 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. 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.”
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