In 1973, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod passed a resolution calling on the church body to begin to study ways and means for helping congregations to witness to the Jewish people. Dr. Erv Kolb, then Secretary to the Board for Evangelism, took charge and formed a Task Force on Witnessing to the Jewish People. They had their first meeting shortly after that resolution was passed. They began to develop witnessing materials for congregations to use in reaching out to the Jewish community as they held their meetings three times a year.

I first met Dr. Kolb in 1979 when he came to San Francisco to spend a week teaching at the Jews For Jesus headquarters as all the staff were gathered together. Shortly after that time, I was invited to be a guest at the Task Force meeting. That guest appearance led to my becoming a full member of the Task Force. We conducted meetings in various cities, and met with many trying to get a hearing to include Jewish people in the mission of the church. We initiated numerous Synodical resolutions addressing the needs for missions to the Jews.

In 1989, Dr. Kolb retired from his position. It was feared that the Task Force would be retired with him, but instead of drifting away, we were moved to be constituted under the Board For Missions Services. Dr. Leonard Harms began to guide the Task Force to take action and open new mission fields among the Jewish people in North America. By 1989, we set a goal to open ten new fields by the end of the decade. Then Dr. Harms took a call to head up missions in Canada, and I was named the Chairman of the Task Force.

In 1989, I received the first call (after the 1973 Synodical resolution) be a missionary to the Jewish people and serve in New York City. After much prayer, I declined that call. Mr. Marc Danzis was ultimately called. Mission stations were opened in Los Angeles under Milt Kohut, Chicago under Darla Schmidt, and Dave Tengbom started his service in Los Angeles, too. And then Rev. Bruce Lieske was called to open up a mission station in the Orlando area.

In 1992, I was called to serve in the volunteer position of Field Counselor for Jewish Evangelism under North American Missions Executive Secretary, Dr. Robert Scudieri. My role was to work with Districts and congregations who needed direction in reaching out to the Jewish people. My missionary duties with Jews For Jesus afforded me only seven days a year for this position. But the work expanded far beyond needed just seven days of my leadership towards this effort.

The phrase, The Apple of His Eye, actually was the name of a planned a two-week witnessing training event in New York City (The Big Apple). Rev. Dave Born, one of the key Task Force members, and I sat at a small table at a cafe at Kennedy airport while I was between flights from Boston to Dallas. I outlined what it would take to conduct such an outreach and he took notes on a napkin. The result of Rev. Born's hard work was the very first Apple of His Eye intensive training event.

In January of 1995, Dr. Moishe Rosen, the founder of Jews For Jesus, was at a foreign missions conference in Connecticut and Dr. Scudieri was also in attendance. They discussed what it would take for me to leave Jews For Jesus after twenty years of missionary service and make a transition to serving full-time within the Lutheran Church. Discussions culminated in December of 1995 and after a transition period for a new leader to take my position in Ft. Lauderdale, I began this new endeavor in St. Louis in August of 1996.

This new Apple of His Eye Mission Society resulted from a unique   opportunity in our church body. As a mission developer through the Missouri District with a partnership agreement with the Board for Missions Services, we seek to coordinate Jewish Missions in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

One key component to this new startup is the establishment of a new Missionary Training Center.   We have more opportunities for mission stations in North America (not to mention the need to reach the Jewish people in the world areas, too) than we have trained people. Those who are on station now will benefit when they take part in the in-field service training events. The new training center will focus on developing the practical aspects of the missionary craft.

There are over sixteen million unsaved Jewish people in the world. Over six million reside in North America. We are fervently striving to be diligent and urgent in preparing and sending well-trained missionaries to present the Gospel to all who are willing to hear, to the Jew first.

Since we began in 1996, we have established partner ministries in Houston, Los Angeles and New York City. Also we have begun a new global prayer initiative, The Apple of His Eye International Prayer Consortium, to under gird all our efforts through the prayers of God's people.

We conduct annual short-term mission training events in St. Louis, New York City and others cities, too. These events bring together pastors and lay people, Jews and gentiles, men and women to sharpen their personal skills in reaching others with the Gospel through class room settings and going out in teams to the local highways and neighborhoods. If you would like information on how you could participate in upcoming events, click this link here.

Many Christians have Jewish friends and yet feel stymied as to how they might help them consider the Gospel. We have a growing reservoir of culturally sensitive materials for you to share with your Jewish friends. These tools have been developed for your use so that more people might have the opportunity to consider the claims of Christ.  

If you would like us to personally contact your Jewish friends with some of our materials and a personalized letter of witness, please e-mail us with their name, home address, phone number, e-mail address if available, and some background on the person. That information can be sent to : .

We can not possibly reach all the Jewish people in the US or around the world by ourselves, so we seek to build partnerships with other Christians who share our passion to reach the lost before it is too late.   If you would like to have us come to your church, please call our St. Louis office at 636-326-4040 and we can discuss the opportunities. We usually plan at least 6 months ahead of time, so the earlier you call the more likely you will receive the dates you are interested in. We schedule on a first come first served basis.   If you would like to see a sampling of some of the churches we have been to, click this link to go to our church database  

The Apple of His Eye is a faith mission and each missionary trusts God to provide for his/her mission support through caring Christian friends. We invite you to prayerfully become involved in our ministry first through prayer, then through personal witness, then through volunteering, and finally through financial support over and above your regular church giving. If you would like to donate online we have a secure server for that purpose: click here  

or if you prefer, you can send your tax-deductible donations to:

The Apple of His Eye - PO Box 6977 - St. Louis   MO 63123.

If you have questions, we are here to answer them. Call us, write us or e-mail us and we will respond quickly.   - Steve Cohen