May 2026 Newsletter

The Chosen People Newsletter

“We had lots of discussions about Jesus and why He died on the cross!” Phil* exclaimed. These are the words of one of the newest participants in our Host Israelis hospitality ministry. Phil welcomed three young Israeli travelers into his home for one night as they journeyed to the Grand Canyon. During their visit, the group had meaningful conversations about Jesus, including His death on the cross.

Phil was so excited to share how open his guests were. When he first decided to open his home to Israelis, he wasn’t sure what to expect, but he felt led by God to give it a shot. Although retired and living alone, he said, “God has blessed me with this home—I want to use it for His glory.” To encourage further exploration of Scripture, Phil gave each of his visitors a Bible and highlighted passages in both the Old and New Testaments.

This encounter reflects the spiritual openness among Israelis, especially since the horrific Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the resulting war. A recent survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute suggests that the war and the fallout “has sparked a spiritual and ideological transformation among Israelis ages 25 and under.”1 Young Israelis in their twenties are our primary demographic at Host Israelis.

Please pray that this openness remains and that many Israelis will turn to the Lord! Pray also that these young Israelis who visited Phil will read the Bible, seek the Lord with all their heart, and find Him. They have a big head start thanks to Phil’s faithfulness in pointing them in the right direction!

As one of our missionaries was going about her routine of following up on people who respond to our ministry’s online media ads, she received a call back from a Jewish not-yet-believer, Jack.* Our staff member had just left a message for Jack’s wife, Rachel,* a few minutes earlier, but Jack was unaware of Rachel’s request for information about our ministry. Our missionary briefly explained who we are, the reason for her call, and what we believe about Messiah. Jack instantly wanted to know more.

After a few more minutes of talking, Jack put Rachel on the phone. Once our staff member spoke with Rachel, she told her, “My husband wants to talk to you again.” So, she put him back on the phone. The couple eagerly wants to keep in touch with our staff member. Jack even texted our missionary after the call to thank her for the call and even arranged to meet in person. Please pray for this curious Jewish couple who have many questions about Jesus!

Levi,* an unbelieving Jewish man, recently attended one of our staff’s weekly messianic prophecy Bible studies. After a meal, our staff said, “I am going to read a passage from Scripture; tell me who you think the author is describing?” Without citing the reference, he proceeded to read Isaiah 53 and then asked Levi, “Who is the author writing about?” Levi very casually replied, “That’s Jesus.” Our missionary responded, “That passage was written more than 700 years before Jesus was born.” The room got very quiet as Levi processed the implications of this climactic messianic prophecy. Our staff then told Levi about the first time he had read that prophecy and realized that Jesus could be Israel’s Messiah.

Our staff member was diligent in telling him the history of Jewish interpretation of this passage, which includes a messianic interpretation as well as the current predominant Jewish interpretation—that the suffering servant in the passage is Israel, not the Messiah. Our staff proceeded to explain why those rabbinic arguments did not stand up to closer scrutiny, including the identification of the servant as “righteous” (53:11) and “without violence or deceit” (53:9), descriptions impossible for Israel in the context of Isaiah’s prophecy. While Levi seemed deeply mesmerized by both the passage and the arguments, it is also through our prayers that he will be moved toward faith in Jesus. Please pray for Levi!