A publication of Jewish Voice Ministries International
October 2014
Connections
Inside...
Ukrainian Jews must hear the Gospel
before it’s too late!
Jewish Voice Connections
October 2014
Reaching the Jewish Remnant in Ukraine during this Festival twenty years ago, powerfully illustrating the truth that God’s plans for His People will not be held captive by the opposition of men.
1994
The Beginning The year 1994 was a pivotal year for the Jewish People in Ukraine. Government factions, influenced to a large degree by the Orthodox Church, were clamping down on newly found religious freedom and highly intolerant of foreign religious groups. At the same time, the people were spiritually hungry. With the fall of Communism and the state mandated religion of atheism, Ukrainians were seeking the true meaning of life. This was true of the Jewish community, which was particularly unique given the typical resistance we find in the West to the Gospel. Although opposition arose from both the local government and the Ukrainian Jewish Council, we were able to rent the Palace Ukraina, the most beautiful and prestigious venue in Kiev. In September of 1994, Jonathan and the team travelled to Kiev. Over 20,000 people attended the Festival, open and searching. “Kiev’s need of God’s love was evidenced in part by the city’s resistance to it,” one festival participant observed. Thousands came to faith
And now, two decades later, Jewish Voice is returning to the Palace Ukraina in Kiev, September 26-28, 2014. During Rosh Hashanah, (the Jewish New Year), we will reach a needy Jewish community with the message of the Messiah’s saving love, shared through music, dance, and testimony during our Hear O’ Israel Festival of Jewish Music & Dance.
Since 1994 The lasting fruit to come out of the 1994 Festival was the start of perhaps what is today the largest Messianic congregation in the world, the Kiev Jewish Messianic Congregation, with almost 1,600 members. Jews and non-Jews who accepted Yeshua ( Jesus) as their Messiah worship, fellowship, and serve together there. Good seed was planted in 1994 and good fruit remains. Approximately 110,000 Jewish People currently live in Kiev. Of this 110,000, many made aliyah to Israel in the 1980s and 90s – doctors, lawyers, concert musicians – and returned because they couldn’t find work in their profession. Also included in these numbers are the elderly
and infirm, unable to move to Israel due to immobility.
Right Now Ukrainian Jews are frightened at the sudden rise of anti-Semitism, almost identical to the scenario in the Ukraine before WWII and the Holocaust. Ukrainian Jews are frantically petitioning to make aliyah to Israel to escape the persecution that may be ahead, creating a mass exodus at a rate that is 142 percent higher than the previous year. This exodus from Ukraine to Israel is a direct fulfillment of the prophecy proclaimed by Jeremiah – “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be said ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but it will be said, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the Land I gave their ancestors” ( Jeremiah 16:14-15). The disillusionment, weariness, and uncertainty felt by Ukrainian Jews is
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fueled by the pro-Russian separatist conflict. In December of 2013, Kiev was the flashpoint for pro-Russian revolution, violence, and unrest. The city is now repaired, but fear remains in the hearts and minds of Kiev’s citizens, as conflict continues in other parts of Ukraine. Because of the turmoil, uncertainty, and increase of anti-Semitism, we believe there is no more important time to share the Good News of salvation than this very moment. Proclaiming a message of love, hope, and eternal life, Jewish Voice Festivals leave a lasting legacy of spiritual fruit. This could be our last opportunity to reach the Jews who remain in Ukraine. Proclaiming the Good News of Yeshua to the Jewish People is a huge part of our call as a ministry. This is an “urgent rescue mission” to reach Jews and Ukrainians alike while there is still time.
Global Impact of Hear O’ Israel Festivals of Jewish Music & Dance St. Petersburg, Russia • May 1993 14,000 in attendance Moscow, Russia • May 1994 30,000 in attendance Minsk, Belarus • August 1994 23,000 in attendance Kiev, Ukraine • October 1994 20,000 in attendance Moscow, Russia • May 1995 24,000 in attendance
And so, the Hear O’ Israel Festival of Jewish Music & Dance returns 20 years later to the same venue in Kiev to proclaim Good News to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor (Isaiah 61:1-3).
St. Petersburg, Russia • June 1995 21,000 in attendance
Prayer Needs:
Budapest, Hungary • August 1998 18,000 in attendance
• Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Kiev, Ukraine Festival September 26-28th. • Pray for the many new Jewish and Ukrainian Believers who will come to know and accept Yeshua as their Messiah and Savior during this outreach.
