Mission Statement
To help in filling the void in the Jewish individual by teaching fellow Christians about
Jewish beliefs and customs. Whereby giving the believers more understanding of their
own Jewish heritage and equipping them with the ability to better relate to the Jew.
Therefore, resulting in an improved opportunity for bringing the Jewish people to Jesus
Christ the Messiah.
What does all that mean? Fantastic question, ready for the answer? …Beats me, I just
typed it into my laptop. You have to admit one thing, it sure sounds cool. Like just about
every other mission statement I have ever seen, after you read it you walk away saying,
“Wow! I have no idea what that was about, but I sure can’t wait to see what the Lord is
going to do there.” I have the same reaction after reading my own mission statement too. I
can’t wait to see what’s about to happen next; how the Lord is going to work through this.
But, I’m also not so sure I understand it as a whole. Let’s break it down and see what we
come up with… That way we will both know what it means.
“To help fill the void in the Jewish individual…”
First off, you and I can’t DO anything. We may think we can or it may seem like we do
things. But we really can’t. (Job 31:23 (NAS) “…and because of His majesty I can do
nothing.” Matt 19:26 (NIV) …"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible.") It is only through God’s allowance do we DO anything. We must be content in
helping to do what we can. It is not we that bring someone to Christ, but we can help in
preparing the way to Him.
The void is in all of us. Even after we are saved and in Christ, we still have a void. Yes, it is
much more apparent before our rebirth, but it is still there afterwards as well. We still feel
that emptiness deep inside, that longing to be truly with Christ. That void will only be filled
when we meet Him face to face. But the void in us all before we have given our lives to Him
can, and must, be filled before that last day. This is the void that we wish to help in filling.
All people must be saved and all must hear the Word of God. The focus of this ministry is
the Jewish Nation. Notice I did not say Israel. That is only part of the Jewish Nation. True, it
is the homeland and where the capital and government reside. But, the Jewish Nation is
also in every other country around the world. It is daunting to think about saving an entire
nation. When each individual is saved then the nation itself will be saved. Hence, we must
focus on the Jewish Nation, one individual at a time.
“…by teaching fellow Christians about Jewish beliefs and customs. Whereby giving the
believer more understanding…”
I’m sure we have all heard before “with knowledge comes power, and with power comes
responsibility.” To learn something new can be a wonderful thing. It can also take a lot of
time and energy. As Christians, we should always be looking to learn more. To learn more
about what is written in His word, learn more about each other, learn more of His will in our
life. God made us with incredible minds; they are one of the many gifts He has given us.
We should not take that gift for granted, lest He take it away. Once we have learned what it
is God would have us to know, we need to use it for His glory. (Luke 11:33 (NIV) "No one
lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts
it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.) We are called to use what we
have learned, to let our light shine, it’s our responsibility.
But why learn Jewish beliefs and customs? That question will be answered as this article
moves along. So tuck that one aside for now and be patient, I will explain. For now I’m sure
we can see no harm in learning these things. That isn’t to say we neglect or replace our
time to learn more about Christ and God’s will, just to learn these new things. But isn’t
much of the Jewish beliefs and customs already in the first half of our own Bible? Of
course it is, so you can do both at the same time. It’s like a two-for-one sale – we all like
those.
“…of their own Jewish heritage…”
In case you haven’t realized it yet your heritage as a Christian is the same exact heritage
as the Jew. Our Old Testament is the same as the Torah. The story of David, Abraham,
Moses, the creation, the flood, all of it, is the same for both the Jew and Christian.
Unfortunately, many Christians think that the word “old” in “Old Testament” means
unnecessary. How absurd. Did not the very one that we say we follow, Jesus, observe ALL
of the Holy days out of the Old Testament? (In case you’re struggling on that – the answer
is yes He did.) Let’s not get mired into the “Law verses Grace” debate here. We can go
beyond and above that now. Plain and simple; the Old Testament is still part of the Bible
you have in your church and still needs to be reckoned with. God didn’t throw it out, Jesus
didn’t and neither do the thousands of copies printed every day, so neither should you or I.
(Matt 5:18 (NAS) “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest
letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.”) The last time I
looked heaven and earth are still here, so not all is accomplished yet – so none of it has
passed away.
Notice that I call it “heritage”. We all have a family heritage; (I’m going to go out on a limb
here but I bet you have parents, and they had parents, and so on). Some of our heritage is
good, some bad, some of it we know about inside and out and some of it we have no idea
that it ever took place – but all of it makes up who we are. Same thing with our Spiritual
heritage. The Bible is full of wonderful stories and some that aren’t so nice, many we know
and still there are things that we find and say “when did that get put in there?” Just like our
family heritage, our Spiritual heritage is important too. It’s our past. You would do well to
know and learn from it.
“…and equipping them with the ability to better relate to the Jew. Therefore, resulting in
an improved opportunity…”
Besides trying to learn something new, we should also try to become more relatable to
others (1 Cor 9:20 (NIV) “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under
the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to
win those under the law.”). That’s not to say we become like others or succumb to their
ways of thinking. We simply are able to become more open to others for them to approach
us. Common grounds to start communication, some catch phrases or jargon,
understanding of where the other person is coming from and why they think the way they
do. If nothing else you’ll impress your friends the next time you play a trivia game with how
much you now know.
The more we become approachable, the more opportunities will arise, and the more you
will be able to help in spreading the Gospel to those you come in contact with. Sounds
logical, and fairly easy doesn’t it? Just think about your reaction when someone comes up
to you and starts to talk about a subject you feel strongly about or an activity you love to do.
You open right up, even if you don’t know the person.
“…for bringing the Jewish people to Jesus Christ the Messiah.”
All people of the earth need to be saved. I realize that no one on this earth is better than any
other and no one is more important than someone else. But there are already plenty of
missions that target the inner-city, or the one in prison, or the starving of Africa. The Jewish
people are still God’s chosen. The Jews have fought the fight of the LORD for a very long
time now. This mission is to target those Jews. The ancestry of our Lord, Y’shua ha-
Mashiach.
Therefore,
Our mission statement is the opening paragraph… Oh, now I get it. I just can’t wait to see
what the Lord does here! Amen!
VoydPhil - Phil-ing #1
What’s In A Mission Statement
By Mark E. Benjamin
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