About this Branch
The work of Jews for Jesus in Budapest has literally just begun! Why Budapest? Here are a few good reasons.
Why Budapest?
- Budapest has the largest indigenous Jewish population of any city in Central or Eastern Europe. Approximately 100,000 Hungarian Jews live in Budapest out of a total city population of 1.8 million. That means that one out of every five people in Budapest is Jewish. Most of them live in a few concentrated districts.
- In addition, scores of thousands of Jewish tourists come to Budapest every year in order to visit places like: the Neolog synagogue on Dohany Street (the largest synagogue in Europe), the Jewish museum and the former wartime ghetto, the sites connected to the rescue work of Raoul Wallenberg, and places associated with the rise of Zionism, such as the birthplace of Theodor Hertzl.
- If you put all these factors together, a very significant picture emerges: a picture of an indigenous and international Jewish community that is not just large but identifiable and accessible.
Our people in Budapest have the need and the right to hear the Good News of Y’shua from us, their fellow Jews.
A Special Challenge:
It’s no secret that anti-Semitism is very much on the rise, especially in countries like Hungary. That means that despite the possibility of increased danger, our evangelistic presence on the streets of Budapest will also be profoundly enhanced. Who will be able to ignore the sight of Jews proclaiming the Gospel without fear or shame? Those of us serving in Budapest are confident that that as we continue to proclaim our faith in an open way, then many of our people will find the courage to talk to us openly about Y’shua.
And what about the anti-Semites? They need to hear the Gospel as well. They need to hear about God’s love, about God’s readiness to forgive, and about the availability of God’s gift of eternal life. Let them hear this Good News from the lips of us Jews.
Please pray:
- That God will open the hearts of many of our people to the Gospel.
- That we’ll build a local team of Hungarian born Jews for Jesus.
- That we’ll win the hearts of many Hungarian Christians to the cause of praying for the salvation of the Jewish people in Hungary and worldwide.
