Jews for Jesus
Professional services
UnclaimedAn international Christian missionary organization affiliated with the Messianic Jewish movement.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Jews for Jesus is an international Christian missionary organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is affiliated with the Messianic Jewish movement and focuses its evangelistic work primarily on Jewish audiences, while also presenting itself as a community in which Jewish cultural and religious heritage is combined with Christian belief. Its central theological claim is that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, the Son of God, and the source of salvation. The organization began in 1970 under the name Hineni Ministries. It was established by Moishe Rosen, a Jewish convert to Christianity who had served as a Baptist minister and had previously worked with the American Board of Missions to the Jews. Hineni Ministries initially operated as a subsidiary of that organization. By 1972, newspapers and the public were increasingly referring to Rosen's ministry as Jews for Jesus. Rosen subsequently left the American Board of Missions to the Jews, and in 1973 incorporated an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit under the name Jews for Jesus. Its early activities included street evangelism, public outreach, and work on college campuses, first in San Francisco and later through branches in cities including New York, Chicago, and Boston. The headquarters moved to its present San Francisco location in 1978. International expansion began in 1981. The organization has described itself as maintaining offices in multiple countries and cities, including locations in North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Israel. Jews for Jesus teaches that Jewish identity and faith in Jesus can coexist. Its statement of faith treats the Old and New Testaments as divinely inspired and authoritative, affirms one God in three persons, teaches that humanity is separated from God by sin, and presents Jesus's death as a substitutionary sacrifice. It also affirms the resurrection, the church as a people made up of Jewish and non-Jewish believers, and the future return of Jesus. These doctrines place the organization within Christianity, despite its use of Jewish language, symbols, customs, and communal forms. The organization's identity has been the subject of sustained religious and legal controversy. Jewish religious authorities and major Jewish communal bodies generally reject the description of Jews for Jesus as a Jewish religious organization. They regard belief in Jesus as Messiah or deity as incompatible with Judaism and commonly classify Messianic Judaism as a form of Christianity. Critics have also accused the organization of using Jewish symbols and cultural references to make Christian proselytism appear Jewish, particularly when approaching unaffiliated Jews, Russian immigrants, students, and people experiencing social or spiritual isolation. Jews for Jesus rejects the characterization that its work is deceptive and argues that Jewish belief in Jesus is historically and religiously legitimate. The organization has also faced criticism from some Christian and interfaith groups that oppose targeted conversion of Jews or object to evangelism that combines Jewish and Christian symbols. At the same time, conservative evangelical supporters have defended its missionary activity as a continuation of the Jewish origins of the early Christian movement. Moishe Rosen led the organization until 1996, when he stepped down as executive director to work as a full-time staff missionary. David Brickner then became executive director and held the role until May 2024. Aaron Abramson is identified as the current executive director and chief executive officer. Jews for Jesus is described as a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and MissioNexus, and it is governed through boards associated with several national and regional operations.
History
Jews for Jesus emerged from the Hebrew Christian missionary movement in the United States. Its founder, Moishe Rosen, was a Jewish convert to Christianity who became a Baptist minister and worked with the American Board of Missions to the Jews. In 1970 he established Hineni Ministries as an affiliated subsidiary. The ministry's public work centered on communicating Christian beliefs to Jewish audiences while retaining Jewish cultural references and practices. By 1972, media coverage commonly used the phrase Jews for Jesus to describe the ministry. The phrase had originally functioned as one of several slogans, but public usage gradually turned it into the organization's operating name. In 1973 Rosen separated from the American Board of Missions to the Jews and incorporated an independent organization under the name Jews for Jesus as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The organization's early methods included street outreach and evangelism on college campuses in San Francisco. It later established branches in New York, Chicago, and Boston. In 1978 its headquarters moved to the San Francisco location it continues to identify as its base. The group began expanding outside the United States in 1981 and developed offices and ministry operations in cities across North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Israel. Its institutional identity is rooted in Messianic Jewish theology. Jews for Jesus states that Jewish heritage and Christian faith are not mutually exclusive and that Jewish people can accept Jesus while continuing to identify with Jewish history and culture. Its formal theology is recognizably Christian: it affirms the authority of both Testaments, the Trinity, human sin, the atoning death and bodily resurrection of Jesus, salvation through faith, and the eventual return of Jesus. This position has produced a persistent conflict with Jewish religious and communal authorities. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist representatives, along with other Jewish organizations, have generally maintained that Jews for Jesus is a Christian missionary body rather than a Jewish religious organization. Critics object both to the theology and to the organization's outreach methods, arguing that Jewish symbols and terminology can obscure the Christian objective of conversion. The organization has particularly attracted criticism for targeting students, unaffiliated Jews, and immigrant communities. Jews for Jesus maintains that its message is transparent and that belief in Jesus is compatible with Jewish identity. The group has also encountered disagreement within Christian and interfaith settings. Some Christian denominations and church bodies oppose proselytizing Jews on theological or interfaith grounds, while evangelical supporters defend Jews for Jesus as a legitimate missionary expression of Christianity. These competing reactions have made the organization a recurring subject in discussions about religious freedom, interfaith relations, conversion, and the boundaries of Jewish identity. Legal disputes have included a successful 1987 Supreme Court free-speech case concerning evangelism at Los Angeles International Airport, domain-name and internet disputes in 1998 and 2005–2006, and a 2006 lawsuit by Jackie Mason over the use of his name and likeness in an evangelistic pamphlet. The Mason dispute ended after an apology and the withdrawal of the pamphlet. In 2014 the organization released That Jew Died for You, a video connecting Jesus with Jewish victims of the Holocaust; its imagery prompted controversy over the use of Holocaust memory in missionary communication. Rosen remained executive director until 1996, after which he continued as a staff missionary. David Brickner led the organization from 1996 until May 2024. Aaron Abramson then became executive director and CEO. The organization continues to operate as an international nonprofit missionary ministry, with local offices, public evangelism, print and digital communications, and educational and community-oriented activities.
