The topic of Jewish missions is fraught with tension. Christians Standing with Israel (CSI) regularly receive inquiries – from both Jewish and Christian partners and friends – about our organization's stance on this issue. After extensive examination of the question, CSI has now published a position paper: "Being a Blessing Together: A Statement by Christians Standing with Israel on Jewish Missions."
On the one hand, missionary work is one of the fundamental tasks of the Christian community; on the other hand, the concept of missionary work itself creates a divide between Christians and Jews, making cooperation impossible. Wherever Christians attempt to convert Jews, the Jews withdraw. They perceive this as an attack on their Jewish faith and sever ties. That is the reality.
For most Christians, the question of Jewish missions is only of theoretical importance because they don't know any Jews. For us at Israelwerk, the situation is different: We know Jews, work closely and trustingly with Jewish organizations every day, and maintain personal, sometimes close, friendships with many Jews.
As an organization dedicated to supporting Israel, we have a specific mission. This mission is to serve Jews, practice solidarity, and stand by Israel. Both of these aspects are reflected in our name: We are Christians standing with Israel. Therefore, the topic of Jewish missions is not a theoretical one for us, but one that had to be addressed concretely. Months of working on this topic have led us to define our approach in "Being a Blessing Together," which we are now publishing.
Rejection of replacement theology
In that paper, we first demonstrate that much has changed since the Second World War. Entire churches and associations have fundamentally revised their relationship with Jews – a change that, unfortunately, often fails to reach the grassroots. Besides the Catholic Church, this also applies to the Protestant churches in Germany, various free churches, and, for example, the Gnadau Association, which published the excellent declaration "Sustained by God's Faithfulness" in 2022. Christendom, on a broad scale, has rejected so-called "replacement theology." The covenant and election of Israel are affirmed – a paradigm shift of enormous proportions. This also raises a new question regarding the mission to the Jews.
For us as an organization, our mission is paramount. This mission is humanitarian and diaconal, not directly evangelistic. Our task is to do good to Jews, without any ulterior motives. However, we do this officially as Christians and are thus a witness to Jesus: a witness of action, not words.
We do not see active evangelism as our primary path; however, when Jews approach us about our faith, we naturally provide an explanation. In this, we are guided by the words of 1 Peter 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” In this way, we connect our specific mission as an Israel ministry with our missionary existence as Christians. We have experienced God's blessing on this for many years with joy and gratitude. To Him be all glory.
Here you will find our position on the topic of Jewish missions.
This article first appeared in our newspaper "Israelaktuell," issue 138. You can order the newspaper here . We would also be happy to send you several copies for distribution.
