MICHAEL FINESILVER

I was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1950, to Morris and Lorraine Finesilver, who were first generation Americans of Jewish descent. Although my brother, sister, and I knew we were Jewish, ours was a very secular household.

I went to college at Southern Illinois University during the time of the hippie-drug generation. At this time I began using drugs, and did so for the next three years. During this time I met Sue, and we both used drugs together for the next few years.

In 1971, Sue and I married and moved to Chicago where we both found jobs. I realized our lives were empty and I began to feel more and more depressed. Were there any reasons for living or answers to the questions like why am I here? Is there a God, and if so, who is He?  I got to the place where living was so pointless, that I contemplated taking my life. However, I thought maybe I could find answers to these questions through religion.

I started attending the Bahai Temple in Evanston, a suburb of Chicago.

One day, while leaving the Bahai Temple, a man who was passing out “Cornerstone magazines”, handed me one. He had such a peaceful look in his eyes, as he stood there on this very cold winter Chicago day, the peace which I had been searching for. It turned out to be a Christian magazine, but Jews (even though they might try to find answers at a Bahai Temple!) have been told "Jews don't believe in Jesus. " But something in that Christian magazine spoke to my Jewish heart – that God wanted to set me free through Jesus. So when my aunt gave me a gift certificate to Marshall Field’s, I went and bought a Bible which contained both the Old and New Testaments.

After reading the Old and New Testament I read about how Jesus is God and realized that He was my Lord, the Jewish Messiah, and Savior of all the world. I finally found THE ANSWER– and my search was over. A few days later, I watched a Christian TV program and I repeated a prayer of salvation. I prayed for God to forgive my sins in Jesus’ name and I was born again as a child of God.

I began looking for a church. I remembered the Cornerstone magazine, which miraculously I had not thrown away. It was published by Jesus People USA (JPUSA) who had a church in the city, and I began attending their services. For a time, Sue  attended JPUSA with me, but this was begrudgingly so. Several people from JPUSA came to visit us and tried reaching out to Sue. She, however, became involved with a man at work and divorced me in 1986.

In 1990, through a cousin who attended a Jewish Christian Bible study, I met my wife Mimi.  We were married in 1991. Today I am serving as Executive Director of Everlasting Life Outreach, which was founded by the will of God. Mimi and I are full-time missionaries for Everlasting Life Outreach, an evangelistic ministry answering the call of Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.”