Chosen People Ministries in Chicago works on college campuses, disciples new believers, begins para-church outreach, conducts educational and evangelistic events, plants Bible studies, promotes Christian/Jewish forums, works with Russian speakers, leads children’s ministry, distributes gospel materials, interacts with the Orthodox Jewish community, both in-person and online, and much more.
Chicago
About Our Work in Chicago
310,000
Jewish Population
7
Staff
Staff Serving Chicago
Messianic Congregations in Chicago
Volunteers Serving Chicago
- Randy Fisher (Grand Rapids, MI)
- Cami Gilbert (Wauwatosa, WI)
- Mitchell Katz (Buffalo Grove, IL)
- Jeff Tolsma (Rockford, MI)
- Joe Trocchio (St. Claire Shores, MI)
- Mike Schmaus
Regional Leadership
Ryan Karp
Midwest Regional Director and Chicago Branch Leader
History of Jewish Work in Chicago
In 1929, Joseph Hoffman Cohn, then president of the ministry, opened a Chicago branch in partnership with Solomon Birnbaum, the first director of the Moody Bible Institute’s Jewish studies department. Our ministry encouraged new believers from our work in New York City, Philadelphia, and Atlantic City to attend Moody Bible Institute. Recognizing a needy Jewish population on the north side of Chicago as well, the ministry established a second branch around those neighborhoods in 1936. Chosen People Ministries purchased a building in 1967. In the 1970s, ministry efforts included campus evangelism, tract distribution, door-to-door visitation, regular events, ministering in nursing homes, and developing volunteer programs. The Chicago work was responsible for planting a number of Messianic congregations beginning in 1980; many of which still thrive today!