September - October 2021 World Prayer News - 14. France - International Mission to Jewish People : International Mission to Jewish People shares the Good News with Jewish people all over the world. Paris is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community. They are now facing great challenges, with the pandemic and rising numbers of anti-Semitic attacks. Missionaries like Aurel Vidal are sharing the gospel in creative ways. Please pray that many of the French-Jewish people will come to faith as they hear the Good News about Jesus.
Reaching Jewish people in Israel: International Mission to Jewish People reaches out to Jewish people around the world to share the Good News. As Israel struggles to recover from the recent conflict and subsequent upheaval, there is an urgent need there for the Jewish population to hear the gospel message. Igal Vender, Aviel Sela and Misha Vayshengolts are our missionaries based in Israel who continue to tell the Jewish community about the love of Jesus. Please pray that the Lord will move among the Jewish people in Israel and that many will come to faith as they hear about the Good News of Jesus.
Jewish people in Hungary: International Mission to Jewish People reaches out to Jewish people around the world to share the Good News. Budapest is home to more than 80,000 Jewish people – in fact, this large Jewish community makes up 80% of Hungary’s entire Jewish population, making it the largest native Jewish population of any city in East Central Europe. Bogi Kozma is our missionary based in Budapest and she is reaching out in creative ways to share the gospel. Please pray that the Lord will move among this community of Hungarian Jewish people and that many will come to faith as they hear the Good News.
Reaching Jewish people in Brazil: International Mission to Jewish People reaches out to Jewish people around the world to share the Good News. Brazil has one of the largest Jewish communities in the world with an estimated population of at least 120,000 Jewish people. Rio de Janeiro alone is currently home to an estimated 35,000 Jewish people. To reach out to them, we have appointed Sergio Danon, a highly experienced missionary to share the gospel with the Jewish people in Rio de Janeiro and beyond. Please pray for all the Jewish people that Sergio is meeting, asking that many will come to faith as they hear about the Good News of Jesus.
Reaching Russian-speaking Jewish People: Christian Witness to Israel (CWI) reaches out to Jewish people around the world to share the Good News. The collapse of the oppressive communist regime in the former Soviet Union created a huge spiritual vacuum amongst Russian-speaking Jewish people. Their hunger to hear the gospel is unprecedented and to meet this increasing demand the CWI team has expanded to now include five Russian-speaking missionaries based in the cities of Odessa, Jaffa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel is currently home to around one million Russian speaking Jewish people with almost 40,000 immigrating into the country in the last four years. Please pray that the Lord will move among this vast community of Russian-speaking Jewish people and that many will come to faith as they hear about the Good News of Jesus.
Reaching Jewish people during lockdown: CWI continues to reach out to Jewish people around the world. Over recent years, many of the those we have seen coming to faith in Jesus have been post-Soviet-era Russian-speaking Jewish people in Israel. As a result, we are expanding our mission work both there and in Ukraine. There has been a significant increase in interest in the gospel from the older generation of Russian-speaking Jewish people, many of whom have lived through the Holocaust and decades of communist oppression. CWI missionaries have been answering many questions by staying in regular communication with their Jewish contacts, during and post lockdown. Please pray for Russian-speaking Jewish people in both Israel and Ukraine, asking that many will turn to Jesus as their Lord and Saviour as we share the gospel with them.
Reaching Jewish people during lockdown: Christian Witness to Israel (CWI) continues to reach out to Jewish people around the world. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and country-wide lockdowns, the Good News is being shared with Jewish people as they ask questions about death, suffering and human mortality. CWI missionaries have been providing answers to these questions by staying in regular touch with their Jewish contacts, most of whom are also in self-isolation, by phone and online. We have been conducting Bible studies and sharing the gospel in conversation, as well as safely distributing food parcels to addicts, the homeless, and Holocaust survivors in Israel. Please pray for all the Jewish people we are reaching out to at this time, asking that many will turn to Jesus as their Saviour.
