Online Chat Staff

Emmanuel was born in Tehran, Iran, and he likes to tell people he is a descendant of Queen Esther … but he can’t back that up. What he can back up is that he is a 5th-generation Jewish believer in Jesus. Emmanuel’s family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child to escape the Islamic revolution.

While Emmanuel grew up in a family that followed Jesus, at the age of 17, he began to seek to know God for himself. His two-year search affirmed his faith in Jesus and the Bible, and it became clear to him how important it is to share God’s love and good news about the Messiah Jesus with his Jewish people. Read more about Emmanuel’s life story.

Emmanuel studied fine art/animation/film and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Sarah, and their three kids. He leads our Online Evangelism Team. Innovating online evangelism techniques on jewsforjesus.org since 2007, he says, “Our goal is to harness the anonymous nature of the web to allow Jewish people online to explore the depth of Jesus’ love and get personally connected directly with a missionary!” Read about how to take part in this flourishing online ministry.

Rob Wertheim is a senior missionary serving with the Online Evangelism Team of Jews for Jesus. He was raised in a Conservative Jewish home in New York, the son of Holocaust survivors from Germany. While visiting his brother, Steve, in Los Angeles, he found out that Steve had come to faith in Jesus. During this time, Jews for Jesus was having a Messianic Passover Seder, which Rob attended with his brother. It was here that he heard messianic prophecies for the first time. Months later, Rob committed his life to the Lord. Rob is married to a Jewish believer, Sandy, and they have three adult children: Saul, Rose, and Josh.

He has been on staff since 1988 and meets with Jewish people seeking to know about Jesus or wanting to learn and grow in their faith. Rob participates on our website LiveChat platform, where he meets Jewish seekers as well as believers. In addition, he attends local Jewish classes, where he meets Jewish people hoping to bring a messianic testimony as opportunities arise.

Jennifer Razzouk was raised in a Jewish-Gentile home, and everyone in her family was a believer in Yeshua. Her mother took her to church when she was young, and that’s when Jennifer heard the gospel and became a believer in Jesus. She learned about her Jewish identity as a child similar to the way her mother and uncle learned about it: “We are Jewish, but we don’t talk about it.” Later in life, when she had married and had children, she sent her daughters to attend Jews for Jesus’ Camp Gilgal. Jennifer and her little “tribe” greatly benefited from this ministry and from the community of Jewish believers in Jesus. She says, “For us, we had found our people; a place we all knew we fit.”

Jennifer serves with Jews for Jesus as a missionary trainee on our Online Evangelism Team. She lives in Northern California. She is a master’s student in Christian apologetics at Talbot Seminary, but her studies are currently on pause while she completes her missionary training.

In her position, she enjoys starting relationships online with Jewish people who come to the Jews for Jesus chatroom with questions and out of curiosity. Often these conversations can move into meeting with these visitors via Zoom, Facetime, text, email, or if they live close by, meeting in person to study the Scriptures together.

Jennifer Lentz was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area in a Jewish-Gentile family who believes in Jesus. While she made a commitment to Jesus as a young child, it was in college that she realized the depth of her need for Yeshua and made a re-commitment of faith. She was originally on staff with Jews for Jesus from 2008–2010 on the musical team, the Liberated Wailing Wall. In 2021, she returned to staff part time with the Online Evangelism Team. Today, she serves as a full-time missionary sharing the message of salvation on social media and on the Jews for Jesus website chat window. Jennifer is also an adjunct professor at Talbot School of Theology, part of Biola University, in both the Old Testament and New Testament Departments.

Jennifer holds a BM in classical flute performance from San Francisco State University and both an MA in Old Testament and an MA in New Testament from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. She is married to Andrew, who is also a Jewish believer in Jesus, and they have two young children: Emet and Ethan.

Shoshannah Weinisch was raised in a traditional Jewish home and came to faith in 1980 through the ministry of Jews for Jesus. Shortly after coming to faith, she answered a call to share the gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Shoshannah serves as a missionary alongside Stewart, her husband of 39 years in Brooklyn, NY. They have served with Jews for Jesus in the New York City area for 15 years. In January of this year Stewart and Shoshannah transitioned onto the National Online Evangelism team. Since October 7th there has been an increase in Jewish seekers going onto our Live Chat. Resulting for a need for senior missionaries to follow up Jewish seekers. Stewart and Shoshannah have answered the call and have already seen three Jewish people accept Jesus (since January)!

Shoshannah has a passion for the salvation and discipleship of Jewish women. Since the war in Israel began on October 7th, Shoshannah has seen a change in the demeanor of the women to whom she extends ministry. Shoshannah says, “Jewish people are asking about the end times and what the Bible says about Israel. The increase in antisemitism in NYC and around the world has created a sense of urgency for Jewish people to understand their identity from a biblical perspective. And many have a sense of hopelessness. Although it’s heartbreaking, I recognize a unique opportunity to offer hope in Jesus. I believe God has placed Stewart and me in this city and on Live Chat for such a time as this.”

Stewart Weinisch was born and raised in the Bronx in New York. 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.” In 1977, at the age of 19, Stewart began reading Messianic prophecies and became convinced that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah.

In 1983, after completing a Bible education, Stewart returned to New York City to bring the gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It was during his tenure in NYC that Stewart met Shoshannah, his wife of 36 years. Stewart and Shoshannah have two adult children: Melissa and Jonathan. Together, Stewart and Shoshannah have served in Messianic congregations and Jewish missions for over 40 years.

Stewart has a sense of urgency to proclaim the gospel to all people. He says, “Since Shoshannah and I have been on staff with Jews for Jesus (2009), we have been amazed at the number of Jewish and non-Jewish people we have seen respond to the gospel.” Stewart is passionate about making disciples. He is dedicated to investing in younger believers and coming alongside new missionaries to better equip them to proclaim the gospel to future generations.