Read about two prominent Jewish men that came to faith in Jesus as Messiah….

Two of CMJ's founding members were Jewish and embraced Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah in the 18^th and 19^th century, respectively. While their stories are rich, here is just a brief description of their journey.

Joseph Frey

(1771-1850)

In 1795 Joseph Levi, a young Jewish man from Maynstocheim in a province of Franconia in Germany had a divine appointment with a pietist Christian while riding in a carriage. It was here that Joseph heard clearly the promise to the house of Israel of a new covenant, as detailed in Jeremiah 31. Recalling his encounter with the Christian sometime later, Joseph writes 'his observations, made a deep and lasting impression upon my mind, and for some time I was wretched and miserable, full of doubts and fears, and knew not what to do.' Before faith in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, Joseph Frey had aspirations to become a rabbi like his father. However, he was set on a new path. And he is now a well known name in CMJ and part of our rich history

Michael Solomon Alexander

(1799-1845)

In the early 1800s, Michael Solomon Alexander, a son of a rabbi moved from Posen (Prussian province) to England, where he had contact on various occasions with devout Christians that believed in the Bible. He came to faith in Jesus as Messiah in 1825 and by 1826 was working for the Church of Ireland Jews Society. In 1841, Alexander became the first Protestant Bishop in Jerusalem, and Alexander became the first Protestant Bishop in Jerusalem and of spiritual leadership in over 1700 years since the establishment of first church of Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus.

For more information on Joseph Frey Michael Solomon Alexander and how they fit into the story of CMJ, see Restoring Israel, 200 Years of the CMJ Story (2008) and A Jewish Bishop in Jerusalem (2006).