Beit Hallel Congregation - Israel

[Convert2013]

Does anyone know about this congregation in Israel? I’ve done some searching and haven’t found much regarding any core beliefs or doctrines.

The reason I ask is that I have some relatives who have gone to Israel a few years ago under what I believe is the guise of missionary work. To date they have told us very little about what they are doing. They are non-Catholic and were Christian but of unknown denomination. When pressed about what religion this is and what church this is affiliated with, they never give a direct answer or avoid it altogether.

All I can tell is that it seems to be some sort of evangelization efforts in Ashdod, Israel claiming to be of Jews & non-Jews coming together to worship.

 

[chefmomster2]

Does anyone know about this congregation in Israel? I’ve done some searching and haven’t found much regarding any core beliefs or doctrines.

The reason I ask is that I have some relatives who have gone to Israel a few years ago under what I believe is the guise of missionary work. To date they have told us very little about what they are doing. They are non-Catholic and were Christian but of unknown denomination. When pressed about what religion this is and what church this is affiliated with, they never give a direct answer or avoid it altogether.

All I can tell is that it seems to be some sort of evangelization efforts in Ashdod, Israel claiming to be of Jews & non-Jews coming together to worship.

It seems to be a Messianic-Judaism group, Jews who believe that Yeshua is the promised Jewish Messiah. They do a lot of evangelization and have many outreach programs.

Per Wikipedia: Salvation in most forms of Messianic Judaism is achieved only through acceptance of Jesus as one’s savior. It is believed that all sin has been atoned for by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Any Jewish laws or customs that are followed are cultural and do not contribute to salvation. Belief in the messiahship and divinity of Jesus, which Messianic Judaism generally shares, is viewed by many Christian denominations and Jewish religious movements as a defining distinction between Christianity and Judaism. Mainstream Christian groups usually accept Messianic Judaism as a form of Christianity.

The Messianic Jewish Alliance of America website has further info about the beliefs of these groups:

http://www.mjaa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=rd_messianicmovement_messianic_judaism

From the Beit Hallel Congregation website: ]http://vojisrael.org/our-vision-focus/

"Planting new congregations in Israel

Since 2005, Voice of Judah has planted four congregations in Israel, with three more existing ones joining our family of congregations. So many cities in Israel have been barren spiritually and untouched by the gospel. There are no congregations or even home groups in them. Our goal is to restore the ministry of the first apostles, by bringing the gospel into every city in Israel and establishing houses of worship."

Unfortunately they have been the focus of some violent protests.

This is a report from CNN from 2011 covering a demonstration against the group.

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-635482

Ongoing Persecution of Messianic Jews Chaim Goldberg — April 28, 2013

http://maozblog.com/israel/ongoing-persecution-of-messianic-jews/#