Tag Archives: Moody Bible Institute

Kerstetter Chronicles: April 2016

Six wise and experienced leaders sat around the table. They listened eagerly to our testimonies and our passion to share the Gospel with our beloved Jewish people. They smiled with understanding as we described the steps that God laid out before us to lead us here. They said it’s clear we have been called. And they hired us to do our dream job.

After more than a year of serious consideration and prayer, while BJ has worked as a student missionary with Chosen People Ministries, he has been offered and has accepted the role of full-fledged missionary. The position is contingent on his finishing school, so he will continue to work in ministry part-time as he completes his studies at Moody Bible Institute.

Also, as a crucial part of our training, we will spend most of this summer in Israel! We will join a short-term team with Chosen People for several weeks of outreach and humanitarian aid work, based in Jerusalem, folloOutreach Israelwed by four weeks of intensive Modern Hebrew study at Tel Aviv University. During this time we will also try to reconnect with Israeli friends we made in South America. Please pray that God will be working in their hearts before we see them next, and also for the funding needed for this trip. We need to raise $2,500 outside of our Chosen People ministry fund to be able to pay for Hebrew studies and some travel expenses.

Besides our exciting transition with Chosen People, this last month has been filled with outreach and learning opportunities. We celebrated Purim by distributing gift bags of treats and literature to Israelis who work kiosks in the Chicagoland malls. Through that we were able to have some really good conversations. This is a challenging group to connect with, so please pray for follow up opportunities with them.

Also, that week BJ did a wonderful job leading Passover Seders at four churches. And I had the pleasure of leading a Passover Seder for the children at our church here in Chicago! But since Passover is actually in April this year, we are looking forward to celebrating it some more in the coming weeks!

It is an incredible honor to represent you in sharing the Good News of Messiah with Jewish people, and educating the Church about the rich Jewish roots of our faith.

Thank you for the vital part you play in it all!

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

Kerstetter Chronicles: A Very Jewish Gospel

I can still see the amazement and anticipation on their faces, as Carissa explained what it was like for her growing up as a Jewish follower of Jesus. I held my breath, thinking that any second one of the two Israeli guys or the Jewish girl from New York would get defensive or change the subject. But they looked awestruck. They didn’t say a word, or even seem to blink, as she explained the significance of a part of the Passover Seder that has stumped most rabbis for centuries, and described how clearly it points to Yeshua.

We made the perfect team. When she got stumped trying to explain the Trinity, I was excited to put my studies to good use and explain the significance of the Hebrew word, “echad,” (Deuteronomy 6:4) which means “one” but actually indicates multiple persons in one God.

God allowed us to plant many seeds like these ones in a very short time. We were blessed to see 39 backpackers come through the Shelter on the Lake during our three week stay in Argentina. Nearly all of them were engaged in spiritual conversations and accepted copies of the New Testament. Of course, closest to our hearts are the connections we made with numerous Israelis. By watching and working with the incredible team at the Shelter, we learned various approaches to starting spiritual conversations with backpackers, and grew in boldness. In the second phase of our trip, our survey of potential locations in Brazil answered all of our questions and provided all the information needed. Please continue to pray with us as we try to discern God’s will for our location.

Now that we’re back in Chicago, we are more eager than ever to visit Israel to follow up with the friends we made and learn more about Israeli culture and outreach. So, we are again praying about going to Israel this summer! Plans are in motion, and we will let you know when we know if they will work out! (Please pray that they do!)

All of this has given us renewed passion to pursue this ministry, but has also made us impatient to finish our preparations and begin this work. It is more challenging now to stay focused on what God has for us in Chicago, as our hearts long for the work God has in store for us in Brazil, but we have no doubt that this is where He wants us right now and that He will continue to bless our time here.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support. We wouldn’t be able to do this without you!

Blessings,

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

Kerstetter Chronicles: The Day I Felt at Home in An Orthodox Synagogue

You should have seen it! It was amazing to watch as children ran from all corners of the sanctuary to the center where the rabbi stood. As they ran, they sang out Hebrew words in unison as if they’d sung them a hundred times. They smiled and laughed and praised Adonai; and the congregation began to clap in tempo with their song. I couldn’t help but smile too, and it struck me that I felt at home. I felt like one of them.

I found myself thinking, it wasn’t strange for me to get up early for services, to sit in a wooden pew, or to read from a hard bound book for worship. The prayers were not unlike the ones I’ve prayed all my life. The readings were from Genesis, Deuteronomy and the Psalms. The verses were the same. They spoke of the same God that you and I know and worship.

The rabbi gave a message about knowing God and living for Him in our community. And it blew me away, because it was a message that you might have heard from the pulpit of your church. Of course, it was missing something.

Mixed emotions flooded my heart as I sat there. I’d never expected to feel so at home in an orthodox synagogue. But the feelings of familiarity and belonging made it all the more heartbreaking. I am one of them. We share the same heritage. We celebrate the same holidays, and cook the same recipes from our bubbes’ cookbooks. We worship the same God and read from the same Scriptures.

But I know that Messiah came. And they are still waiting.

My heart just ached as I sat listening to their sincere – and empty – prayers. And then God gently spoke to my heart, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

And I smiled to myself, because I can’t imagine anything more incredible than the honor of introducing even one Jewish brother or sister to Jesus, our Messiah.

But, “how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Romans 10:14-15)

                Send us. The need is now. Let us represent you to Jewish people in Chicago and Israelis in South America. You can be the reason they hear about Jesus.

This month we are so excited to do three weeks of evangelistic outreach to Israeli backpackers at a hostel in Argentina! We covet your prayers as we prepare for this intensive outreach. Please pray that God will equip us physically, mentally and spiritually, and prepare the hearts of the Israelis we will meet.

