Tag Archives: 2017

February 2017: Detour to New Zealand

More Jewish followers of Jesus live in Israel today than any other time in history. At the time of Pentecost (Shavuot) there were only 3,000 Jewish believers in the Land. Today, there are 30,000.

Though, God allowed a partial hardening of Jewish hearts, He promised that there would always be a remnant of Jewish people who are faithful to Him, (Romans 11:1-4). Our work – your work – is not in vain. Jewish people will continue to come to faith in Yeshua our Messiah. That’s a promise.

It encouraged our hearts to see this enduring truth fulfilled again in our own generation at Muchan, Chosen People Ministry’s international conference for Messianic young adults. Young Jewish and Gentile believers from across the globe gathered together to fellowship, look into Scripture, be challenged, and worship God together.

While there, we got to connect face-to-face with our ministry partner and friend, Stephen (Shmueli) Arnold, and hear more detail on his recent trip to Rio de Janeiro. There are many preparations to make before we move there as a team, as planned, in 2018. So, we are thankful for the ways that God has gone before us and for the groundwork Shmueli has laid to begin establishing a Brazilian board of directors for Chosen People Ministries, Brazil. God willing, this will be a step into further outreach to the Jewish community in Brazil.

After our Hebrew course in Tel Aviv and return to the States in March, our primary goal for this year will be growing our partnership team and raising 100% of our required monthly donations by October 2017, before we travel to New Zealand for our team’s first full backpacker season of ministry together. The three of us plan to work together at Zula Lodge, an extension of Chosen People Ministries, in New Zealand from November 2017 – April 2018. BJ and I look forward to finally working full time directly with Israeli outreach, as well as gaining experience and mentorship and further team bonding with Shmueli before we pioneer a new work together in Brazil.

As always, we covet your prayers for each piece of this extensive process, and are endlessly grateful for your faithful support each step of the way. We are not exagerating when we say, we could not do this without you.

Love in Yeshua,

BJ & Carissa

January 2017: Muchan [Ready]

Happy New Year to you and love from Prague! We’ve started 2017 off at full speed here at Chosen People Ministries’ Muchan conference and our calendar is packed into 2018! Every month this year is full of plans, from Hebrew studies in Tel Aviv to an exciting outreach destination for Fall 2017 (that we’re going to keep you guessing about just a little longer). Perhaps our most exciting plans this year are the ones we want to make with you!

After we complete our Hebrew program and return to the States in March, our priority for 2017 is growing and connecting with our incredible team of prayer warriors and financial partners (we love you!). This means that from May into September we will be crisscrossing the nation to catch up with you over coffee, update you on all you have enabled us to do thus far, share our heart for Israel and ministry vision with your Bible study or small group and pray together about how we can be a part of God’s great rescue mission for a lost and broken world.

Even as we return to the classroom and Hebrew grammar books this month, we are praying about how God will grow our partner team this summer. If you share our heart to reach young Israelis with the love of Yeshua, would you join us in advocating for this exciting opportunity to love on them in real and tangible ways? Perhaps you have friends who love Israel or share our heart for Jewish ministry, or maybe your Bible study has been praying about how to be a part of the Great Commission. Please email us if you are interested in hosting a ministry presentation or would like to sit down with us and talk about how you can join our team as a financial partner. It is only by the generous donations and fervent prayers of dedicated partners, such as you, that we can do this vital work. We are already setting dates on our calendar, so let us know soon if you want to put us on yours!

And please continue in prayer for us as we dive back into intensive language studies and stretch our brains and energy to their limits. We are so thankful for you and hope you will be overwhelmed by the Peace and Joy of our Messiah as we trust Him with each day and moment of this new year.

Love in Yeshua,

BJ and Carissa

Kerstetter Chronicles: June & July

“Am Yisrael Chai! Stand with Israel!” voices shouted in unison with the blasting shofars and rallying drum beats, as the crowd snaked through the northern suburban park. Waving flags of white and blue and banners proclaimed our unified purpose and heart cry.

We were proud to be a part of it all – to make a public statement that despite the increasingly hideous news claims and accusations made against her, we stand with Israel. All of our connections in Chicago were represented there. Friends from Moody Bible Institute, Chosen People Ministries and several Messianic synagogues walked behind and in front of us. And each one was there because of a deeply felt importance of identifying with Israel before a cynical world.

