Here we will tell the story of the beginnings of our mission and how we became what we are today... Read on!

 

Our Rich History

New York Gospel Mission to the Jews was founded in 1895 by Dr. Bernard Angel. He was the graduate of a German rabbinical school. His mentors discouraged his reading Isaiah 53, because Christians insisted it spoke of Christ. Instead he carefully read the chapter and was perplexed because it spoke of a suffering Messiah rather than a reigning one. Upon graduation he forsook his religious career to pursue journalism in Paris. When he wanted to further his career in England, his parents convinced him to go to New York City because they were afraid of the Christian influences in England. While in New York City his aristocratic wife attended some Christian ladies meetings and came to Christ. She was instrumental in leading her husband to the Lord. During a period of theological study in Chicago the Angels invited Jews into their home to discuss the Scriptures. In 1895 they returned to the Lower East Side to direct a Jewish outreach. At that time Jews from all over the world lived in this area of the City, and as many as 400 at a time would come to hear Dr. Angel's scholarly discussions of the Hebrew Scriptures. Many individuals trusted Christ as their personal Savior. From his ministry sprang the New York Gospel Mission to the Jews in 1895. It is one of the oldest missions in Manhattan. During Dr. Angel's ministry large numbers of Jews received Jesus as their Messiah. Scores of Communists also came from their headquarters four blocks away. Even Leon Trotsky, the Russian revolutionist, came to one meeting with a friend. Trotsky's companion responded to the gospel and later went to Hungary as an evangelist. Trotsky returned to Russia to help Lenin organize the atheistic Communist regime.
Dr. Angel died in 1929, and his daughter Ruth became the director of the work. In 1944 the mission purchased the five-story building at 149 Avenue B, and named it Angel Memorial House after the founders.
The traumatic changes of the latter 70's and early 80's in Lower East Manhattan almost brought the work to a standstill. The area was a dangerous center for illicit drugs. Then in the mid 80's the area started to turn around. Young professionals and Jewish and European ethnic groups began to buy into the area. The mission building was totally remodeled in the mid 90's and the ministry started to revive. For the past several years the Lord has seen fit to continue to provide so that the work can expand and increase its gospel witness.

Our Vision for Reaching the World

New York Gospel Mission is continuing to bear witness for the Lord Jesus Christ to the Jews and to the various ethnic groups in the East Village as well as the greater New York area. The ministry is located across the street from beautiful Tompkins Square Park. The mission church has been reopened and named Tompkins Square Gospel Fellowship. Both Jewish and various ethnic people are attending.

Public meetings in the parks and street corners are taking place regularly. Thousands of individuals from all over the world are hearing gospel singing and preaching in the open air meetings being held in such locations as Battery Park, Union Square, and Times Square. The summer months are full of mission teams who come to help evangelize. Tens of thousands of gospel tracts are being distributed. The mission has a rich heritage of gospel literature, and is seeking to revamp and develop additional materials. Training seminars in Jewish and Ethnic evangelism are being conducted. Jewish Sedar demonstrations are available for churches and groups desiring to understand the relationship of the Passover meal to the Lord's Table. Scale models of the Tabernacle furniture have been constructed and are being used to reach out to the Jewish community and the nations of the world.

Using the Tabernacle furniture to witness to people on the streets and show visitors Christ in the Tabernacle.

Lord willing the mission will have a scaled model of the Holy and Most Holy Places which will be open to the public during the High Holy Days in the Jewish calendar.