The Chosen People | FEBRUARY 2020 7
NEW WORK IN CHICAGO
Chosen People Ministries has renewed a partnership with Moody Church
to reach the Jewish community on the Near North Side of Chicago.
These neighborhoods include Gold Coast, Streeterville, Lincoln Park,
and Lakeview and consist of more than 50,000 Jewish people that are
still relatively unreached with the gospel message. Starting on Friday,
March 6, we will begin a monthly service at Moody Church called
“Beth Sar Shalom.” It will be a joint service with the pastoral staff and
church that will communicate “the gospel of God, which He promised
beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning
His Son” (Romans 1:1–3). These services are designed to unite Jews
and Christians celebrating and giving thanks for their common history
and heritage. They also give Christians an opportunity and avenue to
invite their Jewish friends to a service with a familiar environment to
someone with a Jewish background. These gatherings will hopefully
provoke to jealousy those Jewish people who will attend as they see
non-Jewish people rejoicing and giving thanks to the God of Israel who
has grafted them into the rich root of the olive tree (Romans 11:11).
SOMETIMES JEWISH EVANGELISM…IS AS SIMPLE AS A
WALK IN THE PARK
Simon, one of our staff members in the United Kingdom, was not
having a good day. His spirits were a bit low, so he went for a quick walk
around the small park behind his house. Through the light drizzle, he
started to see creation, nothing fancy…just plants…water…sky…dogs…
birds… animals…. But the night before, he had been thinking about
*Names changed
Genesis 1, and his
spirits lifted a little
as he engaged
with the tranquility
of creation. Soon,
he ran into Ray,*
a secular Jewish
man whom Simon
knew well. They
walked and talked
for a while and
then they bumped
into Tina,* the park
gardener who had
recently come to
faith and was full of the joy of the Lord! The love of Jesus burst out of
Tina as she again spoke to Ray about Jesus, his Jewish Messiah. Seeing
this, Simon’s spirits rose a little more! As they parted, Simon promised
to send Ray a book called Hitler’s Will, which tells the story of a Jewish
man who found written evidence of Hitler’s ambitions and intentions
for the Jewish people that were used as evidence at Nuremburg. By
the time Simon returned home, he was full of hope and threw himself
into his Bible study with joy and energy!
CAMPUS MINISTRY CONTINUES TO THRIVE
The Lord has opened another door through a weekly outreach at
Arizona State University (ASU). Cathy, a Chosen People Ministries staff
member, was running an “I Found Shalom” table on campus and was
engaging students in dialogue. On the first day on campus, Cathy met
Stacy,* not yet a believer in Jesus. Stacy participates with Students
Supporting Israel at ASU. Cathy’s verbalizing God’s plan for Israel and
her knowledge of the Old Testament prompted Stacy to invite Cathy and
her team to join Students Supporting Israel at their table on campus.
The first day was marked by stimulating dialogue with several students
and gathering contact information. That evening, Cathy connected with
several venues in search of a room where they might hold Bible studies
with those students who expressed interest in understanding the
Jewish roots of Christianity. The Bible study has since been launched.
Additionally, the Lord prevented injury to ASU Jewish students amidst
a hateful antisemitic protest. Further bonding occurred when Cathy
reached out to Stacy concerning her physical well-being and let her
know that the congregation prayed for her and the Jewish students.
Praise God!
THRILL-SEEKING ISRAELI CONSIDERS
THE “THRILL” OF JESUS
Over the new year, Chosen People Ministries hosted our very first
“Outreach Brazil” where we reached out to Israelis through Sabbath
dinners, Hanukkah events, and spending time together in the hostel
and on the beaches. The outreach team was an amazing group of
young adults using their winter break from university to share their
faith with traveling Israelis and others. Brazil has the ninth largest
Jewish population in the world with approximately 30,000 Jewish
people living in Rio. Staff member Robin writes, “I was amazed at how
often I met local Brazilian Jewish people just in the market or on the
beach. There are also so many visiting Israeli travelers that tours of Rio’s
famous sights are offered each day in Hebrew.” The team stayed in Rio
until mid-January. Please pray for Sharona,* who Robin met during the
outreach. Sharona is an Israeli traveling through Brazil. She lives life
seeking adventure at every opportunity. Any new experience she hears
about she is game to try, whether it is visiting a remote island, going
sky diving, or experiencing a new thrill. Robin and some team members
had the opportunity to share their greatest life experience of coming to
know God in a personal way. Jesus being such a “new idea,” Sharona’s
curiosity led her to ask a lot of questions. Please pray she continues to
seek to know if Jesus is the true Messiah and that she finds the greatest
experience of all...a life-changing relationship with the God of Israel.