Please prayerfully consider a generous financial investment toward reaching these precious Jewish People while there is still time. The need is great, and the cost is high – over $450,000 for this Festival outreach alone. And please know that your prayers and financial support touch the heart of God, and He blesses those who bless Israel. You will be rewarded for your part in the great harvest of Ukrainian souls. Simply complete the enclosed form to help fund this urgent outreach.
Odessa, Ukraine • August 1995 60,000 in attendance Kishinev, Moldova • August 1996 40,000 in attendance Ukrainian Tour • May/June 1997 39,000+ in attendance Riga, Latvia • August 1997 25,000 in attendance
Nizhny Novgorod, Russia • May 1999 20,000 in attendance Vijayawada, India • January 2000 70,000 in attendance Novosibersk, Siberia • May 2000 20,000 in attendance Buenos Aires, Argentina • August 2000 22,000 in attendance Guntur, India • January 2002 25,000+ in attendance Berdyansk, Ukraine • June 2002 35,000 in attendance Lviv, Ukraine • August 2003 15,000 in attendance Krasnoyarsk, Siberia • August 2004 9,000 in attendance Cordoba, Argentina • Oct./Nov. 2009 12,100 in attendance Montevideo, Uruguay • August 2010 8,000+ in attendance Rosario, Argentina • August 2011 9,500 in attendance Mexico City, Mexico • September 2012 22,700 in attendance
From the heart of
Jonathan Bernis Dear friend, Numerous obstacles have stood in the way, as well as safety concerns for our team, but I’ve known for months that we had to do something. Ukraine is a hotbed of increasingly brazen anti-Semitism. And among Ukraine’s Jews old enough to remember the run-up to the Nazi occupation of World War II, the current environment has a chilling, all-too-familiar feel. It’s no surprise that Ukrainian Jews are filing to make aliyah to Israel in unprecedented numbers. They wait patiently in long lines outside the embassy for days. As I said, I felt we had to do something to help the Ukrainian Jews before it was too late. Something that would allow us to share the hope of Yeshua (Jesus) with them in this dark hour. We have sensed a strong direction from the Lord to reach out to these frightened people in their hour of distress, and so just recently we made the decision to move forward. In this issue of our Connections newsletter you’ll read about what God has prompted us to do. Will you help meet this urgent need? If you can share a gift to help with the significant costs of this event, we would be profoundly grateful. Simply use the envelope provided. Thank you and bless you!
Connections Jewish Voice Ministries International P.O. Box 31998 | Phoenix, AZ 85046-1998 www.jewishvoice.org | 800-299-YESHUA (9374) Jewish Voice Ministries Canada P.O. Box 476 | Maple Ridge, BC V2X 3P2 www.jewishvoice.ca | 1-855-7-YESHUA (9374) Jewish Voice Ministries UK Admail 4224 | London W2 4UN www.jvmi.co.uk | 1-855-9-YESHUA (9374)
Jonathan Bernis, President & CEO Jewish Voice Ministries International
In memory of Dr. Stephen L. Myers On behalf of Jonathan Bernis and the entire staff at Jewish Voice Ministries, we wish to express our deepest condolences to the family of Dr. Stephen Myers, 58, of Christiansburg, Virginia. We honor the memory of a faithful and most-appreciated volunteer dentist who joined the Jewish Voice Global Outreach team on our medical/dental/humanitarian outreach to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in April. Dr. Myers was an enthusiastic dental professional, who enjoyed sharing his faith and his gifts with the impoverished people of Ethiopia. He died in a plane crash in July. Please pray for his wife, Kathy, and the Myers family, including their son-in-law, who was recently deployed to Kuwait.
Yes! Jonathan, I want to share in the Genesis 12:3 blessing and help transform lives around the world!
Confessing the Hebrew Scriptures: Adonai Hoo Shalom, The Lord is Peace
This book contains beautiful pictures and a compilation of peace Scriptures for meditation and confession. Each verse is written in English, Hebrew, and the transliteration from Hebrew. A CD including each Scripture spoken in Hebrew by a native Israeli enables you to learn pronunciation and begin confessing the Hebrew Scriptures in your own meditation time with God. #8686
To give, please click on the link button at the bottom of the page, or go to: jewishvoice.org/connections/oct-2014 or call 800-299-9374.
Enclosed is my special gift of: $_____________ I have enclosed $40 or more. Please send me Confessing the Hebrew Scriptures: Adonai Hoo Shalom. 8686 I want to help with my gift, but don’t want to receive the offered item. DS