Why would First Fruits of Zion have a Torah Club booth at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)? Because many Southern Baptists are Torah Club Leaders, students, and FFOZ Friends!

Why is this the case? Because institutionally, Southern Baptists love the Bible, and they love Israel. Thus, there is a general appreciation for Messianic Jewish teaching present in the culture of the SBC, and many Southern Baptists are drawn to Torah Club. Once again, this year, our booth at the annual SBC conference was filled with energy!

For the past four years, First Fruits of Zion has had a booth in the exhibitor’s hall at the annual SBC meeting. These meetings frequently draw 10,000 Southern Baptists from around the United States and beyond. Most of the attendees are influencers in local SBC churches. Many of them are pastors. Therefore, the folks who visit our booth are typically important leaders.

This year, the Southern Baptist Convention met in Nashville, Tennessee. In the months preceding the conference, we were unsure about what the attendance would be. We were blown away by the turnout. Sixteen thousand people attended this year’s conference!

Our booth was busy from start to finish. Many leaders signed up for free subscriptions to our award-winning periodical, Messiah Magazine, [1] and received samples of Torah Club workbooks. We answered many questions from leaders about the Jewish Jesus, the Torah, Paul, and Israel.

One visitor to our booth was a Jewish man who served as a chaplain. He was attending as a representative for another organization that had a booth near ours. As we listened to this man’s story, he expressed that he had largely disassociated from living as a Jew. But after spending an hour at our booth, he communicated that our time with him had inspired him to think more carefully about his Jewish identity. It was a beautiful connection.

First Fruits of Zion is committed to reaching into the Christian world with the message of the Jewish Jesus. Many Christians are hungering for Messianic Jewish teaching. Torah Club is an ideal program for Christians who want to study the Bible deeply from a Jewish perspective. We are grateful to be involved in grassroots efforts such as attending the Southern Baptist Convention to help disciples to know Jesus better by seeing him through Jewish eyes.

Footnotes:

[1] You can sign up for a free subscription to Messiah Magazine at messiahmagazine.org