שלום חברים
Shalom Dear Friends,
As you know from our June newsletter, I am steadily traveling down the “retirement road.” Currently, I am semi-retired, working half-time while Jeff Carter, my Assistant Director, transitions toward full-time status. On November 1, 2014 I will finally reach my destination and become fully retired. However, I will only be retiring from full-time employment. I will not be retiring from ministry. In November, we will move to our new home in Johnson City, Oregon where I plan to represent HaDavar as our Oregon office. From our home in Oregon, I plan to continue to contribute to HaDavar by producing video classes for our Distance Learning Ministry. If classroom space in a local church is available for use, this ministry plan also includes teaching and recording HaDavar classes to local area students. Please be praying for us as Susan and I move back to the great Northwest and expand HaDavar’s outreach to the Jewish community through our classes and students.
As I think about all that the Lord has accomplished during the first 13 years of HaDavar, I can’t help but be excited about this next new phase. As we continue to proclaim the Gospel of Grace to “the Jew first and also to the Greek,” your partnership with us is absolutely crucial. You have been the heartbeat of what we do, and I cannot thank God enough for your eternal investment in the Lord’s work through this ministry.
In 2001 we began with one class that averaged around 20 students. That class validated the ministry of HaDavar, and we formally commenced our School of Biblical and Jewish Studies. Over time the Lord provided more instructors and class offerings. Soon our classes were averaging over 100 students per week. The Lord provided the resources for the next step, and we began filming classes for our Distance Learning Program via the Internet. Currently, the Distance Learning classes have been viewed over 22,000 times, and we have 167 students subscribing to our classes. The Lord has also enabled us to translate most of our web site pages into Russian, German, and Modern Israeli Hebrew. Please continue to pray for us as our dream is to further enlarge and improve the Distance Learning Ministry as we reach out around the world through the Internet, as well as other regional campuses.
We have also been sponsoring a Bible Book Table on the campus of the University of California Irvine for seven years. The Lord has blessed that ministry outreach as well, in that we have seen over 968 students pray to receive Yeshua as their Savior. Campus outreach is very critical in our society which has rejected God, the Bible and righteous living. Pray for us as we do our part to reach the young people of our country for the Lord, at UCI, and other campuses soon, Lord willing.
Let me close by saying “Thank you”—to the Lord, and thank you to all of you our team of supporters. We cannot serve the Lord without you. And thank you for continuing to support the HaDavar team with your gifts, prayer, and encouragement so the ministry can move ahead and prosper.
In our Messiah,
Robert Morris
Let me start by saying how incredibly grateful I am to Bob for his passionate, diligent, intentional and God-honoring approach to ministry. Bob has done an amazing job in founding, developing and growing this passion of his for messianic ministry and discipleship into what HaDavar is today. As I have worked with Bob over the last few months, I have had the great privilege to be trained and mentored by him—learning and experiencing the heartbeat of what makes this ministry run. He has been so gracious in sharing with me his vision for HaDavar, along with the dreams he still has for the future of the ministry.
What an amazing foundation he has laid. For those who know Bob, you understand how he values preparation, systems, planning, and organization. He has done such a great job of this, that he has made this transition incredibly easy on me. And what an added bonus, that by moving up to the northwest, Bob is not leaving the ministry, but rather, expanding it and its reach. We are so blessed that Bob will be establishing our first satellite campus in Oregon, and continuing on as a HaDavar instructor. For those who are being blessed by the “First Regathering” class, the plans are for Bob to continue recording it for the HaDavar website Distance Learning Ministry beginning early 2015. And we look forward to many more classes to come.
As we look to the future, you can expect to see much more of the same brand of in-depth Bible teaching—with an unwavering focus on the Jewish roots of our faith. We hope to continue growing the quality, variety, and reach of our internet ministry. There is literally an unlimited potential for how many students can be impacted for Christ worldwide through these online classes. Our job is to be concerned with the depth of teaching and let the Holy Spirit guide the breadth of the ministry.
If I may, I would like to ask for your prayers as we finish this transition period. It has been quite evident to me that God has been preparing me specifically for this opportunity to serve Him and His people. As such, I feel nothing but excitement for what the future holds here. Your partnership with us is so crucial at this time. Thank you for how you have invested the resources God has given to you as a stewardship, in this very strategic ministry.
Grace and peace,
Jeff Carter