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OUR
PURPOSE:
"The
Association of Messianic Congregations exists to strengthen Messianic
Congregations by providing resources, teaching and fellowship that promote
Biblical values, proclaims personal faith in Yeshua as the one Atonement
for all humanity, and encourages worship through the diversity of Jewish
expressions of faith."
ABOUT
US, A LITTLE HISTORY:
Over
the last several years, in several locations at once, a number of leaders
in the Messianic Movement started to express the need for a new association of Messianic
congregations that
would serve the needs of those who continue to hold to a Messiah centered,
joyfully Jewish, grace-embracing Messianic Judaism. Sound doctrine and a
belief in the literal nature of God's promises to Israel were seen as
essential by these believers.
We were also concerned about trends over the last decade that saw sound,
balanced, scriptural teaching neglected in favor of doctrinal fads,
legalism, sensationalism, and "new winds" of doctrine designed
to tickle the ears.
Knowing that it was possible to have Messianic Congregations that were
both sound in doctrine and joyfully Jewish at the same time, we resolved
to give an opportunity for the Lord to work in the hearts of like minded
leaders to provide a place of fellowship and resources for the many
Messianic Congregations and individuals who value a Yeshua centered
Messianic faith.
In discussions with Messianic colleagues in early 2003, Steve Shermett, Congregational
Leader of Beth Sar Shalom Congregation, Tucson, Arizona sensed the call of
God to move forward with this idea. In addition to this desire felt in the
heart of many other Messianic Rabbis and Congregational Leaders, we were
encouraged by several well known and experienced Messianic Jewish Leaders,
including Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Sam Nadler and Barry Berger, to step
out in faith and call for a gathering of Messianic Leaders to pray and
plan for where the Lord wanted to take this. A list of over 30 Messianic
Leaders was assembled, they were then contacted by mail, phone calls and
e-mails, and invited to indicate if they were interested in such a new
association. About 15 Messianic Rabbis, Pastors and Leaders initially came
forward to express their support for this effort. We expect that other
Congregations will join when they see that this new association is
"up and running".
In discussions that Steve Shermett had with those who indicated interest,
a first meeting was planned for and held on Monday, May 5, 2003, in Metro
Northern New Jersey just 30 minutes from New York City, hosted by members
of Beth Messiah Messianic Jewish Congregation of Livingston, NJ. Here is
an excerpt from one of the e-mails sent to announce the gathering:
"We have lots of ideas for ways to encourage and strengthen
Congregations: newsletters and websites, conferences, outreaches and music
workshops, Bible Study Camps and Retreats, but above all we desire to be
used and lead by God in His Will in these important days. We will Pray and
Plan, and trust the God of Israel to lead us. We understand that God will
use both Jewish and Gentile believers in this as we demonstrate the unity
of the Body of Messiah, of which we are a part. We invite like-minded
Messianic leaders to join us in meeting on Monday, May 5, starting at 9:30
AM and continuing through the late afternoon, with breaks for noshing and
schmoozing !!
In conjunction with this effort, we launched a website, now being expanded, to help get the word out to those
interested: www.MessianicAssociation.org
We received many responses from Messianic Leaders saying that they would
attend the New Jersey meeting, and others whose schedules were already
"booked" for May 5 but asked to be considered part of the
effort. As the list firmed up, we had Messianic Leaders traveling from
Michigan, New York, Maryland, Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina & New
Jersey to attend the meeting. In all, a dozen Messianic Jewish Leaders
attended this organizational meeting where AMC was organized and a Board
of Directors was selected.
We humbly ask the Lord God of Israel for His leading, guidance and
blessing in this new effort to build up and strengthen the body of
believers, both Jewish and Gentile, who are called to bear witness that
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has kept His promise and has sent His
Messiah into the world, and that His name is Yeshua.
