Stewart’s Testimony:
Raised in a traditional Jewish home, I attended an orthodox synagogue in the Bronx, where I received religious training five days a week throughout my adolescence. During the High Holidays, the separate children’s service was held in a building around the corner from the main synagogue. Because my father was active in the men’s club, he was appointed to carry the treasured Torah from the main synagogue to children’s service. I was pleased that my father was chosen for such an important duty. I still recall walking beside my dad as he carried the Torah, held close against his chest with his tallit wrapping around it. I stood tall and walked with pride, proud of my dad and of our Jewish heritage. As we headed back to the synagogue, I determined that something extremely important must be contained in these scrolls. In that moment, I had a deep desire to know God: I wanted to know Who He was and how He wanted me to live. That same year I had my Bar Mitzvah. On that day, as I looked into the Torah ark, I sensed something was missing. I had a lot of religious training, but I still didn’t know Who God was. Then and there, I made God a promise: “Someday I will find the truth about Who You are and what You would require of me.”
However, within a few months I forgot that promise. Instead of seeking God, I sought the things the world could offer. Although I still attended synagogue, God was the furthest thing from my mind.
When I was fifteen, my best friend (he was born Catholic but had recently trusted in Jesus as his personal Savior) came over to my house and asked if he could read something to me. I told him, “Go ahead.” He said it was from the Bible and asked if I had one. I said no. He asked if he could read it from his Bible, and again I said, “Go ahead.” He read the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah to me. “Who do you think it speaks of?” he asked. “I have no clue,” I replied. He said, “I think it is the Messiah of Israel, Jesus the Messiah.” When I realized he was trying to push Jesus on me, I threw him out of my house and told him never to talk to me again.
A couple of years later, through a dating relationship with a Gentile believer in Jesus, I was challenged to consider what the Bible says about God and His purpose for my life. Having just lost my job, I had lots of time on my hands to engage in consideration. Over the next year, we spent the majority of our time together reading the Bible. However, because I had grown up believing the New Testament was cursed, we focused only on the Hebrew Scriptures specifically the Messianic prophecies. I began to compare the Hebrew Bible with the Old Covenant portion of the Christian Bible and found that the translations were very similar except when it came to the prophecies. I wanted to get to the bottom of this and find the truth, so I continued reading and studying the Bible, knowing I was not going to stop searching until I got my answers.
After a year of study and considering what I had read, I decided to visit a church. The pastor preached about the faith of Abraham (Gen. 15:6) and how Abraham was the “father” of Jews and Christians, specifically the father of all those who believe in Yeshua (Romans 4:11). I thought about this “faith,” something I had pondered so long ago as a child, and realized in my heart this was something I didn’t have.
Soon after, I took a look at the New Testament for the first time. Upon reading the very first verse, “A record of the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah[Jesus the Christ], the son of David, the son of Abraham”, I became convinced that if the Jewish people were going to have a Messiah, it had to be Jesus! It was then I prayed to receive Yeshua as my Messiah and Lord, and I placed my trust in His atonement for my sins. Before long, I sensed God working in my heart, and two things became very evident to me. First, I realized it was an all-or-nothing deal I had to love Him with my whole heart and live my life for Him and, second, I was going to bring the Good News of Messiah to my people. An acquaintance of mine told me about a Bible study I could attend where there were other Jews who believed in Jesus. I went to this Jews for Jesus Bible study and began to grow in my faith. I decided to go to Bible school and after graduation began sharing Messiah with the House of Israel. Eventually, I met my wife, Shoshannah, and God has blessed us with two wonderful children who love the Lord. To this day, I continue to praise His Holy name for the privilege of knowing and serving Him and for the opportunity to proclaim His name to my people.
Stewart’s Biography:
Stewart Weinisch was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. It was during his bar-mitzvah in front of the torah ark (where the Torah Scrolls are kept in the synagogue) that Stewart made this promise to God. “Someday I’m going to find you”. That promise was soon forgotten. When Stewart was 19 several of his non-Jewish friends “became Christians” and began sharing the Messiahship of Jesus with him. After a full year of searching the Scriptures and comparing his Tenach (the Jewish Scriptures) with the “Christian” Bible Stewart became convinced Jesus must be the Jewish Messiah. Then, Stewart remembered the promise he made to God at his bar-mitzvah, and received Y’shua as his Messiah. Soon after that, Stewart applied and was accepted to become a student at Moody Bible Institute.
In 1983, after completing his Bible education Stewart returned to New York City to bring the Gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Since that time Stewart has been in Jewish ministry. He and his wife Shoshannah have served as missionaries and as messianic congregation planters in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida and most recently in Charleston SC. Stewart and Shoshannah believe God has called them to return to New York City where there are approximately 2 million Jewish people. “We have a sense of urgency to proclaim the Gospel to our people”.
“I tell you, now is the day of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation”
2 Corinthians 6:2