Equipping the Saints

One of the taglines I keep returning to as a missionary for The Apple of His Eye is that our mission is to “boldly declare Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel to Jewish people and Gentiles; equip local congregations to do the same.” That mission statement fits beautifully with St. Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:11-12...

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (Eph. 4:11-12, ESV)

Part of the work of pastors and evangelists is to “equip the saints”— all those who believe in Jesus — “for the work of the ministry.” Not everyone is called to be a pastor or evangelist, but everyone is called to be prepared to “make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” and to do so “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

In other words, part of our calling as a missionary society is to come alongside local congregations and help them think about ways to bring the Gospel into their local communities and how individual members can share the hope of Jesus with others. Everyone has friends, family, or co-workers who are not Christian. They might be Jewish, or they might be Gentiles, but odds are we all know people who have not yet come to a saving knowledge and relationship with their loving savior, Jesus Christ. The local congregation and their members will know their communities and social groups better than we will, the conversations enable us to partner together using God’s word, prayer, and our experiences to spread the good news of Jesus!

The opportunity to come alongside individuals and congregations has been one of the great joys I have found in my vocation. As part of my dual call as a pastor at Zion in Maywood and as a missionary at the Apple of His Eye, I set up a schedule to speak at Churches once a month. Those speaking events involve preaching, a bible study on Jewish evangelism, and conversations with pastors and members. These presentations have been an excellent opportunity for me to begin talking to and making connections with people as we think about how we partner together to proclaim the Gospel in our communities. I recently had the pleasure of speaking at a church in Oklahoma. A few days later, a member of the congregation reached out to me to ask about her Jewish co-worker and to schedule a time to pray and talk about how she might go about sharing the love of Jesus with this friend of hers! That — dear brothers and sisters — is one example of my joys in this ministry.

Another example I can share is from a recent speaking event at a church in New Jersey. I preached and did a presentation. While there, the pastor asked me how I could partner with him and his congregation in sharing the love of Jesus with their community. We sat together, discussed the community, and brainstormed a few ideas. At the end of the conversation, we decided to keep in touch. His church is now discussing doing a Rosh Hashanah basket outreach in his town. For those of you who are not familiar, the outreach involves putting baskets together for Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish New Year — and the baskets will be filled with apples and honey (to represent a sweet new year), wine or grape juice, challah (an egg bread), and a card wishing people a happy new year. The congregation members will then bring them to friends, neighbors, and family who are Jewish to wish them a happy holiday, express their love for their friends, and hopefully, as I have seen happen before, open the door to Gospel conversations. When people see you care about them, they are more open to talking about faith.

If you would like to join us in prayer and our outreach initiatives or would like to have me speak at your church about what I do as a missionary in Northern New Jersey, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call me at 636-326-4040 Ext. 4 and we can set up a mutually agreed upon date.

Jordan Peiser

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