New app brings Bible unique HaEdut version of the Bible.: Christian Witness to Israel (CWI) reaches out to Jewish people across the world and continues to embrace the latest technology to spread the Good News. CWI’s publishing house in Israel “HaGefen Publishing” produces books and Bibles for Jewish people and are excited by the launch of a new app for the unique HaEdut version of the Bible (the Old Testament in Modern Hebrew). The app will reach a younger generation of Jewish people, providing them with an accessible version of the Hebrew Scriptures in a language they can easily understand. Translation work is also nearing completion on the New Testament in Modern Hebrew. Please pray that the Lord will use this technology for his glory and that it will reach many Jewish people in Israel and beyond.
Reaching out to Jewish people in Australia: Christian Witness to Israel (CWI) has a long heritage of reaching out to Jewish people across the globe. Australia has a Jewish population of 120,000, with an estimated 50,000 of those in New South Wales alone. In addition, many young Israeli backpackers also pass through the area each year. CWI will be reaching out to Jewish people in the Sydney area. Please pray for all the Jewish people that will be reached and that many will turn to Jesus as they hear the Good News proclaimed.
Witness to Jewish people in London: London has around 185,000 Jewish people and the most Ultra-Orthodox Jewish people in Europe. This summer, CWI distributed thousands of leaflets to Jewish people. Pray that our UK tours will bless those visited and that Jewish people trust Jesus as their Saviour.
Jewish people coming to faith in Jesus: Anti-Semitism across France is on the rise. Many Jewish people live in fear of attack and are becoming increasingly marginalised. Last year, following a series of high-profile attacks on Jewish people, a Jewish deputy mayor of one of France’s largest cities stated that ‘the future of the Jewish people in France is hopeless’. However, at Christian Witness to Israel we believe that there is hope for Jewish people in France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community. Following a large outreach last year, contacts within Paris’ Jewish community were established and our missionary based in Paris has seen some of his Jewish contacts profess faith in Jesus and join believing congregations. Please pray for Jewish people living in Paris as our missionary shares the hope of Jesus with them.
Jewish community in Budapest: CWI’ s missionary in Budapest reaches out to the Jewish community through street evangelism and regular outreaches focused on the annual Jewish festivals. Pray for Jewish people there as they are introduced to Jesus and the good news about salvation through him.
30,000 Jewish believers: The number of Jewish people turning to Jesus in Israel has increased significantly in recent years. In 1948, when the state of Israel was established, the population of 600,000 included only 23 believers in Jesus as their Messiah and there were no Israeli congregations. Seventy years later, it is estimated that there are now some 30,000 Jewish believers in Jesus and over 300 congregations. During a recent outreach in Jerusalem, thirteen Jewish people turned to Jesus as our two missionaries based there shared the Good News with them. Pray for the church in Israel as it continues to grow.
New Age seekers: Having rejected the religion and traditions of their ancestors, many Jewish people are attracted by the false promises of Eastern mysticism and New Age philosophies. Our outreach to New Age seekers, The Jesus Experience, will be at a large New Age festival in London at the end of May. Please pray that there will be many Jewish people who hear the gospel and respond to it in repentance and faith as they hear about Jesus, the true Light of the World.
Love of the Messiah for French Jews: There are approximately 500,000 Jewish people in France and over half of that number live in Paris. Against the backdrop of multiple terrorist attacks and rising anti-Semitism, many Jewish people are leaving France and those who remain are becoming increasingly marginalised. Our missionary based in Paris shares the love of Messiah with French Jewish people on the streets of Paris and by visiting them in their homes and hospitals for bible studies. Please pray that through our witness many French Jewish people will come to know the hope that can only be found in Jesus for themselves.
The Bible in Modern Hebrew: Christian Witness to Israel’s publishing house in Israel, is currently translating the New Testament into Modern Hebrew. The Old Testament is already available in five volumes and has made the scriptures accessible to large numbers of Modern Hebrew speakers in Israel and beyond. The only other access to them is in ancient Hebrew, an antiquated language most cannot understand. Their translation is available on an evangelistic website in Israel and when it was taken down for maintenance calls came in from around the world, particularly from the Orthodox community, asking where it had gone. Please pray that the New Testament translation will be read by this community and many other Jewish people and that, through it, they will come to know the promised Messiah of Israel.
