Dr. Robert Morris

Bob Morris was born in 1947 in Newport, Rhode Island, the first-born son of a Jewish mother and Gentile father. He was circumcised and redeemed in accordance with Jewish law by a local Rabbi. As a teenager, he rejected his Jewishness on a religious basis and only grudgingly admitted that his heritage was Jewish.In 1966-67, during his sophomore year at the University of Washington, he encountered genuine Christians. Because of these contacts, he received Jesus as his personal Savior when he was 19 years old. As a result of Bible study, Bob saw that Jesus was also his promised, Holy, Jewish Messiah. At that time, he embraced his Jewishness.In December 1979, Bob met Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Director of Ariel Ministries. God used the Biblical message presented by Dr. Fruchtenbaum to convince Bob that he should be personally involved in presenting the message of Jesus the Messiah to his own Jewish people.In May 1981, he set a new precedent by becoming Ariel's first volunteer missionary. He established the Beth Ariel Center in Seattle, Washington. After three years Bob felt called to full time service.In 1988, Bob completed a Masters of Divinity program with a concentration in Jewish ministries at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary.In the fall of 1989, he planted Kehilat Ha-Mashiah (Congregation of the Messiah), a Messianic Jewish congregation in Portland, OR. Bob served as the Teaching Elder. Concurrently, he carried out responsibilities as a Bible camp director/teacher and as a conference speaker. These ministries took him across the United States as well as to Russia, Germany, and Israel.In the fall of 1997, Bob moved to Southern California to become Ariel Ministries Executive Director. In April 2001, Bob began another pioneering work when he became the Director of HaDavar Messianic Ministries in Irvine, CA.