HaDavar Messianic Ministries’ primary evangelism and discipleship endeavor is The School of Biblical and Jewish Studies (SBJS). The HaDavar school is geared to provide high quality Biblical and Jewish studies to any Christian who wants to grow in the Word of God. This focus is important. There is a lack of solid Bible teaching available to the many people who desire it. SBJS meets an important discipleship need. Another important focus is that most Jewish people come to faith in Yeshua through the witness of personal contacts. The school equips the students to witness to their Jewish friends and meet a critical evangelistic need.
The school operates on a very different philosophy than the average academic organization. Two principles guide its operation – accessibility and instruction orientation. Concerning accessibility, the typical Bible school is not available to the average Christian for two reasons. First, it is expensive. Many, who desire a greater Biblical education, cannot afford it. Second, Bible schools are very intense and short term. The Bible education is crammed into a rigorous three or four year program. Many Christians find it impossible to carve out four years to devote exclusively to Bible school.
In contrast, the SBJS provides a high-quality Biblical education at a very low cost. In addition, our classes are low-intensity (not low quality) and long-term in nature. The students are not faced with reams of pages to read, tests to prepare for, or constant due dates for 20 page papers, yet we give them in-depth Bible teaching. In the same manner, the classes are available to them as long as they desire to be a student. We are accessible to them not for three years or four years but for as long as they want to learn.
Our second unique point is instruction orientation. Instruction comes before schedules. Too often instructors have had to cut their classes short or edit out important material because of scheduling limitations. At the SBJS, we want the schedule to be determined by the material rather than the material being forced to fit a schedule. With this priority, the teachers are able to do what they love to do in an environment that allows them to share their wealth of knowledge fully and completely with the students.
The final and relatively unique aspect of the school is our inclusion of Jewish studies in the curriculum. Jewish studies, unfortunately, is a neglected aspect of a good Biblical education. Why are Jewish studies critically important? Because the Bible was written by Jewish authors, in the context of Jewish language, culture and thought. Much that is obscure or debated in Scripture is illuminated and clear when there is an understanding of the Jewish roots of the Bible.