Annual Report 2005 for LCJE North America
By Theresa Newell, LCJE Coordinator for North America
“If Jesus is not the Messiah for the Jewish people then neither is He the Christ for the nations.”
This line is from “Jewish Evangelism: A Call to the Church”/LOP 60 produced by seven LCJE partners at LCWE’s Forum 2004 in Pattaya, Thailand has dominated my thoughts through this year. All of our work is predicated on this truth. Our work has gone forward with this theme in mind. (I hope that everyone has ordered copies of this booklet. It deserves the widest distribution possible.)
Here is a review of 2005 from LCJE-NA.
Seminary Training in Jewish Evangelism
January 10-14 LCJE council president and editor of LOP 60, Tuvya Zaretsky, taught a class on Jewish evangelism at Trinity Seminary, Ambridge, Pennsylvania, where I serve on staff. It was a good way to begin the year. In March, Garrett Smith, who oversaw the 2005 “Behold Your God” campaign in Pittsburgh, spoke at Trinity’s Dean’s Hour to the seminary student body on the challenge of Jewish evangelism in a pluralistic culture.
The 22nd Annual LCJE NA Conference in San Francisco
Speakers at the San Francisco meeting presented a variety of talks from the Pattaya report to issues of contextualization in Jewish ministry, to theological questions like “the concept of God in Judaism” to new methodologies in a post-modern culture. Conference participants were hosted by Jews for Jesus staff at their headquarters offices for a tour and noshes. Pastor Dan Strull’s review of the conference wrote a wonderful commentary on this conference (see Bulletin #80/May 2005 on the website). As a congregational leader Dan encouraged his fellow pastors to become involved with LCJE to enjoy “the fellowship, encouragement and dialogue over these vital matters.”
LCJE-CEO Conference in France
The CEO leadership conference at the gorgeous Abbaye de la Bussiere, near Dijon was organized so capably by Jean-Paul Rempp. This second CEO conference was a wonderful renewal of friendships and a place to hear reports on pertinent and practical ministry topics. The papers were published in Bulletins #81 and #82 (August and November 2005). Steve Engstrom’s review as new Director for Caspari Center International is thorough (#81) and is a guide through the many reports presented.
“Behold Your God” Pittsburgh
A highlight for my city of Pittsburgh was the Jews for Jesus “Behold Your God” campaign September 15 to October 1. Since the campaign was centered in the heart of the university area of Pittsburgh, many students attended the public debate on September 20 between Dr. Michael Brown and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Prayer is needed as small teams continue the follow-up with inquirers from this Pittsburgh campaign from among the 50,000 Jewish people in the city. Our team handed out over 105,000 tracts, and follow-up is continuing with contacts made during the campaign.
LCJE NA 2006 For such a time: The Urgency of Jewish Evangelism
This is the theme of the April 24-26, 2006 LCJE NA conference to be held in my city of Pittsburgh for the first time in its 23 years of annual meetings. The Marriott City Center Hotel will be our conference site. Speakers will include Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Mitch Glaser, Dan Goldberg, Kai Kjær-Hansen, Baruch Maoz, Susan Perlman, and others. We are inviting local pastors who have supported Jewish mission in our city to join us in this conference. All registration information and letter of invitation can be found at the www.LCJE.net website. Sign up today!
Conclusion
This year I was particularly struck by the need for more workers in the harvest field among Jewish people. My major prayer is that God will call forth the workers to go, be trained and be thrust out to gather the harvest. I pray that hearts, young and old, will say “yes” to God’s call to them. I joy in working with seminarians and young believers whose hearts are opening to this call and among older folks who pray for the salvation of Israel in our day. To that end, we are planning a series of teaching seminars for those in Bible schools and seminaries this year. Let us continue to work while there is light!
Theresa Newell
lcjena@comcast.net