Dear friend,
I hope you have enjoyed a lovely summer! Much has changed over my twenty-six years as president of Chosen People Ministries. One of the best examples is the rapid growth of digital tools for evangelism and discipleship. They have opened many new doors I could not have foreseen when I first started in ministry—nor could Leopold Cohn when he founded this mission in 1894!
To be clear, our message has stayed the same. We proclaim the gospel of Jesus the Messiah as “the power of God for salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). But methods can and should change. From gospel tracts to televised ads to social media, we are ready and able to use whatever creative ways the Lord allows to spread the timeless gospel message.
Producing digital resources has been a critical part of our work for several years, and we see this avenue of gospel communication continuing to expand. As I write this letter, our digital media team is diligently working on several innovative projects designed to glorify Jesus in a distinctly Jewish way.
Here are some of the highlights:
Evangelistic Tools
Millions of people have viewed video testimonies of Jewish believers since we first released them on our I Found Shalom website (IFoundShalom.com). This site has proven to be a powerful resource for Jewish seekers to meet Jewish people who believe in Jesus. We continue to add more Jewish testimonies online as the Lord has been using them to turn Jewish hearts to Jesus the Messiah!
We are now taking our gospel storytelling one step further. We call this new effort The Seeker, a dramatized online series based on some I Found Shalom testimonies. This new cinematic format will speak powerfully to old and young alike. Like I Found Shalom, our hope and prayer for The Seeker is to inspire many Jewish people to ponder the all-important question, “Could Jesus be the Messiah?”
Producing a series of three twenty-minute online video-based stories is a time-consuming and expensive process. But the fruit we have seen through I Found Shalom tells me these powerful stories, attractively presented, could reach a new generation of Jewish people.
A few months ago, we launched a new Hebrew-language evangelistic website called La‘Omek, which is Hebrew for “going deeper.” This online platform offers digital booklets addressing significant issues young Israelis regularly experience. Let me list a few of these themes:
- healthy relationships
- loneliness
- depression
- anxiety
Many younger Israelis are grappling with life’s great questions and are remarkably open to spiritual matters. These booklets offer them support grounded in the timeless truths of the gospel. Thousands of Hebrew speakers have downloaded our materials already! This high level of response greatly surprised us, and it was challenging to follow up with all the Israelis who downloaded a booklet or contacted us through live online chat. It is a wonderful—although not easy—problem to have.
Please pray this digital tool will open doors for Israelis to come to one of our events, meet with one of our staff in person, and ultimately place their trust in Jesus as their Messiah.
One of our younger workers heard from a woman twice her age who was having relationship problems and had downloaded the booklet to get some help. I was in Tel Aviv then and asked our staff member what problem this woman was trying to solve. She told me this woman had broken up with her boyfriend, and he was having trouble letting go. She was searching for answers on the web and responded to one of our online digital ads.
This young staff member was not sure what to do or say but knew she could turn to God for guidance. She rightfully offered some quick advice, a Bible verse or two, and then prayed for this woman who was not yet a believer. The dialogue ended well, and the young staff member realized God could use her even when she did not have all the answers!
Please pray for this woman who is hurting, for God to heal her and, most importantly, bring her into the relationship-above-all-relationships with Jesus the Messiah, who loves her and died for her sins. We anticipate many other conversations, live chats, and emails like this to lead to in-person ministry over the next year.
Israeli Travelers
Over the past several years, our strategic ministry among post-army traveling Israelis has grown to include more than a half dozen countries! We operate youth hostels in popular destinations like New Zealand and Japan. Our welcoming staff and volunteers are attentive to the incredible opportunities God gives us to begin spiritual conversations with these traveling Israelis.
These conversations arise naturally over a Sabbath meal or board game. This ministry to post-army Israeli young adults encouraged us to build an international network of Christian hosts to provide a similar hospitality ministry in their homes. If you are interested in hosting Israelis, learn more at hostisraelis.com.
Of course, this outreach fosters in-person interactions between hosts and guests, but this network also involves some essential digital tools. In collaboration with our Chosen People Ministries global family of ministries, we created websites and apps to connect travelers with hosts.
Many of our hosts remain in contact with their former guests and even visit them in Israel. If an Israeli traveler is interested in learning more about what we believe, our staff in Israel are always available to follow up with them upon their return. We also point them to the Scriptures and Hebrew gospel resources like our Isaiah 53 Explained book and our new website La‘Omek.
Educational Tools
Another area of ministry we are expanding is our resources for children. Teaching the next generation about the role of Israel in God’s purposes and the importance of bringing the gospel to His chosen people is essential. We are creating new tools to help families, churches, and congregations understand these crucial topics.
Our first effort is an animated clip about the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33–44) or, in Hebrew, Sukkot. This project creatively illustrates the biblical and Jesus-centered fulfillment of this holiday. The video we will release this month will be a fun, engaging lesson to help your kids (and you, too!) better understand this fall festival. We plan to do an entire series of videos on the Jewish holidays. One staff member wrote, “I cannot wait to watch this video with our young kids!” This month’s newsletter will tell you more about our Sukkot video and other children’s ministry resources.
The Chosen People Bible Institute
Another brand new digital initiative we are offering this fall is our Chosen People Bible Institute. Through this online opportunity to see the Bible through Jewish eyes, students of all ages can take classes on Jewish evangelism, the life of Paul, and Messianic apologetics, which will help learners answer the tough questions our Jewish friends are asking us about Jesus. Our online instructors are experienced Chosen People Ministries staff who will provide high-quality and lively instruction on topics you deeply care about!
All our courses will emphasize the Jewish cultural backgrounds of the Old and New Testaments. The Chosen People Bible Institute is a significant step forward in deepening the faith of Jewish and Gentile believers. It offers an excellent opportunity to learn how to witness to Jewish people. Two courses are already available at cpbi.chosenpeople.com, but stay tuned as more are coming, and you will want to sign up for our classes as soon as they are released!
Partner with Us!
I have spoken to many Jewish people who want to post their testimony online because the Lord used a video testimony to bring them to the Messiah. I think of one young man—let’s call him Jacob—who received one testimony from a friend but could not stop watching a dozen more. He eventually received Jesus as his Savior.
Another young Jewish man, Samuel, responded to a digital ad, downloaded a copy of Isaiah 53 Explained to his computer, and read it. This well-developed argument from the Word of God changed his life. He is maturing in his faith, and one of the ways he is growing is by working through some of Chosen People Ministries’ online discipleship studies.
I would never have conceived of this type of digital ministry fifteen years ago. We serve a God who is not limited by time and space. He is eternal, above all, and beyond all.
Thank God we can reach people today in person and through modern digital tools. We could only do this because you stand with us, encouraging us to look ahead and adapt to the times. I cannot thank you enough for your support and prayers.
We especially need your support for The Seeker, our evangelistic mini-series based on the I Found Shalom testimonies. We have budgeted $125,000 for the three twenty-minute parts of this online video-based series. Could you give a sacrificial and generous gift of $1,000 or more so we can pay for the actors, sets, location fees, producer, cameras, sound equipment, and more?
As you know, there was a time when Christians began using television and radio for the sake of the gospel! We want to use whatever tools are available to speak to current and future generations about Jesus. I pray the Lord will raise a new generation who will learn to use new and creative means to proclaim God’s glory.
Please join me in embracing the future by using these new tools to preach the good news to Jews and Gentiles!
Thank you and blessings in Messiah,
Mitch
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