Ukrainian Missionary to Israel: Tel Aviv has the highest population of homeless people out of any city in Israel. The majority of these desperate people are also alcohol or drug addicts and suffer from some form of mental or physical illness. A missionary, born in the Ukraine, was a former drug addict himself before the Lord intervened in his life and now runs a weekly outreach to the homeless of Tel Aviv. He shares the gospel, while also providing practical help and support through the rehabilitation his congregation organise. Many have come to profess faith in the Messiah, been baptized, and are on the way to leading fruitful lives free from substance abuse and homelessness. Please pray that the Lord would continue to bless the lives of those living on the streets of Tel Aviv as the Good News is shared with them.
A Community Come to Life: Amsterdam has long been a refuge for Jewish people fleeing persecution – starting at the end of the 15th century, when they were expelled from Spain and Portugal, and later with the arrival of refugees from Poland, during the 17th century’s tragic Thirty Years War. Amsterdam’s Jewish community has come to life again – now numbering some 40,000; made up of young and old, religious and secular, including many Israelis who have relocated there. Today, Jewish people in the Dutch capital are hearing the Good News about Jesus through our recent summer outreach which saw 15,000 gospel leaflets distributed to Jewish homes and over 1,000 gospel conversations with Israelis tourists and Jewish locals. Please pray that the Lord will bring many of them to put their trust in the Messiah!
Holocaust Survivors: A recent survey found that, of the estimated 189,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel, about 45,000 live in poverty, sometimes having to make a choice between food and medicine. Our missionaries in Israel continue to reach out to the decreasing numbers of Holocaust survivors, many of whom, having faced unimaginable tragedy early on in life, are now suffering in their old age. By sharing the good news about Jesus with them and demonstrating his love by helping to meet their practical needs, a number have come to confess Jesus as their Messiah. There is a great urgency for this group, as their average age is around the mid to late 80s. Please pray that the Lord will continue to meet the spiritual and practical needs of this diminishing community through the work of CWI and for many more to come to trust Jesus.
Young believers: Praise the Lord that young Israelis are coming to faith in greater numbers than ever before. The Internet has become an invaluable source of information about the Messiah of Israel, particularly for this younger generation. For example the word Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew) is Googled from Israel on average 25,000 times a month. At a recent count the word God was being searched about 71,000 times a month, Messiah 96,000 times and New Testament 5,300 times. Pray that these young believers will grow in grace and go on to serve their own generation. Pray also for the reception from relatives and friends to their new-found faith, which can often result in rejection and persecution from those closest to them.
Disillusioned with religion: Please pray for the many Jewish people who, having become disillusioned with traditional religion, get caught up in New Age or occult practices. Many Jewish people are attracted by the New Age as they seek spiritual fulfilment. Please pray for the various outreaches and book tables that are held at New Age fairs and for those who work among such Jewish people, seeking to bring the truth of the gospel and the true light of Messiah Jesus to them.
Faith in the Messiah: Give thanks that an increasing number of young Israelis are coming to faith in the Messiah in their homeland. Please pray that these believers will have a significant impact on their local communities and families as they grow in faith. They can often face rejection or persecution from those closest to them as they profess faith in Jesus. Please pray for their protection and ongoing witness amidst conflict in Israel.
Orthodox Jewish communities: Surprisingly, scriptural literacy is often lacking amongst Orthodox Jewish communities. Please pray that those living in Orthodox areas of London who have recently received offers of the Bible in a number of languages, including Hebrew, on CD will request copies of the disks and that the entrance of God’s word into their lives might bring true light. Please also pray for success in upcoming opportunities and outreaches that are taking place over the summer months to Orthodox communities and individuals across England and Wales.
Deep distrust: Hundreds of years of persecution and perceived anti-Semitism within Christianity has resulted in the development of a deep distrust of Christians within Jewish communities the world over. Christian work to build relationships with Jewish people, as well as to share the gospel, can present a variety of challenges. These difficulties are particularly felt by Jewish believers in Christ, who are often opposed or rejected by their own communities or families. Please pray for the bridges being built by Christian workers (both Jewish and non-Jewish) with Jewish communities in London and across the UK.
