Most of us remember our first sortie. I remember skaking with fear as I began my mission for God.
The feelings most had before going out on the streets to pass out Jews for Jesus tracts usually were feelings of fear.
Once we got going, the fear left us, and boldness entered our being.
During my first sortie, a young Jewish man stopped and argued with me. He was very surprised to find out that I was doing "this" as a volunteer. I will never forget telling him that no one had forced me to go on the streets and share my love of Jesus; I wanted to tell the world the wonderful message of God's love.
He assumed I was a member of some cult and had been forced to stand on a street corner and pass out brochures. My statement that I wanted to be there changed his attitude.
I don't remember if I did the "JFJ thing" and got his name and address for further follow-up; I was too new to JFJ to know that I was supposed to do that, but the excitement of talking to him made me want to go on more and more sorties!
So, whenever a JFJ missionary called me to volunteer for a sortie, I rarely said no.
When I went on Jews for Jesus staff I knew I would have to go on sorties. The idea of going on many sorties a week excited me, but soon, I found that most JFJ staff dreaded sorties. Not only did they dread sorties, but most dreaded the way JFJ had them share the gospel. I was sad to learn that most JFJ leaders rarely went on sorties.
The entire methodology of JFJ was built around JFJ's boldness and JFJ's leaders didn't even participate in the methods that JFJ shared with the church!
The whole thing was a scam and I was a part of it.
There was no longer joy in broadsiding. If a Jewish person now approached me on the streets I could not answer that I wanted to be there sharing my love for Jesus.
The truth was that JFJ forced me to stand on the streets to promote JFJ's LIE. Jews for Jesus did not really want to share the gospel with the world; Jews for Jesus just wanted to promote Jews for Jesus.
http://exjewsforjesus.org/
http://exjewsforjesus.blogspot.com/
7 comments:
Like any scholarship program, rural churches donating money for "street evangelism" in the inner city give with the idea of helping and advancing the gospel. However, scholarship programs have something Jews for Jesus does not have, people grateful for the opportunity another afforded them.
Scholarship programs want donors to see those who graduate expressing their gratitude for your gift. They want you to feel the connection with the graduate so you will get the reward for your gift in hopes you will give again.
Jews for Jesus has never printed similar quotes from their "graduates." Those they lead to Jesus aren't pictured in their new congregation with words of appreciation from the pastor. WHY NOT? Are they favoring one domination over another or are there just no one there to quote. My experience is that they have no one to quote.
If Jews for Jesus had been doing the work of evangelist where 10 Gentiles came to know the Lord for every Jew, then after 30 years of campaigns there should be tens of thousands of opportunities. Yet Jews for Jesus can't find references from pastors whose congregations are growing from their form of evangelism. The silence in all the church papers after a Jews for Jesus campaign is deafening. Check it out for yourself.
Are churches paying people $40,000 a year to pass out flyers? The donors cutting the check to Jews for Jesus, Inc. would rightly argue they aren't writing checks just to pay someone to pass out flyers.
What gives Jews for Jesus, Inc. the right to call some of their company employees "evangelists" or "missionaries?" Employees ordained by other employees would hardly validate a “calling.” It is rare to see a branch manager ordained by their own denomination. Yet these managers serve as boss, pastor, and dorm supervisor to their branch? Isn't there a conflict of interest of holding these titles at the same time?
Besides the company's name, what gives employees the right to call someone "saved?" If Jesus for Jesus, Inc. was called "Microsoft" or "Exxon," would they be allowed to do the same?
What other corporation is allowed to speak as evangelists without first verifying their training and their work? Not one! So what does anyone know about Jews for Jesus, Inc that didn't come from Jews for Jesus, Inc.? Why is Jews for Jesus, Inc the only one talking about their work?
If Jews for Jesus, Inc. spent time being an evangelist during the times they say they are doing gospel presentations, they could rise up on eagle’s wings. One only needs to look at the faces of those lugging heavy tract bags to their leaders don't exemplify compassion or joy.
Getting back to the topic ...
I personally always enjoyed sorties. It was an opportunity to meet people. I always felt that I was some how planting a little seed. And yes, there were stories of people who came to know Jesus as a result of being out there. I doubt the broadsides did more than start a conversation, but then that is all they were designed to do.
I guess I left JFJ before the "hard times" of sorties, as I am told now that there is an actual script that must be used when speaking with people or "sharing the gospel" with them.
Thinking back, yhere were good time and bad times. The good times was when I could go where I want and did not have restrictions put on me. If one spot did not have enough foot traffic, I went to another spot that did. It didn't matter when I showed up, as long as I was there a full two hours.
On the other hand, a sortie could also be terrible. If I told to be at a certain place, and that place was "dead," I suffered. If I had to be there at a certain time and I was five minutes late, I suffered big time. When I had others over me telling me what to do, it was horrible.
I didn't know sorties had changed to where people had to do them at certain times.
I didn't know that there is now a script to follow when people stop to talk on sorties.
Please explain the new sortie policies.
There is no script.
IN my time with Jews for Jesus, which ended in 2003, there sure was a script. It was called, "The Proposal Statement."
We had to memorize it word for word before they allowed us on the streets.
Very few (if any) of their full-time staff use the proposal statement. It's mostly so that their volunteers don't sound like idiots out on the street.
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