Pray for what God is doing in New York City!

The sign in the window of our Greenwich Village coffee shop reads “Knitting Together,” and each week, 10–20 people come to drink coffee and knit—many of them Jewish. Liz Goldstein, who leads our New York branch, says, “We weren’t sure who would come, but we never guessed it would be mainly young professionals and students from New York University and the Fashion Institute of Technology. What a surprise!”

Take Michelle, for example. She is a New Yorker, not Jewish, but grew up with Jewish kids—and while she’s been to lots of synagogues, she’s never set foot in a church. One night, Ruthie (one of our interns, pictured above) noticed that Michelle was having a rough time. Shoshannah Weinisch, who oversees the gathering, says, “It turns out that a student from her school had just committed suicide. We shared her grief and showed her love and care.”

A few weeks later, Michele accepted an invitation from Ruthie and Lila (another of our interns) to come to church. Please pray for Michelle.

Lila shared her faith in Yeshua (Jesus) with the knitters at her table.

Another night, Shira, a shy Orthodox Jewish student, listened as Lila shared her faith in Yeshua (Jesus) with the knitters at her table. Shira did not return the following week, but gospel seeds were sown, and we pray that she will come back.

So many people comment on how they value the community at our coffee shop, and it’s a tangible way for us to love our neighbors. Sarah Levy, general manager of the shop, points out, “A 10×10-inch notice above the cream, sugar, and stirrers explains that the shop is owned and operated by Jews for Jesus.”

Shosh adds, “I’m not the best knitter, but I circulate around the tables as people ask for help. So, I was thrilled when Deborah, a ‘master knitter,’ walked in our door. She was friendly and kind, and I invited her to teach a class in our upstairs space for those who want professional instruction. They will pay for the lessons, and we will use that money to pay Deborah. She was delighted with the opportunity and said, ‘I have a new friend!’ She was a bit surprised that I work with Jews for Jesus (she is Jewish), but that did not seem to deter her.

“And when we announced that we were suspending ‘Knitting Together’ for Passover and would be having a Seder instead, Greg, one of our regulars, was especially glad for the invitation since his family relationships are currently strained.”

We’ve begun to see people who come to our coffee shop also attend events next door in our recently opened art gallery. For example, some of our knitters attended the opening and closing of an art exhibition we curated.

The exhibit featured a Jewish artist who is not a believer in Jesus, and a Gentile artist who is. Liz Goldstein says, “They were both excited to show in Greenwich Village, and many of their family and friends came. We handed out postcards for the show in Washington Square Park and around the neighborhood in local businesses, as well as putting out a large sandwich board with posters for the exhibit. A few of our staff circulated throughout the evening, engaging with our guests.

We give them opportunities to see what Jesus means to us.

“With each event, we are more excited to continue using our amazing God-given facilities to bring people together and give them opportunities to see what Jesus means to us.”

Please pray that this ongoing ministry and our future events will lead to hundreds of new relationships with Jewish people in our neighborhood, and that God will work in many hearts to draw people to Messiah Jesus.

Names are changed to protect privacy.