replacing a section of our roof, several windows, and the front façade
of the building.
In the process, we discovered many other areas that needed
immediate attention, including repairing rotted roof beams and
rebuilding the structure of a second-floor wall, which had supported
the roof. This led to more permits from New York City and other
procedural requirements that added to our original budget.
The Ministry of Our
Manhattan Messianic Center
Our Manhattan Messianic Center not only
serves as our international headquarters, it is
home for many of our ministries, including
Bible studies for a Jewish professional men’s
group, congregational ministries, evangelistic
lectures, and discipleship programs. It also
has a studio space which we have used to film
testimonies of Jewish believers—the I Found
Shalom videos have been hugely successful in
reaching millions of seekers and new believers
on the internet. This past spring, the I Found
Shalom video outreach received the National
Radio Broadcasters (NRB) award for “Best
Short-Form Video.”
The Center also accommodates many
larger meetings throughout the year, such
as our national leadership team meetings
and the meetings of our U.S. Board of
Directors. Regional missionaries are coached
and mentored from this facility as well. We
regularly receive inquiries from people walking
by who want to know more about Chosen
People Ministries. We are in a convenient
location for countless New York City visitors
from all over the globe.
Our Historical Commitment to New York
New York has the largest concentration of Jewish people outside
of Israel and more Jewish people than either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem!
In many ways, New York is the heartland of the Jewish community
in America. Many Jewish people in America today trace their lineage
back to New York, to an ancestor who came through Ellis Island with
a hope for a better life.
In 1892, a young Hungarian rabbi, Leopold Cohn, came to
America literally in search of the Messiah. Two weeks after he arrived
in New York, Cohn came across a church with a sign in Yiddish
letters saying “Meetings for Jews.” He received a copy of the Hebrew
New Testament, and accepted Jesus as the long-awaited Jewish
Messiah.