- 2024
Aaron Abramson takes executive leadership
[1]Aaron Abramson became executive director and CEO after Brickner's tenure ended.
- 2014
That Jew Died for You released
[1]The organization issued a short video using Holocaust imagery to present Jesus as a Jewish victim and Messiah.
- 2006
Jackie Mason litigation concludes
[1]A dispute over an evangelistic pamphlet ended after an apology and the organization's decision to retire the material.
- 1996
David Brickner succeeds Moishe Rosen
[1]Rosen stepped down as executive director and David Brickner assumed leadership.
- 1987
Supreme Court free-speech victory
[2]The Supreme Court ruled unanimously for Jews for Jesus in a challenge involving restrictions on religious expression at Los Angeles International Airport.
- 1981
International expansion begins
[1]Jews for Jesus began developing operations outside the United States.
- 1978
Headquarters relocates to San Francisco
[1]The organization moved its headquarters to San Francisco, which remains its principal base.
- 1973
Independent Jews for Jesus nonprofit incorporated
[1]Rosen left the American Board of Missions to the Jews and incorporated the organization under its current name as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
- 1972
Public adoption of the Jews for Jesus label begins
[1]Newspaper coverage increasingly referred to the ministry as Jews for Jesus, a phrase that had initially been used as a slogan.
- 1970
Hineni Ministries established
[1]Moishe Rosen founded Hineni Ministries as an affiliated ministry of the American Board of Missions to the Jews.
Products and positioning
A Christian missionary organization that presents faith in Jesus as compatible with Jewish identity and heritage, while operating within the broader Messianic Jewish movement.
Religious publishing
Evangelistic literature
Jews for Jesus produces pamphlets, books, explanatory materials, and other printed resources intended to communicate Christian claims about Jesus to Jewish audiences. These materials commonly use Jewish cultural references and religious vocabulary while arguing that the New Testament fulfills or is compatible with the Hebrew Bible. Their use has also been central to criticism of the organization's missionary methods.
Religious media
Digital media
The organization uses websites, online articles, social media, and video to explain its theology, publish testimonies, promote missionary activity, and address objections from Jewish and Christian audiences. Digital communications extend its outreach beyond local offices and allow it to present its interpretation of Jewish identity and Christian faith to international audiences.
Missionary service · 1970
Street and campus outreach
Street evangelism and college-campus outreach were among the organization's earliest activities and remain representative of its public-facing missionary model. Staff and volunteers engage people in public spaces, distribute literature, hold conversations, and invite audiences to explore the organization's interpretation of Jesus as Messiah.
Controversies
2014
Controversy over Holocaust-themed evangelistic video
The organization's That Jew Died for You video drew criticism for using imagery of Auschwitz and the Holocaust to support a Christian missionary message.
2006
Jackie Mason pamphlet dispute
Jackie Mason sued after a Jews for Jesus pamphlet used his name and likeness in a way he said falsely suggested affiliation. A federal judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction, and Mason later dropped the case after David Brickner apologized and the organization agreed to retire the pamphlet.
Marketing campaigns
- 2014That Jew Died for You
United States · International digital audiences
A three-minute video released around Passover, Holy Week, and Holocaust Remembrance Day portrayed Jesus carrying a cross before being sent to a gas chamber by an Auschwitz guard. Jews for Jesus said the production was intended to identify Jesus with Jewish Holocaust victims and present his death within its Christian theology.
Outcome. The film became a subject of public controversy because it combined Holocaust imagery with evangelistic messaging.
Brand decisions
2006
Retire the Jackie Mason pamphletOtherBackground
Mason disputed the pamphlet's use of his identity and alleged that it created a misleading impression of religious affiliation.
Action taken
Following an apology, Jews for Jesus agreed to withdraw and retire the pamphlet while maintaining that its distribution had constitutional protection.
Aftermath
Mason accepted the apology and withdrew the lawsuit.
1981
Expand missionary operations internationallyStrategyBackground
After establishing a U.S. base and branches in several American cities, the organization sought to reach Jewish communities outside the United States.
Action taken
Jews for Jesus began international expansion and later developed offices in multiple countries and cities.
Aftermath
The organization became an international rather than solely U.S.-based missionary ministry.
1973
Adopt the Jews for Jesus name as the independent organizationStrategyBackground
Public and media usage had made Jews for Jesus more recognizable than the ministry's original name, Hineni Ministries.
Action taken
Moishe Rosen left the affiliated mission organization and incorporated an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit under the Jews for Jesus name.
Aftermath
The name became the organization's enduring public identity and shaped its distinctive positioning at the intersection of Jewish heritage and Christian evangelism.
Recent events
Sources3 sources
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