An English gentleman rescued from
slave traders in Persia; a Jewish rabbi becoming a Bishop in Jerusalem; a
missionary nurse spending weeks on a raft at sea having been torpedoed - CMJ's
history might sound like a script for an action-packed Hollywood movie! What
lies behind these colourful characters who make up our past? To understand CMJ
we need to understand something of its history.
The story begins at the end of the
eighteenth century when trade was opening up new areas of the world and British
evangelicals were becoming freshly aware of the great commission to "preach the
gospel to all nations". Together with this was a sense of uncertainty,
particularly caused by the French Revolution. Were the "end times" indeed about
to begin?
A group of leading Christians, including men such as Lord Shaftesbury, William Wilberforce and Charles Simeon, began to have a concern for Jewish people. Who was taking the gospel to them? Who was speaking up for their rights and concerns? Would they one day return to their own homeland as prophesied in the Scriptures?
In 1809 a Christian society was founded to meet these concerns for the Jewish People. Initially working in London and then on the Continent, this group was involved in sharing the love of the Messiah and in bringing practical help to those in need. Early on, members went to the Holy Land and saw the situation of the Jewish community there: poverty and disease were rife and under the Ottoman Empire there was no official body to give the community protection. CMJ applied to the British Government to set up a consulate to give protection to both Jews and Protestants. It was proposed to build a church specifically for Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem. In 1841 Christ Church, Jerusalem was founded, former rabbi Michael Solomon Alexander was consecrated Bishop and a community of Jewish believers began to form, holding Hebrew services in the church. A hospital was built in the 1890's for the many Jewish refugees from Russia and Poland. Schools were set up and "houses of industry" established to give employment. In more recent decades Christ Church and other centres have been run by the Israel Trust of the Anglican Church (ITAC) which is an independent organisation (an amutah) in Israel.
CMJ workers were active in other areas of the world. The colourful character rescued in Persia was Joseph Wolff, a Jewish believer from a Bavarian background. Travelling in Eastern dress, he was a familiar figure among the Eastern Jewish communities, always on the move and always seeking to share the good news.
Eastern Europe was possibly the largest area of ministry in the last century. At one time there were 400 workers on the continent and whole communities of Jewish believers.
This century has seen the horrors of the Holocaust, the return of the Jewish people to Israel and a change in perception from Hebrew Christians to Messianic Jews. There is no longer need for mission hospitals or "soup kitchens" in the East End - though relief help is still needed for the Jewish people of Eastern Europe. There is an unchanging need to take the good news of the Messiah to his own people, to combat antisemitism and to give our support to Jewish believers in every possible way.
A group of leading Christians, including men such as Lord Shaftesbury, William Wilberforce and Charles Simeon, began to have a concern for Jewish people. Who was taking the gospel to them? Who was speaking up for their rights and concerns? Would they one day return to their own homeland as prophesied in the Scriptures?
In 1809 a Christian society was founded to meet these concerns for the Jewish People. Initially working in London and then on the Continent, this group was involved in sharing the love of the Messiah and in bringing practical help to those in need. Early on, members went to the Holy Land and saw the situation of the Jewish community there: poverty and disease were rife and under the Ottoman Empire there was no official body to give the community protection. CMJ applied to the British Government to set up a consulate to give protection to both Jews and Protestants. It was proposed to build a church specifically for Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem. In 1841 Christ Church, Jerusalem was founded, former rabbi Michael Solomon Alexander was consecrated Bishop and a community of Jewish believers began to form, holding Hebrew services in the church. A hospital was built in the 1890's for the many Jewish refugees from Russia and Poland. Schools were set up and "houses of industry" established to give employment. In more recent decades Christ Church and other centres have been run by the Israel Trust of the Anglican Church (ITAC) which is an independent organisation (an amutah) in Israel.
CMJ workers were active in other areas of the world. The colourful character rescued in Persia was Joseph Wolff, a Jewish believer from a Bavarian background. Travelling in Eastern dress, he was a familiar figure among the Eastern Jewish communities, always on the move and always seeking to share the good news.
Eastern Europe was possibly the largest area of ministry in the last century. At one time there were 400 workers on the continent and whole communities of Jewish believers.
This century has seen the horrors of the Holocaust, the return of the Jewish people to Israel and a change in perception from Hebrew Christians to Messianic Jews. There is no longer need for mission hospitals or "soup kitchens" in the East End - though relief help is still needed for the Jewish people of Eastern Europe. There is an unchanging need to take the good news of the Messiah to his own people, to combat antisemitism and to give our support to Jewish believers in every possible way.
For more information about CMJ's history
or archives, email
Kelvin Crombie