Jeff and Kathy Kipp

Jeff was born in the most Jewish city in the world, Brooklyn, New York! In his rebellious teenage years, he was a long-haired Jewish hippie searching everywhere for the answers to the meaning of life and the reason for existence. One day in the Fall of 1973, Jeff left college, friends, and everything behind to find America and find himself. He landed in a little New Mexican town called Taos and the second day there, he was led to a Jesus People coffee house and met Dr. Michael Silverburg, a fellow Jew and fellow New Yorker. That night was the first time Jeff was told that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and he prayed to receive Him into his heart and life. His life was intercepted by the Lord and never the same. Jeff continued to travel and was providentially led to a Christian Community in Northern California called Lighthouse Ranch. Jeff ran out of food and money and was told that all he needed to do was say praise the Lord and pass the potatoes and they would open up their doors to him, and they did.  It was there that the Lord began to speak to Jeff of his destiny and the call of God upon his life in regards to reaching his Jewish people with the gospel. It was also in Northern California that he met his wife-to-be, Kathy. The Lord had led her to Santa Cruz to be a part of Youth with a Mission. They met in the winter of 1979 and almost immediately, he knew she was the one; however, it took some time to convince Kathy.  They were called by the Lord to move back to Kathy’s hometown of Minneapolis to begin their new life together. All Jeff knew about the Twin Cities was the Mary Tyler Moore show and that it was mighty cold.  They were living by faith and not by sight.  It was there they were introduced to the Messianic Movement and became part of a Messianic Jewish Congregation.

They were married under the chuppah in 1981. One year later, they helped Rabbi Ed Rothman plant a Messianic Congregation in Minneapolis, The Seed of Abraham, and Jeff became their first elder. He later became the associate rabbi/pastor.  In 1987 he was asked to become the full-time evangelist for a ministry called “Good News for Israel.”  During this time, he also continued as the Associate Pastor of the  Seed of Abraham Congregation. Jeff was also very involved in the Steering Committee of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations and for a time was their Conference Chairman and Midwest Regional Coordinator. In 1991 and 1992 Jeff made three very fruitful evangelistic trips to the Ukraine and Russia where he saw genuine Revival with many Jewish souls come to faith in Yeshua. In 1993 the Lord called the Kipps to relocate to Pittsburgh where they have successfully pioneered and planted two Messianic Congregations and have seen many Jewish people come to faith in their Messiah. They lead Congregation Yeshua Ben David, started in 2005 and meet in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, in Squirrel Hill.