faithful to those who are faithful and stand strong for Him!

If you have ever attended a Messianic Passover Seder, it is likely that you have found your faith in Messiah transformed in some life-changing way. Perhaps the presentation deepened your understanding of the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps it helped you more fully grasp the connection between the promises of the Hebrew Scriptures and their fulfillment in the New Testament. Or perhaps it was at a Messianic Passover celebration that you, like many others, gave your life to Messiah for the first time or rededicated your life to the Lord.

For some of our Russian staff members, Passover has been a time when they have not only encountered Messiah, but also found new meaning in their long-suppressed Jewish identity. Here are some of their stories.

Boris Goldin — Seeing Passover in a Different Light

Boris Goldin emigrated from Kiev, Ukraine to Brooklyn, New York and came to faith in Messiah after his wife, Shulamit, became a believer in Yeshua (Jesus). At first Boris resisted her witness and argued vehemently with her. But after a year and a half of searching, Boris came to understand the truth of the Gospel and received Messiah. Boris is now on staff with Chosen People Ministries, serving the Lord among Russian-speaking Jewish people in South Flor ida and leading a Bible study at our Messianic Center in Boynton Beach.

“I remember as a boy in Ukraine, we had pieces of matza (unleavened bread) that we kept hidden at Passover — but that’s all I remember about it. Father smuggled it into the house lest the Soviet authorities find out. There was one small synagogue in Kiev and my grandfather took me, but there were never people my age there. I celebrated my first Passover as a believer at a Seder led by Mitch Glaser in Brooklyn in 1993. I was able to recognize the Messiah in the Seder in so many aspects of Yeshua’s life, death and resurrection. The lighting of the candles, the bitterness of the horseradish—I started to see it all in a different light. Before I became a believer, I read Isaiah 53 and it had a great effect on me. Now I was able to see the relationship between the Passover and the Suffering Servant descr ibed in that chapter. Probably the most meaningful thing for me was the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the third cup, the Cup of Redemption. This to me is the most sacred part of the Seder; it is like a reenactment of the Father sending the Son into the world as both sacrifice and redeemer.”

Maxim K. — Surprised by Passover

In 1996, Maxim became one of the many citizens of the for mer Soviet Union who made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel. He came to believe in Messiah in the city of Eilat in southern Israel four years later. Maxim has been a part of Chosen People Ministries for eight years now, working in children’s ministry as well as with young adults. He also reaches out to Holocaust survivors.

“Back in Russia, I knew nothing about Passover. The first time I celebrated Passover was in a Messianic congregation in Eilat. I was surprised to understand the meaning of Passover for the Jewish people, the meaning of the sacrifices on behalf of Israel, and the meaning of the Passover Lamb as a sign of the coming Messiah. For me, as a believer and as a Jew, Passover brings an insight into the sacrifice of Messiah. By learning the story of Exodus, I also understood a deeper meaning of this feast in my own life. When I learned about Yeshua as the Passover Lamb, and compared His sacrifice with the sacrificial lamb of Passover, I was even more assured that the Scriptures are God’s Word and are trustworthy!”

Luda Ford — A Family Celebration

Born into a Bukharan Jewish family in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Luda immigrated to New Zealand in 1979. There she studied English with a woman who used the Bible as a teaching tool, and she became a believer in 1982. Sensing a calling from God to go to Israel, she moved there in 1989. Later, after pursuing Jewish studies at Moody Bible Institute, she joined Chosen People Ministries’ staff in 1999. Luda and her husband, Randall, currently minister among the Bukharan Jewish community in Queens, New York.

“Growing up in Uzbekistan, we were not very religious. I only have a hazy memory that we ate matza at Passover because we were Jewish. After I became a believer, I heard teachings about Passover, but I didn’t have many feelings about it. It was only when I actually celebrated it in a home with believing friends in Jerusalem that Passover became real to me, and I found that it was very beautiful. What is most meaningful to me about Passover is enjoying it as a family celebration. I also see it as a great connection between Jewish believers in Yeshua and the rest of the Jewish people. The message of the Messiah becomes more significant with each passing year, as we speak about it and share wonderful family time when we celebrate it.”

Rita Ivenskis — Coming Home Through Passover

Rita Ivenskis was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Australia in 1979. She came to faith in 1991 through the witness of a good fr iend. Rita has served on the staff of Celebrate Messiah, Chosen People Ministries’ Australian ministry partner, for the past fourteen years as a missionary and teacher in the Russian Jewish community. Her husband, Elia, is also a believer, and Elia’s father, a Holocaust survivor, received Messiah shortly before he passed away last year. Rita’s parents also came to faith before they died.

“Although I knew I was Jewish, I had no background whatsoever in the observances of Judaism as I grew up in Ukraine. My grandfather was killed in the War and I think that Ukrainian Jewish people of my parents’ generation were simply afraid to live as observant Jews. The first time I celebrated Passover was with Lawrence and Louise Hirsch at Celebrate Messiah in 1996. It was something very special. I felt like I belonged to the Jewish people — that after years of wandering in the wilderness, I had finally come home to God. The Feast of Passover helped me understand my Jewish soul and identity, through my relationship with Messiah. Passover reminds me that Jesus is my Messiah and the Passover Lamb. He is the atonement for my sins and through Him, I have this wonderful relationship with God. I can talk with Him every day — and know that He hears and answers my prayers.”