Jews for Jesus Reaches Out to Las Vegas
Jews for Jesus is reaching out to the ''fastest-growing Jewish community on the continent'' for three weeks during its witnessing campaign in Las Vegas.
A Jewish Christian ministry group is reaching out to the “fastest-growing Jewish community on the continent” for three weeks during its witnessing campaign in Las Vegas.
Jews for Jesus - a group whose priority is using Jewish or missionaries married to Jews to perform direct Jewish evangelism – has set out on a campaign called, “Behold Your God!” (BYG), which began Nov. 28 and ends Dec. 16. This is the first time Jews for Jesus has done a campaign of this nature in Las Vegas.
“The Behold you God campaigns are aimed at reaching cities (outside of Israel) with a Jewish population over 25,000. Las Vegas easily has at least 75,000+ Jewish people, so it was on the list of BYG cities,” Tuvya Zaretsky, the campaign leader, explained by email. “The strategies for reaching the city took into consideration that the community is older, many have moved there from the eastern seaboard, it is largely secularized and highly intermarried.
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Jews for Jesus are making their presence and campaign known by taking out full page ads on the Las Vegas Review Journal, The Business Press, and the Neighborhood View newspapers. The Jewish-Christian group also has radio ads playing on three different stations.
According to Las Vegas Jewish Federation president, Meyer Bodoff, “you cannot find another community, anywhere or anytime that has grown this fast this quickly.” he said.
“The population [of Las Vegas] has doubled since 1990 to 1.6 million [and] now boasts the fastest-growing Jewish community on the continent,” added Bodoff in an article titled “Viva (Jewish) Las Vegas” by Sheli Teitelbaum.
The group plans to reach out to the Jewish community of Las Vegas by using hand distribution of its broadside tracts, including one titled, What Happens in Vegas…. The title is meant to challenge the popular slogan, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” pointing out that one’s choices have consequences but that God is ready to forgive our mistakes. The group will also be showing two documentaries during the trip, including one titled, Forbidden Peace about Israelis and Palestinians who believe in Jesus despite persecution.
BYG will also minister to Jewish-Gentile couples by offering four intermarriage seminars in partnership with some congregations.
The goal for the trip is to make Jesus as the messiah an unavoidable issue for the Jewish people of Las Vegas; to hand out 50,000 tracts; and to place 2000 calls to Jewish people.
In the coming three months, there will be three “Behold Your God Messages” in New Jersey and one in Maryland.
