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. Beth El Messianic Congregation is a messianic congregation in Cleveland, looking to invite Jewish people to their service. However, Beth El is not a Jewish organization, but a completely Christian congregation. I will prove this using information from Christian sites. Each time, reference links will be provided so you can see the evidence with your own eyes.
Southern Baptist Mother Beth El Messianic Congregation is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. A real Jewish organization would never be part of that group! Here is the link to their listing on the Southern Baptist Convention web-site:
Click Here Clearly, there are no real Jewish synagogues in the Southern Baptist Convention. As a Southern Baptist Convention church they are also members of their State association, the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio. Here is the link to the evidence; they are on page 161 under "Greater Cleveland Baptist Association" (Editor's note: Your computer must be able to read .pdf documents to access this link):
Click Here You can also find Beth El Messianic listed as a church partner of Germantown Baptist Church. Here is the link to the Germantown listing, they are #14:
Click Here This is the membership information of a church, not a real synagogue.
Christian Goals Pastor Bagirov of Beth El Messianic is clear to other churches that he created a Christian church. In the Beth El Messianic Letter of Invitation he does a number of interesting things. Under the name of his church he writes that they are "A Russian Speaking Assembly of Christians." It goes downhill from there. Here are a few quotes from the body of the letter: "My name is Igor Bagirov and I am a church planter and missionary in the Cleveland City...My target is to build a Christian church from the unbeliever people...We distributed many Bibles and Christian literature...As an Ordained Pastor, I baptized 7 people already...I am asking you to pray and be a co-laborer together, so we can plant Church for Christ."
This is the writing of a Christian ordained pastor trying to convert Jews. There is obviously no relationship between this congregation and anything Jewish. Here is the link to the letter:
Click Here
Christian Money As a Christian missionary church to the Jewish people, Igor Bagirov and Beth El Messianic rely on other churches to give them money to evangelize the Jews to Christianity. Here are a few churches that support them and encourage their members to give them money:
John Knox Presbyterian Church (On the right side of page 2; again, your computer will need to read .pdf files to access this link)
Click Here Prince of Peace Church (In the section "Missions to Nearby areas", you will find Igor Bagirov):
Click Here
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
| 