Martin "Moishe" Rosen (April 12, 1932 – May 19, 2010) was an American minister and the founder and former Executive Director of

Jews for Jesus Jews for Jesus is an international Messianic Jewish non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. The group is known for its proselytism to Jews and promotes the belief that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. It was f ...

, a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

missionary organization that focuses on

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Biography

Rosen was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, the son of Ben Rosen and Rose Baker. He was raised in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. According to Rosen, his mother's parents were "

Reform Jews Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

" and his paternal grandfather was an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

. Although his father regularly attended an Orthodox synagogue, Rosen describes him as irreligious and viewing religion as a "racket". Rosen married Ceil Starr on August 18, 1950, and they became Christians in 1953. After graduating from

Northeastern Bible College Northeastern Bible College was founded by Charles W. Anderson and first opened in September 1950 as Northeastern Bible Institute, at the Brookdale Baptist Church in Bloomfield, New Jersey. The college relocated to a campus in Essex Fells in the ...

, Rosen made a commitment to be a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

to Jews. He was ordained as a Conservative

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister in 1957. He led Hebrew Christian congregations and worked for 17 years for the

American Board of Missions to the Jews The American Board of Missions to the Jews was during the 1930s and 1940s the largest Christian mission proselytizing to Jews in America. In 1984, the organization changed its name to Chosen People Ministries. In 1973, messianic evangelist Moishe ...

(ABMJ), (now called

Chosen People Ministries Chosen People Ministries (CPM) is a Messianic Jewish nonprofit organization which engages in Christian evangelism to Jews. It is headquartered in New York City and currently led by Mitch Glaser, who was raised Jewish and converted to Christiani ...

), with the aim of attracting converts. Beginning in 1970, he founded Hineni Ministries under the umbrella of ABMJ, later to become Jews for Jesus. In 1973, he left the employment of ABMJ to incorporate Jews for Jesus as a separate mission. In 1986, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He stepped down from his position as Jews for Jesus' Executive Director in 1996, and continued to be employed as a staff missionary, remaining one of fifteen board members until his death in May 2010. In 1997, the Conservative Baptist Association named him a "Hero of the Faith."

Death

A March 2010 article on ''Charisma'' Magazine's website indicated that Rosen had been suffering from a number of serious health issues, including bone cancer."Moishe Rosen spends a lot of time resting now as he copes with the effects of prostate disease that metastasized into bone cancer. Last fall, he nearly died after surgery for an intestinal blockage."
/ref> Rosen died on May 19, 2010 of prostate cancer in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Publications

Rosen wrote numerous books, including: *''Sayings of Chairman Moishe'' (1972) *''Jews for Jesus'' (1974) *''Share the New Life with a Jew'' (1976) *''Christ in the Passover'' (1977) *''Y'shua: the Jewish way to say Jesus'' (1982) *''Overture to Armageddon'' (1991) *''The Universe is Broken: Who on Earth Can Fix It?'' (1991) *''Demystifying Personal Evangelism'' (1992) *''Witnessing to Jews'' (1998) *''Christ in the Passover'' (2006) evised and expanded

References

External links and further reading

*Ruth Rosen, ''Called to Controversy: The Unlikely Story of Moishe Rosen and the Founding of Jews for Jesus'', Thomas Nelson (2012), hardcover, 320 pages,
"The Very First Jew for Jesus:
Moishe Rosen's Controversial Story, Told by his Daughter" book review by Raphael Magarik in ''

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...

'', April 10, 2012, issue of April 13, 2012. *Ruth Tucker, ''Not Ashamed: The Story of Jews for Jesus'', Multnomah Press (2000) *Juliene G. Lipson, ''Jews for Jesus: An Anthropological Study'', AMS Press (1990) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosen, Moishe 1932 births 2010 deaths Baptist ministers from the United States Christian writers Converts to Protestantism from Judaism Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from prostate cancer Jews for Jesus Messianic clergy Northeastern Bible College alumni American people of Austrian-Jewish descent