Celebrating 50 years of sharing the gospel with our Jewish people.

Jews for Jesus started as a slogan ...

… but by 1973, it had officially become a thriving ministry of Jewish people with a passion to share the good news that our Messiah has come. And over the last 50 years, Jews for Jesus has proclaimed the gospel in some of the biggest Jewish communities around the world—from London, to Budapest, from New York to Jerusalem.

We stand as living proof that it is possible to be Jewish and believe in Jesus. And by God’s grace, tens of thousands of Jewish people across the globe have now met their Messiah, too.

Join us on a journey through the last five decades!

1970s

In the early 70s, Moishe Rosen gathered creative young Jewish people with the passion for sharing their amazing and shocking discovery that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.

They experimented with literature, activism, music, and drama. Their dedicated focus on telling others about Jesus in a culturally Jewish way captured the attention of many who had never heard before that it is possible to be Jewish and believe in Jesus.

June, 1972 “Jews for Jesus’” slogan was picked up by the national media and the long-held assumption that “Jews don’t believe in Jesus” was challenged from coast to coast.

September 17, 1973 Jews for Jesus was officially incorporated, and branches soon sprang up across the country.

Summer, 1973 Liberated Wailing Wall, a group of Messianic singers and musicians, went on tour for the first time, sharing about Jesus through culturally Jewish music, drama and stories.

Summer, 1974 First summer street campaign in New York City. During these all out efforts to share about Jesus on the streets of Manhattan through literature, music, drama, staff and volunteers engaged with hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish people wanting to learn more about Jesus.

1980s

Through major media and public relations efforts, we shared about Jewish faith in Jesus in dozens of newspapers and magazines across the United States, including the New York Times. Thousands of Jewish people responded to the invitation to order a book on Messianic prophecy titled, Y’shua the Jewish Way to Say Jesus.

Winter 1984 The purchase of our building in New York City was a major step forward in sharing Jesus with the city which had the highest Jewish population in the world at that time.

Fall 1987 A critical U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled in favor of Jews for Jesus, setting a legal precedent after the defense of our freedom to hand out literature at Los Angeles International Airport.

Fall 1989 Establishment the first of many overseas branches of Jews for Jesus in Johannesburg, South Africa.

1990s

As the internet created a new kind of “street corner”, new technology helped us keep our outreach efforts effective and engaging. In this era of change, founder Moishe Rosen chose to step down as executive director so that a younger leader could bring Jews for Jesus forward.

Summer 1991 We established our Camp Gilgal program to invest in the next generation of Jewish believers in Jesus.

Fall 1991 The opening of the Odessa, Ukraine branch—the first of many branches in Eastern Europe.

Spring 1996 David Brickner was unanimously nominated and elected to be the next Executive Director.

2000s

In the new millennium we reaffirmed our mission and core values, not only in words, but in a series of “Behold Your God” outreaches conducted to reach 55 different Jewish cities outside of Israel with the good news that Messiah has come.

Spring 2006, 20,000 Yiddish versions of the Jesus film were mailed to Haredi (ultra Orthodox) communities in the greater New York area as the start of a focused effort to reach this unique Jewish demographic.

Summer 2006, We completed our 55 Behold Your God campaigns with a grand finale in New York/New Jersey, which included specific outreaches to Haredi, Israeli and Russian-speaking Jewish communities.

Spring 2007, The launch of the first Massah team (short-term outreach to Israelis in Israel, India and other popular trekker destinations).

Spring 2008, A second set of 10 Behold Your God campaigns began in Israel, each one focusing on a specific region in the land.

2010s

With Dan Sered, a native born Israeli, as the director of our Israel branch, we conducted Behold Your God evangelistic campaigns across Israel, while also expanding our vision for reaching New York City, Los Angeles, Moscow, Berlin, and so many other key urban centers.

Spring 2011 A arts and community center in Tel Aviv was dedicated as the Moishe Rosen Center (MRC), following Moishe’s passing in 2010.

Spring 2018 our series of 10 Behold Your God Israel Campaigns in Israel concludes with an all-out effort in Jerusalem, with a total of 12 specialized teams reaching out to the diverse Jewish communities across the city.

Fall 2018 The New York branch relocated just a block and a half from Washington Square Park (a quick walk from NYU!)—where Moishe Rosen had first experimented with new ways to reach Jewish people with the gospel.

Spring 2019 Launch of “Upside Down Café” in Westwood Los Angeles increased our connection to UCLA students and the surrounding community.

2020s

COVID-19 challenged us to adapt as never before, as did the war in Ukraine. These crises drove us to expand our online ministry, and find new ways to love and serve Jewish people in the name of Jesus. As the Jewish community grows more diverse we have focused on engaging with key groups of Jewish people, from Jewish Gentile Couples, to Haredi, to Israelis expats.