HOME Exploring Congregation Avodat Yisrael
Thank you for entering my page! Right now, you are probably searching to find out more about Jewish beliefs in Jesus. Perhaps, you are questioning your faith, and are looking at different options. Are you curious about Messianic Judaism? Are you in Philadelphia? Congregation Avodat Yisrael is a Messianic congregation in Philadelphia looking to attract Jews to its organization. However, you may be shocked to find out that it is not a Jewish group at all, but a part of the Presbyterian Church of America! I will prove this, providing links each time so that you can see all of the information. Who's Really in Charge?
Though Avodat Yisrael likes to present itself as a Jewish organization. However, it is a creation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). For instance, The Presbyterian Church (USA) created Avodat Yisrael. It says that it created Avodat Yisrael on it's official website. According to their official website: "In March, 2003, a new Presbyterian congregation began its ministry in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its name is Avodat Yisrael, and it wants to be known as a "Messianic" congregation (a congregation inviting those of Jewish background to explore Christian faith while maintaining Jewish religious and cultural practices) within the Presbyterian family."
Obviously, this shows without any question that Avodat Yisrael is just a church. Here is the link to the quote:
Click Here The Presbyterian's official General Assembly publication, Continuing the Journey, says in the article "Christian Witness to Jewish People": In 2003, the Presbytery of Philadelphia, responding to an application
from the long-established �Messianic Ministries,� launched Avodat Yisrael.
Avodat Yisrael is a new church development that invites unaffiliated Jews,
people in interfaith marriages and secularized
people of Jewish heritage to explore the
Christian faith while maintaining Jewish
religious and cultural practices."
So, here we have the added information that Avodat Yisrael was born out of the Presbytery of Philadelphia. Again, this is not a real Jewish synagogue but a true Christian church designed to evangelize the Jews. Here is the link to the quote:
Click Here Similarly, the Presbyterian Outlook states "In late 2003, a Messianic Jewish congregation, Avodat Yisrael, was approved within the PC(USA) by the presbytery of Philadelphia."
This opening sentnece is pretty clear showing that Avodat Yisrael has no relationship to true Judaism. Here is the link to the quote:
Click Here The Leader
The leader of Congregation Avodat Yisrael is Andrew Sparks. Andrew Sparks in an ordained Presbyterian Minister. In an Associated Press article on the Presbyterians Concerned for Jewish Christian Relations, it says: "Sparks, 33, an ordained Presbyterian minister who was raised Jewish, said he came to discover Messianic Judaism in his late teens and twenties and wanted to start a congregation in the Philadelphia area, home to one of the nation's largest Jewish populations.
The Presbytery of Philadelphia has pledged $145,000 to support Congregation Avodat Yisrael for five years, while the Pennsylvania Synod kicked in $75,000 and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) promised $125,000.
Clearly, he is an ordained Presbyterian minister who funded the creation of Avodat Yisrael from the Presbyterian Church. Here is the link to the quoted paragraphs; the paragraphs are the 5th and 6th paragraphs on the page:
Click Here In fact, Reverend Sparks is less than honest about his background. Jerome Marcus interviewed Reverend Sparks, in an article in the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Marcus found that Sparks lied about his upbringing. According to Mr. Marcus: "And just who is Mr. Sparks? He says that his mother was born a Jew and that her parents took him to a Conservative synagogue in Ellenville, N.Y., for the major Jewish holidays when he was young (the late 1970s and 1980s). As a child, he says, he studied at his synagogue's Hebrew school. Indeed, he claims to remain good friends with the rabbi there, though he refused to tell me name of the man or the shul, to avoid, he said, embarrassing both.
But it turns out that, although Mr. Sparks's mother was indeed Jewish, there hasn't been a Conservative synagogue or Hebrew school in Ellenville during Mr. Sparks's lifetime, according to an Orthodox rabbi who has lived in the area for several decades. When I pressed Mr. Sparks about this, he seemed uncomfortable and ended the line of questioning."
