Jewish-Gentile Couples are Finding Spiritual Harmony in Messiah!
Every year, many interfaith Jewish-Gentile couples (JGCs) reach out to us because they are in crisis. Couples who have different religious backgrounds often experience significant tensions in the home, and these couples are more likely to divorce. Over the last three decades, we have developed a ministry to JGCs to help them navigate their complex circumstances and find spiritual harmony.
Our JGC missionary team includes trained relationship coaches stationed in branches around the world to minister to couples and families as they wrestle with difficult relationship and spiritual questions. JGC also offers specialised events, various resources and a podcast that features interviews of JGCs who have found a shared faith in Messiah.
This branch of ministry helps bring the healing and restoration of God to families and marriages. And by God’s grace, every year, we see Jewish people in these relationships come to faith in Jesus.
One of our Jewish-Gentile relationship coaches, Annette Sofaer, reports, ‘I have been ministering to Kate*, a Jewish woman in an interfaith marriage. Over the years, Kate’s friends had tried witnessing to her, but she always found this to be very offensive. However, Kate married a Christian man who loved her in a true, unconditional way, and because of his faithful love, she became open to the gospel for the first time in her life.
‘During the COVID lockdown, Kate and I started studying the book of John together over Zoom and continued meeting weekly for the next couple of years. About halfway through that time, Kate professed her faith in Jesus as her Messiah! After more discipleship, she decided to get baptised! It was such a joy to see Kate proclaim her faith in Jesus before her entire church family. Praise God!’
In the 1990s, Jews for Jesus missionary Tuvya Zaretsky noticed that many people contacting Jews for Jesus in Los Angeles were from interfaith and inter-ethnic relationships. Tuvya realised he didn’t fully understand their experiences, which led him to conduct doctoral-level research. He interviewed 50 couples and explored the issues they faced during various relationship stages, such as dating, marriage and raising children.
Tuvya says, ‘We found that couples coming to us weren’t seeking resources offering only traditional Jewish solutions. They wanted experiences that respected the cultures of both partners. Many reported being marginalised by traditional synagogues.’ Tuvya’s research became the springboard for JGCs, a ministry that is in demand now more than ever.
According to a 2023 report by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research**, intermarriage rates for secular Jews are at nearly 70% in the USA and almost 50% in Europe. As intermarriage rates continue to rise among Jewish people worldwide, there is a growing need for support to help these couples find spiritual harmony in Messiah, Yeshua. Your prayers and support make it possible to reach these couples and provide the help and support they are desperately seeking.
Last October, our Jews for Jesus Canada branch organised their first-ever dinner specifically for JGCs. All our missionaries in Canada are themselves part of a JGC and understand the unique challenges these couples face.
The event featured an environment where both partners would feel welcome. An amazing team of volunteers from two local congregations ran a children’s programme, giving the adults uninterrupted time to get to know one another over food, conversation and games.
Between the intermarried couples and their children, 42 people came! A diverse range of age, ethnic and spiritual backgrounds were represented. Everyone present expressed that they had been longing for this kind of community.
One of the participants, Gabe*, is a new Jewish believer who had never been in a room with other Jewish believers in Messiah before. It was a moving experience for him. He later told his Jewish parents about the event and was shocked when they said, ‘We want to come to the next one!’
Canada Branch Leader Aden Friedman says, ‘Please join us in praying for momentum, successful follow-up and the continued growth of the JGC community in Canada. Praise God for His grace and the beautiful work He has begun in the lives of these families!’
You can find many more stories of how interfaith couples found spiritual harmony in Messiah at www.jewishgentilecouples.com
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
**https://www.jpr.org.uk/reports/intermarriage-jews-and-non-jews-global-situation-and-its-meaning