Shalom New York 2026: Behind the Scenes
Every year, Chosen People Ministries organizes Shalom New York: a week-long mission trip for sharing the good news of the Messiah, especially with the Jewish community, throughout New York City. This year, Shalom New York 2026 took place August 1–8, and the participants had many testimonies to tell about those they encountered and their experience of sharing their faith. Not only did they get to proclaim the good news alongside other believers who love God’s chosen people, but they were also specifically trained on how to speak about the gospel with the Jewish community.
One participant, Wayne*, is a Jewish believer with a master’s degree in apologetics who has been doing Shalom New York for years. He had this testimony of sharing the good news of Messiah in Washington Square Park in Manhattan:
A young black man sitting at a chessboard starts talking to me. I just respond. Tony* is a friendly guy. He’s articulate, intelligent. . . . we just keep talking. . . . we gradually started . . . talking about spiritual things. . . . he didn’t know there are Jews that believe in Jesus. And I said, “you’re looking at one!” . . . I had him read Isaiah 53. I had him read several gospel verses in John. We gradually circled closer and closer into his relationship with God and his relationship with Jesus . . . I invited him to receive Jesus, and he said, “I’m gonna do it.” So we held hands, we prayed, and I prayed that God would help him to pray and listen to his prayers.
Wayne’s main takeaway from Shalom New York this year is,
It’s been very, very fruitful, very productive, and my takeaway . . . is that it’s this balance between the grief of the hardness of hearts, and the lostness of the world. And then, in amazement, how God is reaching people. And some of these hardened people are coming to faith. Nobody can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. No man can come to Jesus unless the Father first draws him. . . . We’re seeing the whole world being blessed through Abraham’s seed.
Jane*, a Gentile believer, told us it’s her first time at Shalom New York! When we asked her why she joined the mission trip, she said,
It’s a little hard to say what inspired me other than my love for the Jewish people. . . . reading the Word of God has inspired me to especially get the word out to the Jewish people. Because I did not know that it was such a struggle for many Jewish believers to even say to their family that Jesus is the Messiah. So, what encouraged me to come is the [Chosen People Ministries] ambassador that came over [to my church] . . . and daily reading the word of God about how important the Jewish people are.
Overall, the participants were willing to spend the money to travel to New York to share the Messiah with the Jewish and Gentile community because they were motivated by God’s love for the Jewish people and His command to share the good news “to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16)! They also had words of encouragement for those who are interested in joining Shalom New York in the future to share the gospel, but may be nervous about sharing the gospel with Jewish people. Wayne* said this for anyone considering Jewish evangelism:
It’s wonderful if they have that desire, because most Christians don’t. It’s very rare. But it’s totally Scriptural. The gospel is to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile. And so if any Gentile has a longing to do that, I would love for them to come. . . . you have to be teachable. You have to be flexible.
When we asked Taylor*, a Gentile believer, how he would encourage someone considering doing Jewish outreach and what fears he had to overcome, he said this:
I would encourage them to do it. . . . even if you don’t think you’re equipped for it, you are. . . . the Lord is with us, and He’s speaking through us, and then there’s many great resources, even from Chosen People Ministries. . . . There’s probably a fear that many of us Gentiles [have] especially when you start to understand . . . that Christianese doesn’t work, you know? So . . . the one fear I had to get over was that, and that I can do it. . . . just move forward and give them those conversations! . . . If you’re thinking about doing it, come and do it!
If you share God’s love for the Jewish people and have a burden to see His chosen people come to faith in the Messiah, or are even just curious about Jewish evangelism, we hope you are encouraged by these testimonies—even if you’ve never shared the gospel with a Jewish person before, you can do it too.
Start proclaiming Yeshua among your Jewish friends and neighbors with these helpful tips, advice, and information in our YouTube playlist, How to Share Yeshua with Your Jewish Friend.
*Names changed for privacy.
Chosen People Ministries is driven by a desire to see people coming to faith, especially the Jewish people. The apostle Paul wrote, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Please help us continue to proclaim the Word by making a generous donation today.
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