The Importance of Reaching Israeli Jews for Yeshua

Reaching Israeli Jews for Yeshua has been an interest for a long time. The idea for this article first came to me when I was taking an Introduction to World Missions Class at Liberty University. We were learning about the biblical mandate to go out and reach the unreached people groups of the world. An unreached people group is generally defined by ethnic or linguistic terms. During that course, I wrote a paper on the topic, and part of that process included sending survey questions to Chosen People Ministries (CPM), so I could learn more about their missionary efforts in Israel. What I learned was compelling, and I would like to share more with you today. Time has evolved. As a result, I found it necessary to update some of the information.

Unreached People Group and Charge

The Great Commission commands us to reach all people with the great news of Yeshua (Jesus). The message is to be to the Jew first, and next to the Gentile. Mission, missions, and missionaries are integral and necessary for the fulfillment of the desired goal. The process, ability, and duty to reach unreached people groups is Biblically important. The charge to reach Israeli Jews as an unreached people group is not just a calling for missionaries, It’s a biblically important topic worthy of further research. Ascertaining the roots of this people group will aid in understanding and expounding upon the outreach.

Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Pexels/Haley Black

Statistics and Importance

According to The CIA World Fact Book, the population of Israel is approximately 9,402,617 million and Judaism is listed as the primary religion. I found that Israeli Jews who are followers of Yeshua are a small portion of that population.
A plethora of studies exist on this subject. Why is it important for Israeli Jews to know and accept Yeshua? Numerous scholars and religious leaders believe Yeshua is waiting for His Chosen People to confess and accept Him as the Jewish Messiah before His return to achieve salvation. Is this true? I’m not sure, but I do know we are called to share Yeshua’s message of salvation. That is a message shared with passion by CPM.

Mission, Missions, & Missionaries

Questions were formed and presented to CPM concerning missionary efforts in Israel. The questions posed sought to ascertain the most effective way to reach this unreached people group. We discussed the importance of reaching Israeli Jews and the strategies CPM utilizes to reach them. Challenges and risks faced while prophesying in Israel were also discussed.
A missionary from CPM explained the status of Believers in Yeshua in Israel and the strategies employed:
“The Israeli church (or better a society of His people who believe in Yeshua as the promised Messiah) contains mostly Israeli Jews who are loyal citizens (pay their taxes, serve in the IDF, love their country and their people) and who understand (in their majority) their responsibility toward sharing) the Gospel (one way or another) with their fellow non-believing Israeli Jews as well as other people. The main effort of CPM is to show the love of God to people around through their lives. We are involved with many different humanitarian projects and helping with different kinds of help to a variety of groups of people, and our main goal is not to share the theoretical Gospel, but rather to help. When people see that we really care they often want to get involved into another level of relationship, in which they do not hesitate to start conversations/arguments regarding spiritual issues.”
At the time of the interview, there were between 15, 000 to 23,000 Israeli Jews in Israel who were Believers in Messiah. Another CPM source related: “The majority of Israeli Jews are non-believers in the Messiah,” and further explained at the time of the interview that dissemination through religious tracks was not allowed in Israel. Interestingly, the source noted Messianic Believers have been ostracized and met opposition from the Jewish community. Interested in learning more about CPM? You might try: https://www.chosenpeople.com

Reaching and Looking Forward

Reaching Israeli Jews is not absent difficulties in terms of method and approach. However, obstacles must not negate effort. The outreach effort to reach Israeli Jews with the message of the Messiah should be continual. Seeking and sharing should never cease as Yeshua’s Great Commission charge is ongoing.