Thank you for making this outreach possible – for whatever part you have played on this team over the last year. Your generous gifts and dedicated prayer are the reason we can do what we do. And we are incredibly thankful for you!

Blessings on your holiday season and the end of your year!

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

Kerstetter Chronicles: November 2015

You – our partner in the Gospel – are in our cloud of witnesses. You are essential to the team and we need you to reach Israelis. Your sacrifice, whether in prayer, love or financial support, is well worth the cost, because it is for the name of Jesus.

“How much are you willing to give for the sake of the Gospel?” This is what BJ and I keep asking ourselves as we step forward into this ministry.

It’s inspiring to hear stories about Israelis coming to faith. It was exciting to apply for my visa to Brazil this month, and buy plane tickets to Argentina for December. It’s motivating to sit in classes at Moody studying Jewish religious thought and the impact of the Holocaust; and it’s an honor to do outreach to Jewish college students in Chicago.

It’s exciting. Truly. But it’s also terrifying, and really, truly painful. With every step in this direction, we begin to say “goodbye” to home and friends and family. And it already hurts. Will it be worth it?
Jim Elliot put it brilliantly, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Nothing we’re asked to sacrifice could be worth more than the eternal joy and reward of living in God’s will and making His name known.

Because of your generous gifts over the last couple months, we have raised $4,500 of the $7,500 total cost of our winter outreach. Your sacrifice, and the power of your support, is an incredible testimony and encouragement to us. You are the reason we could buy those plane tickets, and sit in those classes, and talk to students about Jesus at Northwestern University. Your gift forwards the Gospel and you inspire us to make our own sacrifices. Thank you!

So, as you pray for this ministry, please pray that we, and our team, will be continually convicted of the infinite worth of sacrifice for the name of Jesus, and that we will echo the heart of King David, who said to Araunah, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing,” (2 Samuel 24:24).

With our sincere gratitude for your sacrifices,

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

Kerstetter Chronicles: October 2015

Imagine you’re standing in line at your favorite café. Through small talk with the college aged guy next to you, you mention that you believe in Jesus. His eagerness surprises you, “I’ve heard of you, Jesus-followers, but never met one! Would you tell me what you believe?”

“I’d love to,” you reply. Drink now in hand, you walk to a nearby table, and watch your new acquaintance invite several friends to join you. Astonished, you end up spending hours answering their eager questions about your faith in Jesus.

Hard to imagine such an incredible opportunity! But this is what happened when our friend, on a short-term outreach to Israeli backpackers in India, met some Israelis in a café, and introduced herself as a Jewish believer in Jesus. Curious to know how a person can believe in Jesus and still be Jewish, they talked with her for hours.

We believe you desire to make the greatest impact for the Lord with the resources you have.  What if you could personally impact eternity for the price of a visit to your favorite café? If every person receiving this letter contributes just $5 more per month for the next four months, the sum would cover the remaining 50% needed for our winter outreach trip. For the price of a latte, you can be the reason an Israeli learns about Jesus.

This December, Lord willing, we will do three weeks of evangelistic outreach to Israelis and gain invaluable experience in hostel ministry in Argentina. Then we will fly to Brazil to visit potential locations for our hostel. This trip is a vital step forward! Please pray for full funding before our departure, and that God will show us the perfect location for this ministry.

Meanwhile, we continue training at Moody Bible Institute. Praise God, this school year is fully covered by scholarships! We are also so thankful that we’ve each seen some improvement in our health. Please continue prayer for full healing and strength.

Through generous commitments over the summer, we have reached 17% of monthly support. Please pray as we work to raise our support to 100% ($6,000/month), required before we can begin ministry in Brazil. Donations now fund our training, outreach trips and ministry work in Chicago.

We so appreciate the essential role you play in this work, and are continually encouraged by the body and love of Christ so beautifully manifested through your faithfulness!

With love,

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

Kerstetter Chronicles: August 2015

Friendly faces crowded the apartment, all talking and laughing as they waited to light the Sabbath candles and have dinner. When we walked in, we knew only our host and hostess. But when we drove away at the end of the evening, we had the distinct impression that God had just led us to our “ministry soul mate.” And it seems we were right!

His name is Stephen Arnold, but many of his friends call him by his Hebrew name, Shmueli. On that winter night in 2012, when our new friend, Vlad, excitedly pulled Shmueli across the room to introduce us, it quickly became clear that this was no chance encounter! Shmueli had just moved to Chicago from North Carolina and prayed that God would send him ministry partners to go to Brazil and open a hostel ministry for Israelis. We knew that God had called us to Jewish ministry, and we dreamed of working with Israeli backpackers, but were praying that God would give us clear direction. We never expected that God would combine BJ’s upbringing in and love for Brazil with my Jewish heritage and heart for Israel to uniquely equip us for such a strategic ministry. But here was a man, with a love for Brazil and passion for Jewish evangelism offering us a dream we didn’t know we had.

Now, almost 3 years later, it is becoming a reality. Friend, we eagerly covet your prayers as we step forward into this new work. As missionaries with Chosen People Ministries, our team of three is working to establish a hostel in Brazil in 2017, to share the gospel of Jesus with the thousands of Israelis that backpack through South America every year. And much needs to be done before then!

Thank you for praying for our summer fundraising project. As we near the end of our travels, we praise God for His provision and for all of the gracious friends and family who have supported and loved on us. Please continue to pray for our full funding by January 2017; our Fall Semester at Moody Bible Institute, beginning on August 24th; and our continued healing from Lyme disease.

Praying continually for an overflow of God’s joy and peace in your life,

BJ and Carissa Kerstetter

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