Eitz Chaim Congregation Sarasota

Our Four pillars

Worship, Prayer,

Discipleship and Outreach

OUR Four Pillars

The Four Pillars of Eitz Chaim are: Worship (Avodah), Prayer (Tefillah), Discipleship (Talmidut), and Outreach (Kiruv). We are a Yeshua-centered, Messianic Jewish Synagogue, building community as we make disciples.

WORSHIP (AVODAH)

We are committed to worship in Spirit and truth for God’s pleasure. We believe worship is a testimony of our passion for God, and an instrument of spiritual warfare (John 4:23-24; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

We are committed to a vibrant Spirit-filled environment that expresses our Messianic Jewish heritage (2 Samuel 6:14; 1 Chronicles 15:16; Psalm 9:1; 100; 150).

We encourage the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit for mutual edification and producing lasting fruit (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 5:22-26).

We seek to lift up the God of Israel and His Son Yeshua as our central focus and goal in all we do, from an authentic Biblical and Hebraic perspective (Ephesians 1:15-23).

PRAYER (TEFILLAH)

We are committed to praying for God’s leading, enabling, and blessing in all our endeavors. We believe that prayer is essential for strengthening our corporate and individual relationship with God (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

We are committed to being a house of prayer for all peoples, lifting our voices to God with one accord (Isaiah 56:6-7; Acts 4:24-31).

We encourage the Body of Messiah around the world to pray for Israel’s physical and spiritual restoration (Psalm 122:6).

DISCIPLESHIP (TALMIDUT)

We are committed to making disciples by teaching the whole counsel of God (Genesis to Revelation), and by encouraging Believers to live out their faith by walking by the Biblical standard of holiness and righteousness as revealed in the Torah, Tanakh, and Brit Chadashah.

We honor our roots in the Scriptures of Israel, which nourish our faith and enable us to communicate the truth more effectively.

We are accountable to God, to others in the congregation, and are open to the counsel of others from the wider Body of Messiah (Ephesians 5:21; James 5:16; Colossians 3:9).

We believe in the blessing of giving tithes and offerings to God for the support of our congregation and others serving the Lord around the world (Malachi 3:10-12).

We encourage one another to be immersed in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) and to be filled daily with His power (Ephesians 5:18).

We are committed to expressing the heart of the Messiah toward hurting people through deeds of compassion, and trust God to work through His Spirit for healing and deliverance (James 1:27; 5:14; Isaiah 61:1; John 10:10).

We are committed to inspiring and equipping people and ministries that identify with our vision and core values.

Our goal, through every ministry, is to exalt and lift up Yeshua as the Messiah, the Son of God. His Word, as preached and taught from a Jewish perspective, is the foundation of what we believe.

Each individual brings unique Spirit-empowered gifts and talents to the local body. We encourage our members to develop and use these God-given talents to edify the congregation and to foster the Kingdom of G-d.

We are committed to raising up, empowering and passing on our Messianic identity and Biblical heritage to the next generation of Believers in Yeshua (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 6:4).

OUTREACH (KIRUV)

We are committed to the task of proclaiming with our lips and our lives that Yeshua the Messiah is the only Savior of Israel and the world. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, since it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16-17).

We strive to reveal the Messiah of Israel, Yeshua, in a loving, culturally relevant, and sensitive manner to Jewish people. We also believe that our testimony is made real and compelling when Jewish and non-Jewish disciples serve together as “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15).

We believe that God is restoring the Jewish people physically to their land and spiritually to Himself (Isaiah 44:21-28). “And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Yeshua as the Messiah, and God was adding to their numbers daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

We prayerfully uphold the nation of Israel and its importance to the Body of Messiah and the world. Yeshua will return to establish His Kingdom and rule the nations from Jerusalem. We are committed to participating in and supporting worthwhile Jewish causes and opposing anti-Semitism according to the provisions of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1-3).