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. The Rock of Israel Messianic Congregation presents itself as a Jewish congregation "in a contemporary way that reflects the Jewish source of our faith." However, you may surprised to learn that there is nothing Jewish about Rock of Israel at all. In fact, they actually are a Baptist missionary congregation. I will demonstrate this, using information from their site and other Christian sites. In each case, reference links will be given so that you can see the information for your own eyes. Baptist Mother Rock of Israel presents itself as a Jewish congregation, while it is actually a Baptist congregation. Rock of Israel is an official church of the North American Baptist Conference. Obviously, the North American Baptist Conference does not have any real Jewish congregations as part of its membership; only Baptist congregations are members. Here is the link to their directory-Rock of Israel is listed with the churches in Illinois:
Click Here They are also listed in the directory of the Upper Mississippi Region of the NAB with the other Illinois Baptist churches:
Click Here Simply put, The Rock of Israel is just another Baptist church and not a real Jewish congregation. Evangelical Church Planter As a Christian church, it is clear that Rock Of Israel was never intended to be a real Jewish congregation. It was planted by Michael Campo of CJF Ministries, a Christian evangelical group that targets Jews for conversion. According to Campo's bio page: "Michael Campo comes from a Roman Catholic background.... Michael joined the staff of CJF Ministries as a seasoned worker in Jewish missions. His rich background in ministry includes church planting, Bible studies, discipleship, counseling and street evangelism. He helped plant two messianic congregations: the Rock of Israel (Buffalo Grove, IL) and the Olive Branch (Columbus, OH), which he pastored..... Michael has studied at both Emmaus Bible College and Moody Bible Institute, and has been heavily involved with teaching and encouraging others in the field of Jewish evangelism. He is a gifted speaker and welcomes the opportunity to present the ministry of CJFM to churches...."
So, Rock of Israel was planted by a paid Christian missionary who has never been Jewish and has been working on converting Jews for years. Clearly, this is not the creation story of a real synagogue. Here is the link to the quotes; the quotes come from the 1-3rd paragraphs: Click Here If you noticed, he mentioned that he went to Moody Bible Institute and Emmaus Bible College. These are two Christian school! This is the Vision statement of Moody Bible Institute: "To encourage and equip believers to:
Think Biblically
Live Christianly
Serve Effectively
Evangelize Consistently"
Truly, not the educational background of a Jewish congregation builder. Here is the link to the Moody Bible Institute Vision statement: Click Here Similarly, according to Emmaus Bible College: " Though our faculty demonstrates scholarship, they are just as committed to training students within the context of a Christian community that offers maximum opportunity for spiritual growth and experience in hands-on Christian service."
Again, not the educational training location of a Jewish congregational leader. Here is the link to the quote; the quote comes from the 3rd paragraph: Click Here Christian Listing As Rock of Israel is a Christian congregation, it is not suprising that they are listed on the official Local Church Guide of Trinity International University, an evangelical Christian school. Let us be honest with ourselves-Trinity is not going to give their Christian body of students (including those in training to be Christian ministers) the name of a real Jewish congregation in their official church list. Here is the link to the listing-Rock of Israel is on page 18, at the bottom of the right-hand side:
Click Here Similarly, they are also listed in another Christian directory, Destination Church:
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
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