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March 2005 Table of Contents
Ministry Focus
Jerusalem Street Productions
(Heart Rock TV)
By Richard Ayal Frieden
Executive Director and Founder
Jerusalem Street Productions
When we think about Jerusalem what comes to our minds? Some of us may think about the ongoing political challenges of Israeli –Palestinian conflict. Some may think about the great historic significance of a city that has been fought over, built up and destroyed and rebuilt again more times than any other city on earth. And then some of us will think about Jesus and the prophetic significance of His return to Jerusalem on the Mt. of Olives.
There is a growing generation of young Israelis that are calling upon the name of Lord in Jerusalem and throughout Israel. According to Israeli government statistics juvenile crime, drug and alcohol use and abuse, violence, abortion, suicide and eating disorders are all on the steady rise and is increasingly worrisome to parents, school officials, social services and the police.
There is also a growing community of Jewish Believers in Yeshua (Yeshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus) residing in Jerusalem who believe that faith in the Messiah Yeshua is a very personal experience. However, with the personal journey of faith, they recognize a great personal responsibility to be people who are pro-active in being "salt and light" to Israeli society. They take God's Word seriously when He says that "faith has to be in our words and in our actions."
JSP's Vision and Mission
The folks of JSP have looked seriously into the condition of their society and have asked some important questions: Why is the fabric of Israeli society coming undone? Are the spiritual intrinsic standards and values of the Ten Commandments part of the backbone of our society anymore? What can we who believe in Yeshua do to improve the community, city and society in which we live? How can we influence society with the purposes of God? How we see effective change in the standards and values of our nation?
JSP's Vision is to see a generation of Israeli young people raised up to demonstrate the transforming power and love of the gospel of Yeshua. The Mission is to open doors to a young generation of Israelis with the gospel of Yeshua through relevant television programming, media, interactivity on the web, concerts, the arts, and extreme sports and then bring them into a community of young believers for nurturing and discipling. The focus is on youth from 18-30 who are the future of the country.
Some History
Jerusalem Street Productions (formally known as Heart Rock TV) was founded by Richard Ayal Frieden, an Israeli who met the Messiah in Israel. Richard immigrated to Israel in 1982 and met Jesus in a very personal encounter in 1983. After serving in the Israeli Defense Forces and in the Israel National Police as a Narcotics Detective and Liaison Officer for Interpol in the late 90's, Richard was challenged by the Lord to reach this generation of young Israelis where they live – in music and media. The Lord spoke to him out of Isaiah:
Is 40:9
Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
From this scripture, the vision of reaching the young generation of Israel was born. Being from a theatre and arts background, Richard is uniquely impassioned to carry the vision of Jerusalem Street Productions and in 1998, set out in earnest to establish the "TVY2" television program as a force in touching Israeli youth culture. Since then his efforts have been formally recognized by all four major Israeli TV networks as a unique forum for youth. JSP's vision was fully rounded out in 2002 when the JAMM Center was created as a safe place in Jerusalem for young people to hang out and to be a center of discipleship for those coming to know the Messiah through the JSP outreach. The JAMM is a place where faith, culture and music intersect.
The Challenge
The youth of Israel face incredible pressures from just existing in Israeli society. Many young people are looking into and are participating in alternate lifestyles, experimenting with drugs, alcohol use, pre-marital sex, and other destructive lifestyle patterns. Israel ranks at the top of the list for some of these abuses within the western nations. There is a strong trend towards secularism in Israel and Conservative Judaism has grown to incorporate many completely non-biblical philosophies including gay rights, Eastern philosophy, etc. Israeli youth also have the reality of mandatory military service to deal with and the constant threat of terrorism emanating from the surrounding nations. Israeli high schools have the highest reported school violence statistics in the western world. The staff and volunteers of JSP believe that the gospel of Yeshua holds out the best hope for the individual redemption of this generation in Israel which, in turn, will directly affect the moral climate of the entire country and the future stability of the Middle East.
Adam Rosenfeld, a JSP staff member writes,
"A positive, cultural influence can aid young people in many ways. Young people find identity and even leadership in the culture that surrounds them. A father cares for the hearts of his children, and when we care for the hearts of the young people of Israel, we care to take the time to listen to their songs, to take notice of their art, and to communicate with them wherever they are. When we give room to the Lord and His Holy Spirit to work through us to reach these young people and be there for them (with the heart of a father), we then are culturally relevant, influencing current culture by faith based culture. This is what young people truly seek to find in culture! This is what our TV productions, ‘TVY2' and our newest program, ‘Black Sheep' seek to be; a forum in which youth culture, and the faces behind it, are brought in contact with the love of the Father, as they are called from the darkness into the light."
Ministry
In Israel, JSP presents a positive and hopeful image to young people through our ‘TVY2' and ‘Black Sheep' television programs which are high energy music video shows produced in Hebrew. Special segments may include extreme sports event coverage, current affairs, concerts and interviews on topics ranging from terrorism to sex, love, family matters and drug use. Commentary by the program's hosts is positive and presents hope. The show is not overly evangelistic but young people aren't stupid either. They hear a message that interests them and contains values, standards and hope that are not often heard on television today. By the various styles of Christian and Messianic music and the topics covered JSP is able to challenge it's viewers to think differently - to consider that faith in God can be a natural part of our common everyday life without it having the stigma of an established religious system.
Market Place Business
By the year 2006 JSP plans to open and operate Israel's first and only Indoor Extreme Sports Center. This will be a business venture that will encourage young people who are involved in one the fastest growing sports in Israel, skateboarding and roller-blading. The center will have a climbing wall, skateboard ramps, a café and interactive games. This venture will naturally foster economic growth by providing jobs for young people. A business of this kind in Jerusalem will also enable JSP to influence the market place with godly principles of business, impacting other lives in the business community.
"Local Christian businesses and JAMM type cafés all play a role in our God given responsibilities to see effective godly change take place in the lives of the people that make up our communities and nations. At the end of the day, we can be pro-active people of ‘salt and light' in every aspect of society. The goal of JSP is to influence our communities, our nation, and our world with the freedom and love of Yeshua, impacting society with a culture based on faith in the one true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The success behind JSP is that God has built a team of educated and highly skilled young adults who have a passion and love for Yeshua and His kingdom. The JSP staff of Israelis and volunteers are serving in all areas of the ministry to see the manifestation of God's love in Jerusalem."
If you would like to know more about JSP or have Richard Ayal Frieden or a JSP representative visit your congregation, church, home group or conference, please contact us at:
JSP
PO Box 567
Franklin, TN 37065
Phone+ Fax 615-523-3433
heartrocktv@isdn.net
Jerusalem Street Productions is a 501(c) 3 Organization
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