International Mission to Jewish People (IMJP) is to step up its efforts to reach and share the gospel with Jewish people living in London, the result of a discernible new openness among some to hear and receive the good news.
One such person was Simon, a young Jewish punk rock singer. Befriended by an IMJP missionary, he revealed how tough he was finding lockdown. The missionary talked about the hope he had in Jesus, Simon accepted a copy of John’s Gospel and the two are now having regular one-to-one Bible studies.
IMJP is responding to this desire to learn more about Christianity by expanding its team of missionaries in the capital, and a series of events including an ‘In the City’ mission and a Summer School of Jewish Evangelism in 2022, as well as ongoing outreach events taking place in London’s Jewish community.
Another evangelist, Ida Tam, has just been recruited to join IMJP’s existing missionary team in London, Philip Amos and Sarah Chan. Originally from Hong Kong, Ida has been involved in Jewish mission for over 20 years, working alongside evangelism teams in Israel and Europe on short-term missions.
Currently, London has around 200,000 Jewish residents, Europe’s third largest Jewish community, and contains Europe’s highest population of Ultra-Orthodox Jews.
IMJP’s CEO, Joseph Steinberg, said: ‘Twenty-five years ago I was shouted at, spat at and suffered all manner of abuse when I sought to share Jesus, but today the position is very different. We believe the influx of a new generation of Israelis into London and the effects of the pandemic have forced people to re-evaluate their lives. We feel that now is the time to refocus our efforts on London, so that the thousands of Jewish people who live in the capital can hear about the Messiah Jesus.’
