About Us

About Beit HaMashiach

Building a Messianic Community of Jews and Gentiles who are a living testimony for Messiah Yeshua

Beit HaMashiach is Hebrew for “House of the Messiah”. We are a unique congregation made up of Jewish and Gentile people who are believers in Yeshua as the promised Messiah of Israel. Beit HaMashiach is part of a worldwide Messianic Jewish movement of hundreds of congregations.
As a messianic congregation, we are committed to celebrating our faith in Yeshua in a way that reflects our scriptural Jewish heritage. Being a congregation of Jews and Gentiles, we testify to the peace that God has brought into our lives through Yeshua.

In the New Covenant Scriptures, in the book of Yochanon (John), a Jewish man exclaimed, “We have found Him of whom Moses and the prophets have written, Yeshua of Nazareth!” This is our testimony as well.

If you don’t know Yeshua as your Messiah, we encourage you to search out the Scriptures for yourself. God promised in the book of Jeremiah, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Our Core Values

PRE-EMINENCE OF MESSIAH

In all things we wish to honour and glorify God through Messiah Yeshua.

RELEVANCE

We are committed to ministry that earnestly seeks to be culturally and spiritually relevant to the Jewish people we are wishing to reach.

SPIRITUAL INTEGRITY

We value discipling believers in a way that develops spiritual integrity.

MESSIANIC JEWISH WORSHIP

We value a vibrant, worshipping environment that expresses our Messianic-Jewish heritage.

EQUALITY

We uphold Jewish and Gentile believers as equal members of the body and value a fellowship that recognises the worth of each individual.

UNITY

We are an integral part of the Body of Messiah worldwide made up of both Jews and Gentiles.

GIFTS AND TALENTS

We believe that God specially and individually gifts all members of the fellowship for works of service and ministry.

THE RULE OF LOVE

We believe that love must undergird all aspects of our ministry and community.

Our Partner: Celebrate Messiah

Beit HaMashiach is a messianic congregation planted by Celebrate Messiah. It is one of three Celebrate Messiah messianic congregations in Australia.

Celebrate Messiah has been sharing the love of Messiah with Jewish people in Australia since it was was founded in 1995 by Lawrence and Louise Hirsch.

Celebrate Messiah is an interdenominational, evangelistic society dedicated to raising the banner of Messiah amongst God’s ancient people in Australia and abroad through our partnership with Chosen People Global Ministries.

To learn more about “Celebrate Messiah“, please visit: www.CelebrateMessiah.com.au.

Lawrence Hirsch

Executive Director of Celebrate Messiah and Rabbi of Beit HaMashiach

Lawrence Hirsch is a Jewish believer in Yeshua and Founding Director, together with his wife Louise, of the work of Celebrate Messiah in Australia, New Zealand and in Russia. They have been involved in evangelism, congregation planting, discipleship and mentoring for over 28 years in an international ministry spanning four continents.

Today, Celebrate Messiah is in partnership with Chosen People Global Ministries with work amongst Jewish people in 18 countries including Israel. Lawrence is also a Board member of the work of Beit Sar Shalom in Israel, Celebrate Messiah in New Zealand and Celebrate Messiah Russia.

Lawrence and Louise are the senior leaders of Beit HaMashiach Messianic Congregation in Melbourne, and Lawrence is the rabbi of the congregation.

Our Staff

Lawrence Hirsch
Rabbi and Founder
    Louise Hirsch
    Senior Leader and Founder
      Karen Peyroux
      Executive Assistant
        Tara Frangioni
        Children and Families Ministry Leader
          Dirk Crouse
          Chavurah Coordinator
            Felicity Lorenz
            Shalom Youth and B'Yachad Ministry Leader
              Johnatan Salazar
              Technical Director

                Our Beliefs

                ARTICLE 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

                We affirm the 66 books of the Bible (Old and New Covenants), are the standard of all truth, the final authority for doctrine and practice. Scripture in its original manuscripts is inerrant.

                Traditional Jewish literature is of human origin, and we recognise its value only where it is supported by or conformable to the Word of God. We regard it as in no way binding upon faith or life.

                ARTICLE 2. THE ETERNAL GOD

                We believe in the unity of God as reflected in the Sh’ma. The God of Israel eternally exists in three equal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each possessing the nature and perfections of deity, as well as the characteristics of personality.

                ARTICLE 3. YESHUA THE MESSIAH

                We affirm Yeshua of Nazareth is the Messiah of Israel; fully God and fully man in one person, risen from the dead, and will be so forever. Whilst on earth, he was subordinate to God the Father in his role and his humanity, yet in his Divinity He is and always will be fully equal with God the Father. Save for sin, Yeshua was fully human just as we are. Yeshua did not give up any of his deity when he became man.

