Annual Report 2006 for LCJE Australia
By LCJE Coordinator for Australia/New Zealand Bob Mendelsohn
In no particular order, the four ministries, which compose LCJE in this country, which stand with those other Jewish ministries (not yet members) are making a small difference in the Gospel among the Jewish people. There are 100,000 or so Jews among a general population of 19 million, so we are a serious minority within a minority. Jewish life is apparently compartmentalized; people tend to think of Jews only living in one section of each town. Most Christians have little intersection with Jewish life and culture. It’s ‘quaint’ or ‘quirky’ and it’s certainly ‘other’ to mainstream Gentile life.
For those who read our reports, please take just a moment and pray. Ask God to open Jewish hearts. Ask God to help Gentile Christians to sort out who we are and what we believe. Ask God for finances from ongoing sources to keep us going and going strong in this very needed work in this region. Thanks so much from each ministry and from each Jewish Christian whom you are helping as well.
David House Fellowship, Melbourne
The ministry of David House Fellowship is through THE VINEYARD magazine. Available in English and Russian, THE VINEYARD magazine is a full colour A5 publication, enjoying a worldwide distribution of 35,000 copies each month.
THE VINEYARD magazine is compiled with the Jewish reader in mind. Articles are gathered from various sources with an endeavour to stimulate and provoke Jewish readers toward the Lord their God and Yeshua, the Messiah.
THE VINEYARD magazine is also keenly used by kindred ministries in their efforts to reach out, follow-up and maintain regular contact with Jewish friends and acquaintances.
THE VINEYARD magazine continues to be a rich source of blessing to the Believing community who are keen to know more about the Hebrew roots of their faith, and to gain a deeper understanding of God’s purpose for His people, Israel.
Celebrate Messiah Australia
We are so grateful to the Lord for his blessing upon the ministry of Celebrate Messiah during 2006. This year has been an especially fruitful in ministry amongst Jewish people in Australia, New Zealand, Far East Russia. We have seen about thirty five “lost sheep of the House of Israel” come to faith in Yeshua as their Messiah and many others discipled in their ongoing walk with the Lord. And twenty-five Jewish believers have been baptised in obedience to the Lord this year.
We are especially excited about our outreach to the “forgotten Jews” of Far East Russia. In October we had a most amazing outreach in this region and we saw a total of eighteen people come to faith in Yeshua - fourteen of them being Jewish.
This year’s Simcha Messianic Conference was perhaps the best ever with over 240 people in attendance. We were treated to inspiring Bible teaching and captivating drama from by guest speaker, Alan Shore, as well as joyful messianic worship.
We look forward to what the new year has in store for us. Bless the Lord!
Jews for Jesus, Australia
Again our ministry stretched to its limits the resources and the energies of the personnel. Unless the Lord does His work in us, and through us, then we will have already failed, in doing only the human, the ordinary, the easy to do. We started the year financially in trouble, and ended well in the black. Praise God. And this year, our ministry to Korean and Spanish speakers continued, with ever developing materials in each language.
We travelled to New Zealand and have now started a company in Singapore in the name of Jews for Jesus. The major campaign of all campaigns was held in New York and its environs in July and all our staff went there to serve the whole time. Our staff decreased as we lost one staffer, but we replaced him by calendar’s end.
Also as the year ended, we conducted a significant Hanukkah outreach with volunteers and staff on Sydney’s streets, proclaiming Y’shua, light of the world, handing out tens of thousands of tracts and having dozens of significant conversations. This on top of our ongoing Thursdays @ 6 (pm) Bible class and regular one-on-one visits with Jewish enquirers, as well as the tens of thousands of Gospel tracts we handed out all year throughout the country, made for a year that seemed satisfying and one in which God was honoured. Why? Because we needed him this year, more than ever. And it’s not over yet. We await with joy, 2007, and what God will do again.
For His name’s sake.
Christian Witness to Israel. Australia
It has been a special joy to us in 2006 to have Kay Chan Park and his family join us in ministry in Australia. They have come from Korea after working for some years in Israel and they will have a particular focus on reaching Israelis resident here and also Israeli backpackers. Their coming is the Lord's gracious answer to our many prayers for someone to fulfil this ministry - but we did not expect a Korean! The Korean churches are intensely mission-minded and we pray for more to join us in the days to come. Contacts have begun to develop with the Israeli community and we trust this will increase when the Parks move into the suburb where most of Israelis live.
The amount of time spent in the office by city workers seems only to increase and many Christians encounter Jewish people in that environment. In Australia there is a well-established city workplace ministry with which we work, to assist in their outreach and to educate and encourage Christians who meet Jewish people. This is in its infancy for us but 2007 will see a regular teaching and prayer meeting develop, which we pray will lead to opportunities for witness.
The steady work of street evangelism and follow-up ministry goes on, especially from a Friday book table in Bondi. After some years of doing this it is good to encounter some for the second, third and fourth time, to see their interest increase and some coming to a regular evangelistic Bible study. How we long for salvation among them! The arrival of a Jews for Judaism worker in Sydney is perhaps a backhanded compliment to all our ministries here. May he be saved and join us in ministry.
Bob Mendelsohn
BobMendo@aol.com