Click
to Meet our Board
of Directors
You
can contact our Association President Steve Shermett at bethsarshalom@yahoo.com
Board Secretary & Website Editor: MessiahNJ@aol.com
UPDATE
- January 2008: Here's what has happened over the last
4 years and what we've been working on:
Two
issues of the MESSIANIC TIMES had stories on the start-up of AMC,
and we've placed a series of display ads in the TIMES, and have made
more contacts from these. We
have lots of ideas in development for ways to encourage and strengthen
Congregations. Here's a few:
Music, Liturgy &
Worship Resources:
Two of our Congregations have Worship Leaders who have agreed to help member
Congregations with Messianic Music
Lyrics and chords that can enrich the worship portion of the service. (a CCLI license
may be needed for some songs) We can also make available a CD with a good selection of Jewish/Messianic Liturgical resources in both
the original Hebrew and in English Transliteration and Translation. These
are suitable for printing or for use as slides/overheads.
Messianic Conferences
& Retreats:
Our Northeast
Messianic Leadership Conference in May 2005 was a success with over 40
Messianic Rabbis and Leaders meeting and sharing ideas and strategies. A similar Conference in
the Southwest in July 2005 was also an encouragement to those who attended
from 12 different states. Our Leadership Conference in Los Angeles in July
2006 was an even bigger success, with much networking going on. Additionally, several AMC Congregations have conducted Messianic Retreats which
helped to build maturity among
Messianic believers.
Our 2007 Leadership Conference in Virginia went deeper in
equipping Congregational Leaders and Elders to deal with difficult
situations that can cause conflict.
Training for Leaders
& Elders:
We currently have 2 well known, long-time Messianic Leaders, Dr. Arnold
Fruchtenbaum and Messianic Pastor Sam Nadler, who are sympathetic to AMC
and are well known for conducting Training for Leaders & Elders. Many
AMC Congregations are using Sam Nadler's printed training materials for
Messianic Leaders with encouraging results.
In addition several AMC
Congregational Leaders have consulted by phone and traveled to visit other
member congregations to help in program development and conflict
resolution.
Website help:
There are several men associated with AMC congregations who have agreed to
volunteer their time to help Congregations without a website develop a
site to help publicize their group. This can be done for less than $ 100
per year in costs. For those with a website, a friend with skills in
Search Engine Optimization will help member Congregations tweak those
sites to place higher in Search Results.
Doctrinal Study
Resources:
We are in the midst of developing
teaching statements on Theological and Cultural issues of importance to
our Messianic community.
Summer Messianic Bible
Institute:
We envision that we will eventually be
able to present our own Training Institute geared toward the needs of
Messianic Congregations. Currently, several AMC Congregations are involved
with the Ariel Ministries Messianic Bible Training Program, 'Camp
Shoshanah', which runs for 3 intensive weeks each summer, with 5 hours of
Bible College Level seminars per day, all from a Messianic Jewish
perspective. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, founder of Ariel Ministries and the
author of seven major Messianic books, is the Director of the Camp and is
one of several Messianic Jewish instructors. We recommend this Program.
AMC Website:
Established and being expanded.
This includes a directory of AMC Congregations, and a full page
profile of each Congregation is being developed. The large search engines, like Google, Yahoo
and MSN show this very website favorably on searches for the word
"Messianic".
WE NEED
YOUR SUPPORT !
We believe that God has raised up the
Association of Messianic Congregations "for such a time as
this". Our Messianic Movement has seen God do great things through
it, with many thousands of Jewish people coming to faith in Messiah
Yeshua. Recent confusion over doctrine and a willingness by some to
discard key Scriptural teachings threaten this progress. We need your
financial support to help us develop & provide Discipleship material
for Messianic believers, conduct Training seminars for Messianic Leaders
and provide an Association for Messianic Congregations as we follow
Yeshua, the Author and Finisher of our faith!
The Association of Messianic Congregations is an IRS 501c-3 Organization.
All donations are Tax Deductible and will be receipted. Thanks !!
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THE ASSOCIATION OF MESSIANIC CONGREGATIONS
5002 East 4th Street - Tucson, AZ 85711
tel# 520-326-2020 |
More Information
on: AMC
Membership
This page is from: www.MessianicAssociation.org
Website
Editor: MessiahNJ@aol.com |
