The Chosen People | APRIL 2019 5
Summer Outreach
In the same way that Roman roads were used in Jesus’ time to
spread the gospel throughout the world, the subway system is a
useful tool to spread the gospel throughout New York City.
The boundaries of ministry are almost limitless since the trains
connect the four boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens,
and the Bronx to each other!
We take advantage of the ease of public transportation during
our annual summer outreach. And to celebrate Chosen People
Ministries’ 125th anniversary year, Shalom Brooklyn has
become Shalom New York! This outreach will be our largest
single effort ever to reach the Jewish people of New York City.
God willing, 125 people each week from all over the world will
join together on the streets of New York City for two week-long
missions: July 27–August 3, and August 3–10.
Participants will be staying in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Teams
will be trained and then sent throughout New York City to
engage in a vast variety of street ministries. At night, there will
be follow-up phone calls and visits, gospel cafés, debates, and
even an opportunity to experience the richness of Jewish
culture in the Big Apple!
Richard Flashman, the director of Shalom New York, described
an encounter during Shalom Brooklyn last year:
I met Ben* in Borough Park. He is a member of the ultra-
Orthodox Jewish community. He graciously agreed to stop
and answer my survey questions. This led to an in-depth
gospel conversation. We seemed to make a connection.
Since then, we have had a number of email exchanges
through which Ben has been examining the Old Testament
evidence for the Messianic identity of Jesus.
While this type of openness does not happen every time we
witness on the streets, it certainly can. We hope you will join us
in prayer for this kind of receptivity as we prepare for this
intensive summer outreach in New York City.
Campus Ministry
In addition to Shalom New York, the urban environment also
lends itself to ministry on college campuses in and around
New York. Staff member Darlene is working with the three
campuses at Rutgers University. She said:
This is uncharted territory at Rutgers University. We do
prayer walks on campus and conduct an outreach book
table weekly at the student center where we meet and
interact with students and offer gospel literature to them.
Doug, who has been serving the Mission for decades, is still
active in campus ministry at Queens College and New York
University. Here is just one of his stories:
Two weeks ago at Queens College, I experienced one of
the best days I have ever had on campus. Arash*, a
young Jewish man from Iran, stopped by our table. He
looked at Jesus’ wonderful statement in Luke 24:44 in
which the Messiah said clearly that Moses and the
prophets were speaking about Him. With a smile on his
face, Arash said quite unexpectedly, “What would my
relatives say if I told them I was a believer in Jesus?”
This is a very real challenge for many Jewish people.
Looking to the Future
Reading about all the wonderful
opportunities the Lord has been giving
us may call to mind Jesus’ statement in
Matthew:
Seeing the people, He felt
compassion for them, because
they were distressed and dispirited
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then He said to His disciples, “The
harvest is plentiful, but the workers
are few. Therefore beseech the Lord
of the harvest to send out workers
into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:36–38)
This is the same feeling Robert, the
Mission’s Brooklyn branch leader, described:
What inspires me in my ministry is the
ever-present understanding that the
work of reaching two million Jewish
people in this city needs to get
done… one person, one
heart at a time.
As we move forward in
our task of reaching the
Jewish people of New
York and around the
globe, we look back to
our humble roots in
this great city and
remember the
Lord’s faithfulness.
We believe He will
continue to provide
the resources and
opportunities we
need as we walk
in obedience to
His call.
When it comes to
Jewish evangelism,
we really are
“in a New York
state of mind!”
* name changed