Our goal is to create a safe space for Jewish people to explore Jesus online.
Emmanuel Mebasser | Online Evangelism team leader
We have over 3 million visitors to our JewsforJesus.org website each year. With a small team of online missionaries, in the last year alone we’ve been able to help equip 10,000 Christians to witness to their Jewish friends, and our missionaries were able to share the Gospel with 1,500 Jewish people. Over 200 of those visitors have given us their contact info so we can continue ministering to them.
We meet people through chat on our website and social media. Those we meet, we invite to online Bible studies, one-on-one online visits, and in-person visits.
Here’s an example of how our online evangelism team works
When people come to our Jews for Jesus website a missionary or volunteer messages them and invites them to chat with us. This might be annoying for some, but we are amazed by how many people want to talk with us openly online. By allowing our visitors to remain anonymous, it creates a safe space for them to ask their questions.
A while back, we met Matthew*, a Jewish man from New York who had come to our website and chatted with us. We noticed that he had spoken online to several of our missionaries before. However it wasn’t until later that we realized that Matthew had chatted with us over 70 times!
This blew our minds. Something else stood out though. We couldn’t fathom that even though he was very open to hearing the gospel and even asked us to pray for him, he wouldn’t give us his email, phone or any other way that we could connect personally and study the Bible together.
Why is it so hard for Jewish people to talk about Jesus?
In our previous generation, just 20 years ago, people discussed topics and sought answers from their peers and experts they looked up to. Today, people don’t ask others, but instead ask Google everything, and they tend to trust online sources of information. This is why we think online evangelism is so strategic in sharing the gospel.
We also believe the reason why people like Matthew keep coming back to our website is because they have real questions, but don’t feel safe to talk about them in their local community. They need an anonymous but reliable place where they can get answers.
Familial and communal shame is another hinderance for Jewish people to come to faith in Jesus. Matthew had found us on Google because he was considering whether Jesus is the Messiah. He told us that having grown up as a conservative Jew in New York, he was worried his family would reject him, or that his wife would leave him if he accepted Jesus in his heart.
Find out what people like Matthew are finding out every day!
Emmanuel Mebasser, who leads our Online Evangelism Team writes more about Matthew:
When I shared the gospel with Matthew* over our live chat, he asked me, “How do I talk to my family about my faith in Jesus?” I shared my testimony with Matthew about how I had to personally weigh the cost of following Jesus.
He then asked me, “Do you know of other Jewish people who are the only ones in their family that are believers in Jesus?” I said: “Yeah, I know many Jewish believers who are the only ones in their family who have come to faith,” and I shared some written testimonies of theirs for him to read.
Matthew said he was glad to hear about others who had gone through the same thing he was going through. He even told me, “I wish I could be bold enough to take that step of faith.” I offered to pray for him to be bold enough and he said, “Please do, and I will pray as well.” As I prayed for him, I also prayed in my heart that God would prompt him to come and chat with us again as he was not ready to give me his personal information yet.
It took Matthew more than 70 online conversations with us before he was eventually ready to take the next step of faith. He had come to us anonymously to share the deepest challenges in his heart that he couldn’t share with anyone else!
I am blessed to tell you today that Matthew has now committed his heart to Jesus. One of our missionaries is helping to disciple him. They regularly meet by phone and video chat to read and discuss the gospel of Matthew. What a great example of how our team is able to meet people in a safe place to consider Jesus!
We have a secret weapon…
Now, having heard this story, you might think that missionaries are always having successful gospel interactions and seeing fruit in their ministries all year-round, but the truth is, more Jewish people come to faith in Jesus because of the witness of their Christian friends, people just like you!
We want to partner with you, to help you be equipped to share about Jesus in a caring and sensitive way that takes into account the challenges that modern Jewish people face when considering Jesus and the Gospel.
Pray for our Online Evangelism Team and send us an email at [email protected] if you would like to know more about how you can share the gospel with Jewish people you know!
*Names of contacts have been changed for privacy.
