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Wayne and Carolyn Carson graduated from Florida Bible College. They were willing
to go anywhere and ended up in St. Louis. Their missionary call solidified in Jewish
missions and they were employed by the Midwest Messianic Center.
Moishe Rosen, who later founded Jews for Jesus, happened to be coming through town
during the interviewing process and was able to persuade the Director of the Midwest
Messianic Center to send the Carsons up to New York City for a six month training
program. This was during the time that Moishe was experimenting with the new evangelism
tactics that would later characterize the "Jews for Jesus" organization. The Carsons
were taught to be cross-
That bold enthusiasm came to St. Louis with them! A Thursday night youth meeting called "Kibbutz" really took off and became the focal point of their week. At Kibbutz you would find high school age hippies and some straight laced types all sitting in a room together singing about Jesus. Electric guitars and drums were "in" at the time and God provided abundantly. The music was excellent and it drew people, but this meeting also offered a concise, clear, and exciting presentation of the gospel message every week. That fact was the real drawing card! Kibbutz was the place that you brought your friends to hear the gospel. Over one hundred people went to Florida Bible College from the Kibbutz ministry in St. Louis. Thousands came through and heard the good news of the Savior. The presupposition underlying the ministry was that "the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, to all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek". (Romans 1:16). As it happened in the first century, many Gentiles were coming to faith as well. Praise God!
