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Our History

Founded in London in 1809, the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) has been active in the Land of Israel since the 1820s. Moved by an awareness of God’s love for His covenant people, Jewish and Gentile Christians recognized that God had promised to restore the people of Israel to their land, and to their Messiah. Further, CMJ wanted to see the Church restored to its Jewish roots.

Moved by compassion for the plight of the impoverished Jews in Palestine, CMJ established modern clinics, state-of-the-art hospitals, farms, workshops, vocational training, schools for boys and for girls (which was non-existent in 19th century Palestine). CMJ also brought modern architecture, archeology, a library and more into the region. These efforts benefited all the people in the land – Arabs, Druze, Armenians and others.

CMJ actively opposed anti-Semitism in the region and many of its supporters were key in promoting the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in the Holy Land.

In 1841 CMJ appointed Michael Solomon Alexander (the first Jewish bishop in Jerusalem since 135 A.D.) as the Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, and together with the Prussians, CMJ built Christ Church, the oldest Protestant Church in the Middle East.

Although life in Israel is vastly different today, CMJ remains as committed, and its work as varied, as in the past. And CMJ is still motivated by the call of Isaiah to comfort His people so that “the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.” (Isaiah 40: 1-5).