Chosen People Ministries

Chosen People Ministries (CPM) is a Christian organization which engages in evangelism to Jews.[1] It supports development of congregations of adherents to Messianic Judaism, which it describes as "faith communities that stress the Jewish context of the Gospel of Jesus."[2] It is headquartered in New York City.[3]

History

Leopold Cohn, a Hungarian immigrant to the United States who converted from Judaism to Christianity, founded the Brownsville Mission to the Jews in 1894. The Brownsville Mission was later relocated to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York and became the Williamsburg Mission to the Jews from 1897 until 1924. In 1897, the Williamsburg Mission headquarters housed a medical clinic, boys' club, Girl Scouts, and sewing and English classes, in addition to evening Gospel services [4]

From 1924 until 1984 it was known as the American Board of Missions to the Jews. Since then it has been known by its current name, Chosen People Ministries.

The American Board of Missions to the Jews was instrumental in the growth and professionalism of the movement during the 1920s-1960s, providing training to many of the new missionaries.

Methods and locations

Chosen People Ministries has staff in 13 countries around the world, and starts Messianic Centers and congregations as the main focus of its work. It also plants missionaries and conducts evangelism in areas of high Jewish concentration, facilitates Church ministries, and produces evangelical literature and media.[5] In Israel, the organization is also using media outreach in strong cooperation with the Israeli based ministry of ONE FOR ISRAEL

Flatbush, New York location

In 2010, Chosen People Ministries attracted attention when it acquired a former funeral home in the heart of an Orthodox Jewish community located in Flatbush, New York. This acquisition has sparked anger from the Jewish community in New York.[6]

Charles L. Feinberg Center

Chosen People Ministries co-sponsors (with Talbot School of Theology) the Charles L. Feinberg Center as an accredited Master of Divinity program in Messianic Jewish Studies. The website explains that the program is designed to train Messianic congregational leaders, outreach workers and educators. It offers an accredited Master of Divinity and a 30-course Certificate in Messianic Jewish studies. Classes are held in New York City, though the summer program includes classes at Talbot's Los Angeles campus.[7]

Church affiliations and memberships

Chosen People Ministries states that it is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, CrossGlobal Link, the Canadian Council of Christian Charities, the Christian Stewardship Association and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.[8]

Tax status

The organization is a nonprofit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability states that its total revenue in 2004 was $7,645,273.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Chosen People Ministries: Doctrinal Statement". Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Messianic Congregations: Messianic Congregations". Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Chosen People Ministries: U.S. Branches". Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  4. ↑ Ariel, Yaakov Shalom (September 13, 2000). Evangelizing the Chosen People: Missions to the Jews in America, 1880 - 2000. H. Eugene and Lillian Youngs Lehman Series. The University of North Carolina Press. p. 32. doi:10.1007/b62130. ISBN 978-0-8078-4880-7. Not the sort to be satisfied with being just an ordinary mission among the many, Leopold Cohn set about expanding his mission. In 1896 the mission opened a second branch, also in Brooklyn, and moved its headquarters to Williamsburg, and changed its name in 1897 to the Williamsburg Mission to the Jews. Its new headquarters was much larger and included, among other things, a medical clinic that offered needy Jews free medical services. Contrary to a prevailing myth, Jews did not boycott missions, and the physicians working at the clinic were nonconverted Jews who worked for pay. Like the patients who patronized the clinic, they did not consider the mission to be a danger. The mission's program included "Gospel services" on Sunday and Monday nights and sewing and English classes on other nights. The establishment of a boys' club and a Girl Scout troop indicated a growing attempt to evanglize youth.
  5. ↑ http://www.chosenpeople.com/main/about-us
  6. ↑ "Jewish leaders angry over Chosen People Ministries' Messianic outpost." (October 11, 2010).New York Daily News
  7. ↑ http://www.feinbergcenter.com/
  8. ↑ "Chosen People Ministries: Accountability". Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  9. ↑ Ministry Watch

External links