Jews For Jesus to Launch Its Largest Outreach
NEW YORK - New York City, which some have called a microcosm of a Jewish universe, will be met with the most intensive evangelistic outreach to Jews in July.
"This will be one of the largest and most strategic outreaches to Jewish people in the history of the Jews For Jesus ministry," said Susan Perlman, associate executive director for Jews For Jesus.
Jews for Jesus has gone out to the streets of New York, mainly Manhattan, for the past three decades in evangelistic efforts. But this summer's outreach is "unique" to all preceding ones, according to Perlman.
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The one-month witnessing campaign follows 53 other cities around the world that have dense Jewish populations. After making a commitment 5-1/2 years ago, the international organization has been "plotting through" the campaign ever since, reaching such countries as France, Buenos Aires, Hungary, South Africa.
"Jews for Jesus made a commitment ... to have an evangelistic outreach that had an intensive evangelistic outreach with a follow-up component in every city in the world that had a Jewish population of 25,000 or more," Perlman explained. "We were able to pinpoint 54 cities."
And the Greater New York area, the "mother of American Judaism" as Dr. Gerhard Falk, author of numerous publications, labeled it, was left as the final region in the extensive effort called "Behold your God!" (Isaiah 40:9).
Kicking off on July 1, the outreach will have nine simultaneous campaigns running throughout the entire month, including specific outreaches to the Israelis, a speaking campaign to the large Russian Jewish community in Brooklyn, and a special emphasis in Westchester County. The organization that began in New York in 1975 had never done anything extensive throughout the five boroughs and other counties until this summer.
Also unique to this year's New York campaign is involvement at an international level, with Jews for Jesus staff from all over the world, and domestic level.
"It's a very international campaign," Perlman commented. "It also involves lots of local churches, messianic congregations and individuals who want to lovingly and boldly bring the Gospel to Jewish people."
On a personal level, Perlman said, "I'm a Jewish New Yorker. I heard the Gospel for the first time on the streets of Manhattan many years ago. It was foreign to me. I think most Jewish people think that Christianity is not for the Jewish people.
"There are those that are really curious and want to know more [of the Gospel] and then there are those who say ... 'It's impossible. You can't be Jewish and be a Christian at the same time.' But we're living examples of the fact that it is possible."
