Why This Jew Went to Church

Friends of Israel Choir

I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into a Baptist church last Sunday to attend a special service. It was the first time in my life entering a Sunday morning Christian service. As a deeply committed Jew, I have no interest in considering other faiths. Yet when a friend had called me the night before and invited me to join her for a “Thank God for Israel Sunday” program, I immediately told her, “Sure, let’s do it.”

I personally do thank G-d for Israel nearly every day, so I was all in.

It was a small, but well-maintained church with a cozy, inviting appearance just two miles from my home in Queens. We sat down at a pew close to the front and immediately two other women greeted us. One of them, Suzy, told me she is looking forward to visiting Israel again in September. “It’s only for five weeks,” she said, “I wish it was for three months.”

A young woman was playing Shalom Aleichem on the wooden grand piano and a large Israeli flag was hung on their stage. There were American flags along the back of the sanctuary. A screen covering the organ pipes projected a multi-colored Israel poster full of Hebrew words. A small band sat in front of it.

So far, so good. I was psyched.

The next song was Jerusalem of Gold.

I noticed that the congregants were eager to sit up front, unlike at my synagogue where there were lots of empty seats separating us from the bima (stage), and the sanctuary was nearly full of people of all ages, races and ethnicities. The church truly lived up to its name, All Nations Baptist Church. Several people were wearing yellow hostage ribbons and the young couple in front of us wore tee-shirts that said, “Oppose ANTI-Semitism” and “Never Again, Never Alone.”

The service started with a few hymns that everyone enthusiastically sang, some waving their arms, with the words on the screen. I didn’t sing along because they mentioned Jesus. Then came my favorite part when the Friends of Israel Choir sang Hatikvah in Hebrew. I did sing along to that one.

Then Parish Pastor John Gibson introduced a raffle for an original artwork he did with an Israel theme and a few congregants passed out the raffle cards.

After a few more hymns, senior Pastor Daniel Shafer presented his talk. I found most of his sermon very gratifying. He began by saying that you cannot open the Bible without seeing Israel and the Jewish people on nearly every page. That it is truly a miracle that the Jewish people have returned to their ancestral home after 2,000 years. That the Jewish people have a divine purpose. Yes, yes and yes!

Pastor Shafer quoted from Psalms 121 to 136 and told the story of Hezekiah, King of the Jews who somehow saved the Jews from an attack by the Assyrian Empire. It was a  story I wasn’t familiar with, but then I’m by no means a religious scholar. He said that G-d has a specific purpose and plan for Jewish people and it benefits and helps me. Jews are not perfect, we’re not perfect, but G-d has a plan to use the Jewish people to influence all nations, was his message.

So far, so good.

But then he spoke about Jesus and how the son of G-d is the Messiah and redeems us through his precious blood. I realize that we have two very different views of the Messiah and of course Jesus’ role in the Coming. I admit I was uncomfortable with these beliefs.

Despite this, I felt there was great respect and appreciation for the Jewish people from churchgoers who sincerely feel a kinship with Israel and for that I believe we should be profoundly grateful. There was no talk about the specifics of this or that political or military action taken by Israel. They view Israel as a righteous nation and as a light unto the world. They admire us and stand beside us. There are no nuances, no buts, no equivocating, no parsing, no moral confusion. Just support. I love that.

A prevalent sentiment among most Jews continues to be to distrust Christians. We fear that they want to convert us to their faith. As if by setting foot into a church one will instantly become a believer in Jesus. But in reality, the odds are much greater that those setting foot onto a “woke” college campus are far likelier to be indoctrinated into the Pro Hamas movement whose members engage in mindless chants, fake and hideous claims and much worse.

We also remember their failure to protect Jews during the Holocaust, the many pogroms among Christian nations in Eastern Europe and Russia, the Church’s responsibility in spreading the message that the Jews killed Christ, and of course there were the Crusades.

Yes, but Christians are not a monolithic group. They differ widely in their practices and outlooks as well. The attitudes towards Jews and Israel among all the many different denominations of Protestantism is beyond the scope of this essay. 

Pastor Shafer said that when they established the Thank God for Israel Sunday, about 20 years ago, the aim was twofold: “First, to let our Jewish friends know they have friends and supporters from true Bible believers and followers of Jesus and second, to continue to instruct members of our own Church, believers in Messiah Jesus, as to why we should pray for Israel.”

He said that attendance has been consistent throughout the 20 or so years that they’ve been doing this and that the reaction among his congregants has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The Bible is a Jewish book written by Jewish People,” Shafer said. “We are always praying for Israel in our services and we’ve been praying for the release of the Israeli hostages as well. It’s not just a once-a-year thing.”

Pastor John Gibson, a founder of the Thank G-d for Israel Sunday, said that one of their aims was to educate people about Israel. “We believe that Jesus is the Messiah, we don’t back down from that, but we also don’t back down from supporting Israel,” he said. “Over the years there has been a misconception about Israel. People are uninformed and ignorant about the whole thing, especially people in the Church.

He said that while a lot of Christians may believe in Replacement Theology, they are wrong. (Replacement Theology is the belief that because the Jewish people rejected Jesus, the Church has replaced Israel as the true Israel.) “We want our people to know why as believers in Jesus, we support Israel. We look to the Bible and we’re not so popular either.”

The All Nations Baptist Church, which recently celebrated its 135th anniversary, may not be representative of all Christian churches or even all Baptist ones. The Olive Branch Baptist Church in Long Beach, NY, also held a Thank G-d For Israel Sunday that same day. Still, though few in number they are strong in their mission.

I believe that when a group of people, particularly one of faith, extends its hand in sincere friendship to the Jewish People and to Israel, openly and without any seeming preconditions, we should accept that hand. And not only that, we should express our thanks and gratitude, that in this morally corrupt world we live in, we share many of their righteous beliefs.

Thank G-d for all our Christian friends.