The History of Immanuel Ministries International

Immanuel Ministries International became the union of two great streams of witness for Jesus Christ: one having its origin in Eastern Europe and the other in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The European Stream

The Eastern European Stream arose in pre-revolutionary Russia when the Czar reigned over the empire that included Estonia. During an all-night prayer meeting in 1904, God laid His hand on the young G.P. Raud in a special way. He was the product of praying parents who had been converted to Christ as a result of a lone Bible left in their hands by an itinerant Moravian missionary, one of the followers of Count Zinzendorf. From that Bible, subsequently read at meal times, came a burden for souls, and a love for the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

G.P. Raud accompanied his father on visits to the homes of poor Jewish families. He returned from those visits with his heart so burdened for them that he emptied his closet of toys and even clothes. Over the years, this burden developed into a great concern for the spiritual relationship of the Jewish people with Jesus, the promised Messiah.

As an adult, Raud formed a mission organization that consistently saw the nine million Jews of Eastern Europe as part of their evangelistic goal. Nine million grew to eleven million during the years preceding the Holocaust initiated by Germany’s Third Reich.

Raud published a mission magazine that always featured an article on reaching the Jewish people for Messiah. This became an integral part of the missionary endeavors of the mission, The Bible Christian Union.

From the mission’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Raud continued to focus the attention of the world’s Christian community on the need for prayer and financial support for evangelistic outreach among Europe’s Jews. The Bible Christian Union developed a daughter mission called the European Hebrew Mission. Later this became the National Jewish Mission as endeavors were made to reach out to the thousands of Jewish immigrants who fled to North America.

On both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, workers gave faithful witness to the saving work of Israel’s Messiah, and God gave the increase, as precious souls were added to the kingdom. Tragically, some of the precious Hebrew believers lost their lives in the reign of terror of Nazi Germany.

The American Stream

Meanwhile, as the Jewish population of North America increased, God gave a similar burden to Atlantic City Baptist Pastor, Dr. Coulson Shepherd. He served on the Raud’s council of reference and lectured in his three-year Bible Institute.

From his Atlantic City church, Dr. Shepherd began to focus some of his weekly radio messages to the Jewish population of greater New York. One particular series was “The Past, Present, and Future of the Jewish People.” Encouraged by the response and at the urging of Christian friends, Dr. Shepherd began a weekly 15-minute broadcast, “Message To Israel” in 1937. As the Message To Israel radio ministry grew, Dr. and Mrs. Shepherd were moved to devote themselves full-time to the ministry.

Moving to Patchogue, New York, personal witness to Jewish people took on a new dimension as workers were added. In addition to being involved in the growing office demands, workers were also responsible for follow-up visitation, tract distribution, and church services. A quarterly magazine was published and sent free to Jewish homes, and excellent gospel tracts were developed.

Through the personal ministry of Dr. and Mrs. Shepherd, hundreds of prayer warriors were enlisted, and as a result, financial needs were met. This proved to be a definite work of God as no appeal for funds was ever made over the broadcast.

The merging of the two streams

In the 1960s, when leukemia became a life-threatening issue, Coulson Shepherd, with the approval of his board, approached the Bible Christian Union and its daughter mission, the National Jewish Mission, about carrying on the ministry of Message To Israel.

Following the move of Bible Christian Union’s head office from Brooklyn to Pennsylvania, a corporation was formed that officially and legally united the ministries of the National Jewish Mission and Message to Israel. The new corporation, Immanuel Ministries International, Inc, was formed.

Through literature distribution, English and Russian radio broadcasts, and the personal outreach of staff and retirees around the United States, the ministry continued.

With a goal of reaching the hearts of Jewish people, the format of the broadcasts used the TENACH (the Old Testament) to teach and proclaim the Gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).

Two passages of Scripture provided the biblical basis for this teaching. To the Jewish leaders of His day, Jesus, said, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me,” John 5:39. To two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus, the resurrected Lord “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself,” Luke 24:27.

God has blessed the outreach to Jewish people. Believing that God has broken down the middle wall of separation between Jewish and Gentile believers, converts to Messiah Jesus were encouraged to become involved in local churches. Churches were revitalized as precious Hebrew believers became active participants in local church life and ministry.

 

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