Messianic (Biblical) Judaism is over 2,000 years old. But from 70 BCE when the second temple was destroyed until 1967, there were no synagogues in which Messianic Jews could worship the Messiah and maintain their Jewish roots, heritage and culture. After the Six-Day War, Messianic synagogues began appearing throughout the world, including
Israel.
Jewish Believers and Friends, Inc. a Messianic Jewish work, was founded in 1977, as a means of reaching the local Jewish community through Biblical Judaism.
We met in borrowed facilities and homes around the city to study and discuss the Holy Scriptures from the Masoretic text. During this time, many Jewish and non-Jewish people alike came to know Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah.
In 1981, we felt God leading us into a more extended work. Thus, Congregation Beth Hallel (House of Praise), the first independent Messianic Jewish synagogue in the Southeast, was founded. The infant work began in leased facilities with a handful of people who believed in the vision God had given us.
Within two years, seven acres of land were purchased in historic
Roswell,
Georgia, and the beautiful synagogue in which we now worship was built. God continued to pour out His blessings, and in 1995 we constructed the Messianic Jewish Community Center (MJCC). The MJCC houses a gym (complete with a large stage for plays and concerts), classrooms and offices.
Today there are more than 200 Messianic congregations worldwide. Messianic synagogues, such as, Congregation Beth Hallel, offer our people an atmosphere conducive to Jewish worship, both for Jewish believers and others seeking to understand the truth of the Torah and the prophets, and the Brit HaDashah (Renewed Covenant).
All are welcome here, where the whole counsel of God is taught and we live the covenant to which we have committed ourselves. A friend said of Messianic Judaism, "We are a people characterized by sharing, giving and building up one another in love to become mature people of depth and service to God."
In Messiah's love, Rabbi Robert and Dorothy Solomon |