Finish the Task with Us

Dear friend in the Messiah,

Shalom! Forgive me for taking a moment to talk about myself and my ministry as president of Chosen People Ministries. I know you pray for me and for all our staff, especially our faithful workers in Israel, where God is still at work. So, thanks for taking the time to read and pray.

This is an especially busy month. We have leadership and board meetings in Chicago and then a major conference all day on Saturday, November 9, entitled, “Summit on Opposing Antisemitism,” to be held at Moody Bible Institute, our partner for this important event. The speakers include Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute; Michael Rydelnik, vice president and academic dean at Moody; and Don Sweeting, chancellor of Colorado Christian University. We will also hear from Saleem Shalash, a wonderful Arab pastor from Nazareth, and from several Israeli Moody students who served in the Israel Defense Forces during the current war. You can register at
www.chosenpeople.com/moodysummit.

My Full November Calendar

Immediately after the event, I fly to South Korea where I will participate in a Bible conference with our Chosen People Ministries team there. I will be exploring locations, homes, and youth hostels where traveling Israelis will find housing and enjoy Korean Christian hospitality. Many Israelis are interested in Asia and sometimes prefer going East instead of West. There are so many wonderful Christians in Korea who love the Lord and love Jewish people, and I hope to meet those who want to be part of our hosting network. 

Hosting Israelis is the topic of our November newsletter. Please pray and consider hosting traveling Israelis. This is a great way to meet them and present the gospel right in your own home. All you need to do is love them and open up a room in your house for two or three days. I know you will find this to be a great way to build lasting friendships with Israelis and have a loving testimony of God’s grace in Jesus the Messiah through your family. We have seen tremendous fruit through this ministry. All you need to do is be your Jesus-loving self and allow the Lord to work through you.

After I return from South Korea, I travel to San Diego to be part of the Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting where I will present a paper on the growth of the modern Messianic movement—and it is growing, praise God—both in the United States and in Israel! I will then have the joy of speaking at our local Messianic congregation in Orange County, California and will finally return home to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.

Sound busy? It is! But I know you are busy, too. As believers, we are not just busy for busyness’ sake, but we are called to be fruitful in making the gospel known. What matters in this life more than serving the Lord?

My life verse is the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” These are most comforting and encouraging words. They remind me, whatever we do for the Lord—whether it seems big or little—is an expression of our heartfelt devotion and love for Jesus. 

My Life in Israel

I will try to get to Israel  in December to see how our staff is faring and also to encourage those in charge of our Messianic center building project. We now expect our new Tel Aviv Messianic Center to be completed by the end of January. I am including some pictures of the building on the way to completion. 

May I tell you a little bit about the new facility? First, we are installing an elevator, even though there are only two floors, because we have many elderly Holocaust survivors and others who come to our events who cannot easily navigate stairs. We love these precious Israelis and want them to be able to attend our events and services. 

We will also have a precise sound system as there are one hundred apartments above us filled with Israeli families. Talk about the Lord bringing the mission field to your doorstep! We are busy soundproofing so the instruments and our joyful singing will not annoy those we hope to reach! We will hold concerts once or twice a month, which are an incredible draw for younger people. 

After I signed the contract with the builders some months ago to buy this 4,000-square-foot, two-story facility, I went back to our rented center, a facility we have been using for the last seven years. It was filled with more than a hundred young people enjoying a Messianic gospel concert in Hebrew. Our current space can only comfortably handle seventy or eighty people, so we recently needed to turn people away and invite fewer people as the Lord’s work continues to grow. By January this will change!

Our new space will enable us to seat 140 comfortably for a concert and more than 100 for a meal. So, our ever-increasing activities at the new Tel Aviv Messianic Center will be able to go forward in this wonderful new space.

We are also excited about our new children’s classrooms, which are so needed as we draw many kids. These classrooms will also be used for our various adult Bible studies. The completed new facility will allow us to finally fulfill my long-term dream of establishing a Messianic congregation in Tel Aviv. Adults can worship upstairs while our staff teach and care for fifty or sixty of their children downstairs.

You can see our new center is mission driven. We will be serving adults, youth, elderly Holocaust survivors, and children. Please pray as we finish the building.

Let Us Finish the Task Together!

With all transparency, the overall cost of the center is $6.5 million. The good news is we already have raised over $6 million toward the purchase, renovation, furniture, and equipment. We are left with about $500,000 needed to complete this beautiful center. 

Would you consider making a generous donation to help us finish the task? 

I cannot wait to repeat the words of Nehemiah when he said, “So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days” (Neh 6:15). What a moment for the hero of this great story as his embattled team finished the task. 

I believe we will complete the work in December or January. Can you believe we are so close? The Lord has shown His grace amid what might be the most difficult period in the life of modern Israel since its founding in 1948. Would you help us—for the sake of Jewish people and the future of the Lord’s work in the Holy Land?

I also have more good news: We received a $200,000 challenge grant, which will double the impact of your gift to the new Tel Aviv Messianic Center.

We can raise $200,000 and receive an extra $200,000 for the center. This basically means the entire facility will almost be paid for, and we will be able to enter this new year without any debt or ongoing rental obligation. Just imagine, all the funding we receive for the Tel Aviv Messianic Center will be used for outreach programs, discipleship ministries, serving the elderly, benevolence ministries for those in need, and for children’s work. 

A Bright Future for Tel Aviv

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this possibility. I know it will transform lives in the greater Tel Aviv area. We also know many ministries in Israel will use this facility, and we hope to let them use it for free. This is God’s gift for the whole body of Messiah in Israel, and you are our partners whom we love and appreciate. Thank you for all you do to help Israelis hear the gospel—especially in this difficult season.

On behalf of the Chosen People Ministries staff and board, I want to thank you for your help in reaching the more than 4.7 million Jewish people living in the greater Tel Aviv area. We can do this together and enter the new year with a paid-for building and the opportunity to open this building as a center for the proclamation of the gospel in the greater Tel Aviv area.

Now you know how to pray for me this month and also for the future of Your Mission to the Jewish People in the city with the largest concentration of Jewish people in the world.

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this holiday because it is an opportunity to fan the flames of gratitude for the Lord and all He has done for our family and ministry. I pray your Thanksgiving will be rich with the presence of the Lord, and for you and your family to experience His love and joy.

Your thankful brother,

Mitch

P.S. For your gift of $200 or more, I will send you a beautiful menorah from Israel to remind you Jesus is the light of the world and to pray for Your Mission to the Jewish People.