Who We Are
Our History
In 1967, healing evangelist Louis Kaplan launched a ministry called Jewish Voice. That same year, he started a radio program, Jewish Voice Broadcasts, which aired for the first time on Christian radio in Phoenix, Arizona. Later, a television program was added, which continues to air to this day. Not coincidentally, Israel reclaimed the city of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, in fulfillment of a prophecy in Luke 21:24 that directly connects the reestablishment of Jerusalem with the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled.
Upon Kaplan’s death, the baton was passed to Jonathan Bernis in 1998. Founder of Hear O Israel Ministries, Bernis’ outreach organization produced large-scale, international Festivals of Jewish Music & Dance throughout Eastern Europe and Russia, sharing the Good News to eager audiences of both Jews and Gentiles.
The two ministries merged in 2001, becoming Jewish Voice Ministries International—now a multi-faceted ministry.
Our Two-Fold Mission
JVMI’s mission is two-fold: Proclaiming the Gospel to the Jew first, and also to the Nations (Romans 1:16), and equipping the Church—providing education about the Hebraic roots of Christianity, the Church’s responsibility to Israel and the Jewish People, and how to share Messiah with the Jewish People. The Good News is proclaimed through television, print, humanitarian/medical outreaches, and large-scale international festivals.
Our President
A Jewish Believer in Yeshua (Jesus), Jonathan Bernis is President & CEO of Jewish Voice Ministries International (JVMI). Jonathan has worked on the forefront of world evangelism since 1984, taking the Good News of Israel’s Messiah to the far reaches of the earth, to the Jewish People, and also to the Nations.
Today, as President & CEO of Jewish Voice Ministries International (JVMI), and our associated organizations in Canada and the United Kingdom, Jonathan directs all aspects of the ministry, including the weekly television program Jewish Voice with Jonathan Bernis, which airs throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
What We Believe
Jewish Voice Ministries International follows 11 biblically based tenets. These tenets encapsulate what we believe and why as we seek to take the Gospel to the world.
About Us
Romans 11:26 states very clearly that the Lord has ordained a set time in history when “All Israel shall be saved.” This occurs as the “fullness of the Gentiles” comes in and the blindness comes off of the eyes of the Jewish People. I believe we are living in those days. Now is the “set time to favor Zion,” the time that God has ordained for the restoration of the Jewish People. Jewish ministries, like Jewish Voice, are destined to move into central focus as the Church understands the role Israel and the Jewish People play in the Last Days preceding the return of the Messiah.
Jewish Voice at a Glance
Jewish Voice Ministries is dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel of Yeshua (Jesus) to the Jew first and also to the Nations throughout the world.
The Good News is proclaimed through television, our webcast, print and online media, international festival outreaches, medical clinics/humanitarian aid to the Lost Tribes of Israel scattered throughout Africa and India, and speaking engagements to teach local churches and congregations about the Jewish roots of our faith in Yeshua.
We believe in discipling new Believers; therefore, we also plant new, and strengthen existing, congregations. We partner with other ministries to establish and operate Messianic Jewish Bible Institutes (MJBI) to equip leadership for Jewish ministry.
Everything we do is designed to reach the Jewish People with the message of Yeshua (Jesus).
What’s Behind the Name?
Jewish Voice Ministries (JVM) has been given the charge to proclaim the Good News of Yeshua around the world to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile. Though it is not uncommon for a Messianic ministry to proclaim the Good News, this ministry’s uniqueness is encapsulated in its name: Jewish Voice. Let’s unpack these two words in Hebrew so you can learn more about the purpose and vision of this vital, End-Time ministry.
y’hudiy—Jewish
The voice that is making itself heard through JVM is distinctly Jewish. The word y’hudiy comes from the name Y’hudah, Judah—who was one of the twelve sons of Israel. After the northern kingdom of Israel was dispersed, all that remained was the southern kingdom of Judah. As such, the term y’hudiy eventually became the accepted geopolitical term that continues even today to refer to all physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since the Jewish People are the surviving remnant of Israel, whatever is accomplished among the Jewish People is therefore an accomplishment on behalf of the entire Nation of Israel.
Over the centuries, the Jewish People have faced many challenges and great adversity. When we consider the meaning of the name y’hudiy we can see why this is the case. At its root, y’hudiy means “praised,” specifically with reference to praise for God.
The prophetic significance of this name is profound. The Jewish People’s “job,” if you will, has always been to praise God among the nations—in other words, to be a Nation of proclaimers of the Good News of God. The mission and purpose for Israel to be a voice to the nations has been part of God’s plan from the beginning. It’s no wonder antagonistic forces in the world have historically done their best to keep the Jewish voice quiet.
kol—voice
If it is the Jew’s “job” to praise God among the nations, how else can JVM fulfill its mission without making its Jewish voice heard? This kol is not a figurative voice that abstractly represents a point of view or perspective. In Hebrew, kol is literally a sound or noise—it audibly calls out with the deliberate intention of being heard; it has a clear message with a discernable meaning.
The voice of JVM plainly and powerfully calls out Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first...” This is the message that every Jewish voice is called to proclaim—that the Good News of Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, is the power of God for the salvation of all people . . . and that this message was intended to go “to the Jew first” for a purpose.
Now more than ever, there is a prophetic imperative for a Jewish voice that proclaims the Good News of Yeshua. The Jewish People themselves need to hear this voice so that they can respond to its call, and we can collectively fulfill our destiny to be a voice for God to the nations. When the Jewish People are spiritually restored to God through the Messiah Yeshua, a united Jewish voice will be unsilenced, and the sound will call all the nations of the earth to proclaim that Yeshua is Messiah, and the God of Israel our King!
