CMJ USA Blog
Topic: Ministry Updates
The LORD has continued to stretch us at CMJ USA in 2025. We're back on social media. We've launched Bridge Builders Essentials. The Emunah Course is nearly done. We are moving the direction the Lord has called us. God wants us to build bridges with our Jewish neighbors, and we are filling up the toolbox for you. Gathering and preparing resources like Bridge Builders Essentials, Jewish/Christian Ministry Guide, and the Emunah Course has a financial cost. As Director Emeritus Philip Bottomley reminds me, "The Lord pays for what he orders." But we also know that the Lord loves to use his saints to be conduits of his abundant provision. We are grateful for those of you who are regular givers. Thank you! You are integral partners. If you are not yet a financial partner, please prayerfully consider coming alongside us.
Your prayers are so important to all of us here right now. Please pray for all the CMJ staff and volunteers serving in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Pastor Brad Lacey invited CMJ USA executive director Cariño Casas and partnership director Jeff Roberts to talk about what CMJ USA is up to and how a Mexican-American from west Texas and a Jewish follower of Jesus from Cleveland came to work together.
CMJ USA was privileged to co-sponsor a special international event in Cleveland, Ohio, featuring writers, teachers, historians, Jewish thinkers, and Christian leaders from around the world.
CMJ USA staff have had a month full of making new friends and advancing on various Bridge Building tools
“Unless the Lord builds the [bridge], those who build it labor in vain.” Please pardon this paraphrase of Psalm 127:1. By saying bridge instead of house, we refer to our developing Bridge Builder program which will equip and activate church outreach teams to rebuild trust and nurture relationships with the synagogue down the street. In light of nearly 2,000 years of fraught Jewish-Christian relations, this is a daunting task. We must only attempt it covered in prayer.
It’s been more than 100 days since Hamas brutally attacked southern Israel on a Shabbat morning. Our colleagues at CMJ Israel are working hard to minister the love of Yeshua in this tragic time. We are grateful for how you have come alongside to support this crucial work. Here is a sample of how your gifts to Israel War Relief are being used.
CMJ in Israel continues to minister to the displaced and unemployed in the midst of the Israel-Hamas War
Amid the Israel-Hamas War, our colleagues at CMJ Israel continue to minister to the displaced, the poor, and the harassed.
For the second year, CMJ USA has participated in the Light Up the Church initiative by Root Source. We can report that CMJ participation went up 500 percent.
CMJ Israel continues to purchase and distrbute food, hygiene products, clothes, and children's toys to families who have been displaced from their homes in the south.
While this war manifests in the natural, we know that there is also war in the heavenlies. Let us join God's angels in worship and cry out to Jesus for mercy and salvation.
This year for the Feast of Bishop Schereschewsky -- October 14, 2023 -- we are doing a CMJ USA Day of Giving. Our goal is to raise $35,000 this year in order to offset the negative impact the economy has had on giving and our budget. We ask you to pray about making a donation toward this day. You can make a one-time gift or create a recurring gift. This donation goes towards the work that is being done at CMJ USA and encourages us in our education and bridge-building ministry.
Stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors. On November 9th, 2022, synagogues and churches kept their lights to remember the horrific Night of Broken Glass, Kristallnacht. The Nazis tried to extinguish the light of the Jewish people forever; we say “Never Again!” Will you and your church, business, or home group join us in leaving the lights on November 9, 2023?
An update from At the Crossroads and a glimpse into what God is doing in the lives of people in the Middle East.
The Board of Directors of CMJ USA is pleased to welcome the Rev. Cariño Casas into her role as our new Executive Director. Before joining the staff of CMJ USA in January 2020, Cariño served as the media coordinator of Christ Church Jerusalem from April 2014.
"In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Proverbs 16:9
We praise God for his faithfulness to us and are grateful for all those who were able to celebrate with us in person in North Carolina
On Christmas Eve, in a normal year, the Christ Church compound would be teeming with thousands of local Arabs and Jews partaking in our Christmas open house festivities. Last year, due to COVID-19, we were severely limited in how many people we could host. Only one or two hundred people joined us for our traditional carol singing and fellowship over cookies and mulled wine. This year, despite still being in the shadow of a pandemic, we are cautiously optimistic that more visitors will join us .