                ARTICLE 4: THE HOLY SPIRIT

                We affirm that God the Holy Spirit’s work is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the messianic community. Together the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world; to create saving faith in people and enable them to respond to the gospel call; to place and maintain believers in living union with Yeshua; to bring about their growth in holiness of life, and give them assurance of salvation and understanding of the Scriptures.

                ARTICLE 6: THE ATONEMENT

                We affirm that atonement was made for all people through the work of Yeshua on the cross. He became a once for all sacrifice by the shedding of his blood; bearing the penalty that we deserve.  Apart from this atonement, salvation is unavailable.  Atonement is available to all people upon receiving Yeshua as Lord and Saviour.

                We deny the human beings gain merit before God by their prayer, repentance, and good deeds; such replacing sacrifice as God’s only means of granting atonement.

                ARTICLE 7: THE SALVATION OF MAN

                We affirm that personal salvation is our willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of sins and place our trust in Yeshua for salvation. This salvation is entirely a gift of God on account of the finished work of Yeshua on the cross, received through faith alone.

                ARTICLE 8: THE MESSIANIC COMMUNITY: LOCAL & UNIVERSAL

                We affirm Yeshua founded a new community, embracing both Jews and Gentiles on an equal footing, giving His body the task of spreading the gospel.

                We deny that God has replaced the Jewish people with the “Church” as the New Israel, but rather that Gentile believers share together, through faith in Yeshua, in the promises that God gave the Jewish people.

                ARTICLE 9: THE BELIEVER’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE LAW OF MOSES

                We affirm that the law given under the Old Covenant, in its civil, ceremonial, and moral dimensions is God’s perfect, objective standard of righteousness, a standard that never changes. We further affirm that believers today are not under obligation to obey the civil and ceremonial aspects of the Law of Moses as they have been fulfilled in the Messiah.

                However, both Jewish and non-Jewish believers have the freedom in Messiah to maintain those aspects of the Law of Moses and Jewish cultural identity, which do not violate Scripture. These observances are not, nor ever were, a means of justification or sanctification, which are by faith in Messiah alone.

                ARTICLE 10: THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

                We affirm that God the Holy Spirit continues to empower believers for service by sovereignly distributing in the Body of Messiah all of the spiritual gifts found in the Brit Chadashah (New Testament). Any empowerment of believers with different spiritual gifts or other spiritual experiences subsequent to salvation are properly understood as “fillings” with the Holy Spirit. These are not limited to being one-off events, but can occur repeatedly over the course of a believer’s life.

                No one spiritual gift is the definitive evidence of “fillings” with the Holy Spirit. The evidence is actually the work of the Spirit within the believer, which produces godly character and behaviour, ie the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22).

                ARTICLE 11: IMMERSION

                We believe that immersion (baptism) is an outward witness to the inward work the Holy Spirit has done in effecting a person’s renewal to faith in Messiah. We affirm that immersion is for believers only.

                ARTICLE 5: THE FALL OF MAN AND ITS REVERSAL BY YESHUA THE MESSIAH

                We affirm that mankind was created in an original state of goodness by a specific act of God, for the purpose of glorifying God and bringing him joy. Adam represented all members of the human race in the failure in the Garden of Eden.  But Yeshua the Messiah, the Second Adam, representative of all who believe in him, obeyed God perfectly and then died upon the cross bring new life for all who believe.

                ARTICLE 12: THE LORD’S SEDER

                We affirm the Lord’s Seder was instituted at a Passover meal that Yeshua had with his disciples. It is a fellowship meal signifying our continuing union with Messiah. We see the matzah/bread and the wine as representative of Yeshua’s body and blood.

                ARTICLE 13: MIRACLES AND DIVINE HEALING

                We affirm that God acts today in supernatural ways to arouse people’s awe and wonder and bear witness to Himself.  Miraculous healing is among the signs and wonders which accompany the preaching of the gospel, and can occur in answer to believing prayer according to his will.  Scripture is silent as to why some are healed in this life and not others.

                ARTICLE 14: THE INCLUSION OF JEWISH EVANGELISM IN THE GREAT COMMISSION

                We affirm the Messianic Community has a divine mandate to give special emphasis to sharing the Gospel with Jewish people, and we further affirm that it is anti-Semitic to deny that Jewish people need Yeshua as their personal saviour.

                ARTICLE 15: THE SECOND COMING OF THE MESSIAH AND HIS MILLENNIAL RULE

                We affirm that Yeshua the Messiah will himself, in bodily form, return to this earth. He will at this time set up his Kingdom ruling the nations from Jerusalem for 1,000 literal years; assisted by Jewish and Gentile believers who comprise His Messianic community. The Messianic kingdom predicted by the Hebrew Prophets will be realised during this time.

                ARTICLE 16: THE FINAL JUDGMENT

                We believe that the final state of those who have trusted in Messiah Yeshua will be eternal life in the presence of God. The state of those who have not trusted in the Messiah will be one of eternal judgment.