So, Reverend Sparks lies to make himself sound more legitimate! Here is a link to the article, the quote is from the second and third paragraphs from the bottom, though the whole article is worth reading:
Click Here Though he appears to be less than honest about his Jewish background, he does occasionally talk about his Christian training. According to his biographical information from the Messianic Journal "Kesher", Sparks graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary. Here is the link to the proof; the information is at the bottom of the page:
Click Here Westminter Theological Seminary is a Christian seminary. It's missions are as follows: In light of the above ultimate goal and according to the above core values, it is the specific mission of the seminary to support the church in its mandate to "equip the saints for ministry" by:
1. Forming men for the ordained Gospel ministry as pastors, teachers, evangelists, missionaries, and other tasks specified by the church.
2. Training men and women to serve Christ in Kingdom ministries other than those which require ordination.
3. Serving as a center for Christian research and scholarship and communicating the fruits of our labors to the Church and the world.
Would a real Jewish leader attend this seminary? Of course not. Here is the link to the quote; the quote is beneath the second picture on the page:
Click Here Reverend Sparks was also a guest presenter at The Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, at their 19th annual conference in 2002. The Lausanne Consultation is an evangelical Christian group designed to convert Jews. This is the introduction to the Lausanne Covenant, which is the credo of the Lausanne Consultation: "We, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, from more than 150 nations, participants in the International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne, praise God for his great salvation and rejoice in the fellowship he has given us with himself and with each other. We are deeply stirred by what God is doing in our day, moved to penitence by our failures and challenged by the unfinished task of evangelization. We believe the Gospel is God's good news for the whole world, and we are determined by his grace to obey Christ's commission to proclaim it to all mankind and to make disciples of every nation. We desire, therefore, to affirm our faith and our resolve, and to make public our covenant.
It is obvious that they are a Christian missionary group who want to convert the Jewish people! A real Jewish leader would never join them. They are not about making "Jewish-Christian" relations, but converting Jews. Here are the links to the proofs; This is the link to the Lausanne Covenant, the quote is from the first paragraph:
Click Here This second link is to the conference where he is listed. Reverend Sparks is under Tuesday, May 12 at 11 a.m. (Editor's Note: This link will open as a Microsoft Word document):
Click Here Click Here In the end, Avodat Yisrael is simply a church created by the Presbyterians Church (USA) and run by an ordained Presbyterian minister with a questionable Jewish past. Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus There are many reasons why Jews do not accept Jesus, and the links below are some of the better explanations on this topic. Of course, if you have questions that are not covered on the links, you can always e-mail me with your questions. An Answer from Rabbi Stuart Federow Click Here
An Answer from Rabbi Shraga Simmons Click Here Ask the Rabbi from Ohr Somayach Click Here An Answer from Rabbi Tovia Singer Click Here Countermissionary Counseling
There are a number of groups that provide Countermissionary Counseling. Here are links to a few of them:
Jews for Judaism Alternatively, you can call them at 1-800-4PROOF1 with general questions about missionary claims.
Torah Atlanta
Outreach Judaism
Torah Life and Living Great Sites, Priceless Information
Here are a number of great sites that counter missionaries and explain the differences in belief between Judaism and Christianity, including addressing the Biblical verses that missionaries try to use against the Jews and explaining why the missionaries are incorrect. For the most in-depth analysis of verse by verse questions, go to Messiah Truth (sections on Counter-Missionary: Multi-media training [this can be read without being "multi-media"], Knowing Your Orchard and Judaism's Answer), Jews for Judaism (in their Reference Section (please note that the Isaiah topics tend to be under "Suffering Servant" part of the "Proof Text" section) and the Q & A section of Outreach Judaism. Messiah Page Messiah Truth Jews for Judaism Outreach Judaism Counter Missionary Reference Torah Atlanta Messianic Verses in Tanach Kosher Judaism Escape From Counterfeit Judaism Talking to Kids About Missionaries
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