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Jews for Jesus
Jews for Jesus launched one of their largest outreach campaigns two years ago. Called Behold Your God it ran until 2006 with the focus of witnessing to Jews in every city of the world with a Jewish population of 25,000 or more.
Toronto was one of those communities.
Jews for Jesus is one of the largest outreach groups found in the larger movement known as Messianic Judaism. Jews for Jesus, founded in 1970 by Moishe Rosen in the San Francisco Bay Area, consists chiefly of converted Jews and actively seeks to convert other Jews. It is not a congregation in itself. Its dogma and tenets are largely indistinguishable from those of evangelical Christianity.
However, the ways and means of spreading the message causes some discomfort among observant Jews.
“What we most object to is the concept that one can be a Jew and a Christian at the same time,” said Rabbi Martin Berman of Shaar Shalom Synagogue. “And what is also seen as an attempt to mislead.”
“Historically the earliest Christians were Jews. Jesus and all of his disciples were Jews. Jesus originally preached to Jews. This is something that often Christians forget. It began as a Jewish sect. Not a pejorative there, just a group within Judaism.”
According to Rabbi Berman the period of time since the first century has created two distinct religious worldviews.
“They are no longer the same religion,” Berman said. “Those Jewish Christians that existed in the first century or two after the crucifixion eventually were absorbed into the Christian world and for 1,800 years or so nothing was heard from that (worldview).”
“(Jews for Jesus) are really a proselytizing arm of the evangelical fundamentalist Christian movement who supports them.”
Andrew Barron, head of Jews for Jesus, says they are not simply Christians who used to be Jews. They are Jews who have accepted Christ. He says their message isn't anything new but only that Jesus is the messiah.
“Our mission statement is simply that our existence is based on making the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to Jewish people,” said Barron.
“Jews for Jesus are right in a sense that ethnically they remain Jewish,” said Rabbi Berman. “But we would say they are Jews who are committing a sin.
“The deceptive side of (Jews for Jesus) is that they use methods to confuse Jews who have little Jewish background, like the Russian Jews who come from former communist countries who have little background. They are confused by what they see. Because (Jews for Jesus) use the title rabbi, they will often use paraphernalia of Jewish worship, they will have their major worship on the Sabbath, the Saturday rather than the Sunday. Trying to make these people feel ‘Yeah, we're really Jews.' And they often don't know the difference and don't know the distinctions. We find that objectionable.”
Chosen Peoples' Ministry is another Messianic outreach to Jews. As a matter of fact Jews for Jesus grew out of the Chosen Peoples' Ministry. They've been around since the birth of the modern Messianic Jewish movement under one name or another.
One of the largest missions to the Jews, Chosen Peoples' Ministry grew out of the Messianic Jewish or Hebrew Christian movement of 1894 in Brooklyn , New York . Known up until the 1970s as the American Board of Missions to the Jews, Chosen Peoples' Ministry is active in 10 countries and has three branches in Canada alone.
Larry Rich has spent 13 years in Canada as the director of Canadian work. He agrees that Jews for Jesus are a “little more aggressive.”
“Jews for Jesus is a more urban, on the streets, handing out tracts type of ministry. They are more in your face.”
Chosen Peoples' Ministry has planted a number of congregations in The US and Canada . Rich says there are differences between proselytizing on the streets and the congregations that grow out of that work.
“There are various factors: Messianic congregations are more of a worshipping body with, of course, evangelistic dimensions to it. It's more family oriented, more suburban oriented.”
“Messianic Judaism is more oriented towards Jewish culture, Jewish worship patterns and Jewish lifestyle.”
Rich finds a more positive response from secularized Jews. “There are certain harder dimensions in talking to secularized Jews, because they don't have a strong foundation Biblically or religiously. But they tend to be more willing to talk.”
Rabbi Berman said there are greater obstacles for Jews to overcome besides evangelical proselytizing.
“There is always a certain number of Jews who are going to convert to mainstream Christianity. In our community I think our greatest threat is secularism rather than any particular religious movement out there. The only difference is we think we still have a chance to reclaim them someday if they are not involved with another church.”
Both Jews for Jesus and Chosen Peoples' Ministry would agree that the main reason they do what they do is to save souls. Their goal is to build Christian congregations by preaching to the unconverted and especially to Jews. Both groups have Christian workers but all of their street preachers and missionaries are converted Jews who treasure their Jewish culture and identity. They don't want to give up their history.
Philip Davis professor of religious studies at the University of Prince Edward Island said their methods are a means to an end.
“Evangelical Christians of course believe that everyone who dies without being a born-again Christian will face everlasting damnation. Thus, in their eyes, the benefit of converting Jews, or anyone else, is that the converts will receive eternal life instead of damnation.”
This mission to save souls is a long and ongoing one; a mission that won't end anytime in the near future. Both Jews for Jesus and Chosen Peoples' Ministry will continue to witness to Jews and Jews will continue to fight the loss of their congregations in whatever form it takes.
Rich isn't willing to quantify how successful these campaigns are. But he and others like him will continue spreading the message.
“It depends on how you measure success. There are still a lot of Jews left who haven't accepted Jesus.”