In light of our American Independence Day, our hearts are stirred with a similar national pride and a deeply felt gratitude for our freedom. Truly, God has blessed America. But, as a nation, we stand at a crossroads before God. Will we continue to stand with Israel, or will we turn our back on her? As individuals, we must do what we can to sway the tide. Will we each take a stand against the modern faces of anti-Semitism? Will we accept the influence of political misinformation and faulty hermeneutics on our churches and schools? Or will we seek and stand for truth?

With each new strain placed on our ties with Israel, a familiar verse is brought continually to our minds.

“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” Genesis 12:3

So, this month, as we celebrate our great nation and our blessed freedoms, I urge you to pray for the United States of America, and our relationship with the people of Covenant. May we never turn our backs on Israel, and may God always bless America.

As we travel around the country this month, we would appreciate prayer specifically that we will present our ministry clearly and simply, and that God will move in many hearts to join our partnership team through prayer and financial support. Please also pray for continued recovery for both of us from our Lyme treatments in May, and strength & energy for our travels.

As always, we are so thankful for your love, prayer and support for us, and we pray that God will use us and this ministry to richly bless you.

Love in Yeshua,

 BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

Kerstetter Chronicles: March & April

“Ilu natan, natan lanu. Natan lanu et ha Shabbat. Natan lanu et ha Shabbat. Dai-a-nu. Dai-dai-anu. Dai-dai-anu. Dai-dai-anu. Dai-anu! Dai-anu!”

Grins broke across each face around the table as the familiar Hebrew words, sung out in unison, filled the room and affirmed in our hearts the eternal truth, “It really would have been enough.” If God had brought us out of slavery in Egypt and had not split the sea for us; If He had only split the sea for us, but had not brought us through on dry ground; If He had only brought us through on dry ground, but had not provided us manna in the desert for forty years; If He had only fed us with manna, but had not given us the Sabbath. It would have been enough! But God has done so much more for us.

“Dai-anu!” the song finished, and the voices seemed to fade into the memory of songs sung in Passovers gone by. As the head of the house began to explain each element of the Passover service, I thought to myself, “There must be thousands of Jewish people across the world singing this song tonight and praising God for His miraculous provision for Israel. God has done so much for us!” And I ached inside as I thought for the thousandth time, “If only they could see just how much He has done for us. If only they could believe that Jesus is the Messiah that God promised.” And for the thousandth time, God spoke to my heart, “I have not forsaken them. I will open their eyes and they will know that Yeshua is the One they have been waiting for.” And again a passion was ignited in my heart. “We must tell them. We must share the truth that Yeshua is the promised Messiah.”

Will you partner with us, as we continue our ministry preparations and find opportunities here in Chicago to share the truth of Messiah with Jewish people? Your prayer and financial partnership are crucial as we continue studies at Moody Bible Institute and prepare to begin full time work with Chosen People Ministries reaching Israeli backpackers in Brazil in the year 2017. 

Please be praying with us:

  • Praise – A Jewish man from our executive Passover outreach downtown prayed to receive the Lord this week!
  • Praise – Carissa’s health has continued to improve since treatment in January. Please pray that both BJ and she will soon make complete recoveries.
  • Praise – God has provided $600 for BJ to get the same Lyme treatment in May. Please pray that He will provide the remaining $2,000 needed.
  • Praise – We have received commitments of monthly support totaling $345/month. Please pray as we develop a partnership team with the goal of reaching Chosen People Ministry’s requirement of full support, $6,000/month, by January 2017.
  • Praise – our ministry partner, Stephen (Shmueli) Arnold, just returned from a productive survey trip to Brazil. He has identified three possible locations for our hostel ministry. Please pray that God will give us clear direction as we consider these options.

Finally, please pray for us as we make plans to travel this summer. We are now scheduling dates to speak in churches and present our ministry. If you are interested in partnering with us, or know of someone who would be, please email us! We would love to share our ministry vision with you personally or with your Bible study or small group.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support of us. May God use your connection to this work to richly bless you.

“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”

Romans 11:11

Love,

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

If you would like to partner with us financially donate to our account with Chosen People Ministries at chosenpeople.com/donation *Please be sure to write “BJ Kerstetter” in the space marked special designation. If you would like to contribute toward BJ’s Lyme treatment, school bill or other expenses, click the button below: