Messianic Ministry Calls on Jews to 'Awaken' to Messiah Jesus
Jews for Jesus Releases 'Awakening' Campaign on DVD; Features Stephen Baldwin as Narrator
Jews for Jesus, the largest organization of Jewish people who proclaim Jesus Christ as Messiah, staged a massive campaign over the summer in New York City, called “Awakening,” (now on DVD) in which participants attempted to reach out to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world.
The mission statement on the organization’s website states: “We believe that Jesus the Messiah died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; that all who believe in Him are justified, not by any works of righteousness they have done, but by His perfect righteousness and atoning blood and that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
It is this message that young Jewish campaigners tried to inspire in people in New York City’s parks, streets and subways, Susan Perlman, Director of Communications for Jews for Jesus, shared with The Christian Post about the “Awakening” campaign featured in the DVD.
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“Our Jews for Jesus outreach, which is profiled in this film, has a message that answers the question, ‘Who is He?’ or ‘Mi Hu?’ in Hebrew,” Perlman said.
“Our campaigners are mostly next generation Jews for Jesus who are fearless in sharing their faith through proclamation evangelism, whether on Facebook, Twitter, or through more conventional methods like broadside tract distribution, surveys and public music performances.”
Responding to a question about whom the campaign is targeting, she answered: “Because we are Jews, our campaign tends to engage more Jews, but it is a Jewish outreach to everyone and anyone who shows an interest. For instance, one of the t-shirts worn by campaigners has writing in English and Hebrew and that attracted Israelis in New York who saw them. We also had QR Codes on the shirts which attracted tech-savvy people.”
Perlman shared that this campaign builds on previous efforts, and extends across platforms to reach a next generation of Jews. Jews for Jesus hopes the campaign grows even more in the upcoming year.
The trailer for "Awakening" is seen below:
The DVD was narrated by actor Stephen Baldwin, a born-again Christian who in an interview for the Christian Broadcasting Network described his new mission in life “to stand up in a new and hard core, radical way for the Lord.”
The Jews for Jesus director of communications explained that this was Baldwin's first involvement with the organization, but that he has been very supportive of creative efforts to make Jesus known in New York and elsewhere.
Jews for Jesus provided The Christian Post with a private screening of the “Awakening” DVD.
The 30-minute documentary focuses on the summer outreach campaign that took place in New York, and states that it is a chance to tell New Yorkers about “the most important freedom of all – the freedom in Messiah.”
David Brickner, Executive Director of Jews for Jesus, summarizes the driving force behind the campaign in an interview, calling it an all-out effort. “We come to New York to make the Messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue,” he says in the video.
“Awakening” states that with over 8 million diverse people living in New York City, it is home to one of the largest and most diverse Jewish communities in the world. It describes it as “the perfect combination for encountering God’s Chosen people.” The narrator explains that the Jews for Jesus organization has been campaigning in New York since 1974.
The campaigners, who handed out over 40,000 pieces of literature over the summer, asked what Brickner says is the most important question anyone can ask –“Who is Jesus?”
The DVD shows how the campaigners live their daily lives – they campaign, they eat, they sleep, and then they start a new day ready to talk to even more people. Before they go out on their mission, they come together for a short group prayer.
The young campaigners are featured handing out fliers all over the city – in parks, on sidewalks, in the subway – with various levels of response. Some passersby tell them a flat out “No”, others walk by them silently, but there are also those who stop to listen to their message – in one scene, a man prays to Jesus with a volunteer.
“When people reject you in your Jews for Jesus T-shirt, they are rejecting Jesus” says Iain, a campaigner.
The film identifies Borough Hall in downtown Brooklyn as boasting a major Jewish presence – where Jews for Jesus not only share literature, they also sing and perform gospel songs.
Warren, another campaigner for Jews for Jesus, revealed that he was a former marijuana addict who once did not believe in Jesus – but after being invited by his brother, who works for the organization, to come to New York, and after attending a sermon and reading the New Testament for three days, he felt overcome and changed. Warren managed to convince more than 35 people to sign up for the membership list a day, which other campaigners say is a record.
The DVD concludes by calling for people, Jews in particular, to ‘awaken’ to the message of the Messiah. “We see people going from these campaigns into full-time evangelistic ministry – that to me is the greatest awakening of all,” Brickner proclaims.
