Congregation Beth Messiah sits in Southwest Houston on West Airport Boulevard, between Beltway 8 and Gessner, and it draws a particular mix of worshipers every Shabbat morning: Jewish families, Gentile believers drawn to Israel's story, and anyone curious about a community that confesses Yeshua as Messiah while keeping Jewish feasts and traditions of long standing. The congregation exists, in its own words, to provide a space for Jewish people to worship the Triune God in a Jewish context. It is part of the broader Messianic Jewish movement, a Biblically based stream of Jews who believe Yeshua (Jesus) is the promised Messiah of Israel and who worship Him within Jewish moadim (festivals), life-events, and cultural traditions. The congregation's tagline is Love God, Love People, Make Disciples. Shabbat services are livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and past messages are archived online.
Shabbat Mornings on West Airport
The main worship service gathers every Saturday (Shabbat) morning from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, weaving together music, liturgy, Torah reading, dance, and congregational prayer. CBM Kids Shabbat School breaks off for children ages 5 through 10 at 10:55 AM, while a nursery is available year-round for children from one month through four years old. Coffee and fellowship are served before service beginning at 9:00 AM.
After the service, a prayer team stays at the front of the sanctuary for anyone who wants individual prayer. On four Saturdays a year, in February, May, August, and late October, a Foundation Class meets from 1:00 to 3:00 PM to introduce newcomers to CBM membership, mission, and Messianic framework over two weeks.
Rabbi John Ross and Rebbetzin Becky Ross lead the congregation, and Rabbi Todd White and Rebbitzen Susan White oversee the B'nei Mitzvah classes for 11- and 12-year-olds. The building opens at 9:00 AM through the main west and east gates off West Airport and through the Riceville School Road (south gate) entrance on Shabbat mornings. For weekday visits to the office or Resource Center, the south-side parking lot and weekday entrance are the way in.
The Triune God and the Messiah Yeshua
Congregation Beth Messiah is unashamed of the gospel of Yeshua the Messiah, given to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. The Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh) and Apostolic Writings (Brit Chadashah) are received as divinely inspired and of supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life.
God is confessed as Echad (One) and Triune, existing eternally as Abba (the Father), Yeshua HaMashiach (the Son), and Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit). Members hold to the Shema's declaration that the Lord is one while recognizing the plurality within the Hebrew word for one, and they affirm that within the Godhead there is a hierarchy of position even as the three Persons share one name, nature, deity, and character.
Yeshua is believed to be the eternal Word and Wisdom of God made flesh, born of the Jewish virgin Miriam of Nazareth, living as the perfect tzaddik who fulfilled the Torah's commandments, dying as a once-for-all sacrifice and atonement, raised bodily on the third day (which the congregation identifies with Bikkurim, First Fruits), and ascending to heaven. He will return in glory to judge the world and accomplish Tikkun Olam, the final restoration. Salvation is described as a gift received by faith in His work on the cross, followed by obedience, including identification with His death, burial, and resurrection through Messianic Tevilah (immersion).
Keeping the Moadim
The congregation observes all eight of God's Appointed Times from Leviticus 23: Shabbat (Sabbath), Pesach (Passover), Matzot (Unleavened Bread), Bikkurim (First Fruits), Shavuot (Weeks), Yom Teruah (also called Rosh Hashanah or the Day of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Tabernacles). Each feast is honored for both its historical roots and its prophetic fulfillment in Yeshua.
A whole season of High Holy Days is built around the fall feasts. Erev Rosh Hashanah opens the season on a Friday evening, followed by Boker Rosh Hashanah the next morning with a Tashlich service at Brooks Lake in Sugar Land, Erev Yom Kippur and Yom Kippur services the following week, a Neilah break-fast service on Yom Kippur evening, Sukkot celebrated offsite, and Shemini Atzeret with Simchat Torah. Most of these services are livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and none requires a ticket.
A Pro-Torah Stance
CBM is pro-Torah in a clearly bounded way. The Torah is honored as the eternal Word of God, good and holy, and the congregation holds that Mosaic Law was given to the Children of Israel while making room for any who strive to keep Torah as the Lord leads them. At the same time, the leaders acknowledge that the Sinai covenant is a broken one, that there is no Temple for sacrifices, that many laws apply only to life in Israel, and that no one is saved by works of the Law.
The congregation encourages Messianic Jews to identify with their Jewish heritage and embrace a Torah-shaped life, while being gracious with one another about differing levels of observance. Messianic Gentiles are treated as permitted but not required when it comes to Mosaic Law. The point, the leaders write, is that one of the main purposes of the Torah is to point us to Messiah.
The L.A.M.B. Model
CBM organizes its ministry around an acronym: L.A.M.B. stands for Lift, Align, Meet, and Build, drawn from 1 Corinthians 3:10's image of a skilled master builder. Lift means lifting up the vision in prayer, keeping it before the people to the Jew first, and growing the prayer ministry footprint. Align means aligning actions with the Word and the Ruach, with each individual's life, and with the philosophy of ministry. Meet (connect) means doing Jewish life together through small groups, large gatherings, special events, and a strong online presence. Build means continual discipleship, visitor-to-member care, salvations and immersions, higher learning through Yeshiva, developing leadership, and stewarding the physical space.
The congregation makes plain what it is not. It is not Replacement Theology, not the Hebrew Roots or One Law Movement, not the Ephraimite or Two-House theory, not the Sacred Names Movement, not Seventh Day Adventism, and not any form of Modalism. CBM believes in the Triunity of God, one God who exists eternally in three Persons.
Israel in the Story of God
The calling of Israel is described as irrevocable. The physical and spiritual restoration of God's chosen people and the re-establishment of national Israel are held to be a modern miracle leading to the complete fulfillment of Israel's destiny and the national salvation of the Apple of God's Eye. Hebrew people who place their trust in Yeshua remain Jewish according to Scripture, while Gentiles become spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham, grafted as branches into a Jewish olive tree with Yeshua as the root. All of God's promises to Israel are seen as still valid, and the Body of Messiah is held to be a community of Jews and Gentiles together who have received Yeshua as their promised Redeemer.
Children: CBM Kids and Hebrew Heroes
Children's ministry at CBM teaches that God loves them and that their Messianic Jewish identity is worth having. On Shabbat mornings at 10:55 AM, the CBM Kids Shabbat School blends a modern, growth-oriented Bible curriculum with Jewish teaching to emphasize the Jewish roots of the faith, with crafts and games every week reinforcing the lesson. Hebrew Heroes walks younger readers through the Hebrew Aleph-Bet through fun, interactive activities, and an advanced Hebrew Super Heroes class takes them on to reading and writing Hebrew words.
For middle-schoolers, the B'nei Mitzvah class meets with Rabbi Todd White and Rebbitzen Susan White over two years of study in Bible, Jewish history, and Jewish traditions, customs, and holidays, including how those relate to the New Covenant scriptures. The program welcomes children from all backgrounds.
HighWay Youth and B'nei Mitzvah
HighWay youth ministry gathers with a volunteer youth worship team playing a rich blend of modern Messianic Jewish music and contemporary songs that focus on Yeshua, a relevant Scripture teaching, and pre-message activities designed to build fellowship and teamwork. The youth building is where B'nei Mitzvah classes for 11- and 12-year-olds meet. For children whose families would rather not pursue a B'nai Mitzvah, the Youth Ministry offers a path of Scripture teaching, worship, and small groups by age.
B'nei Mitzvah celebrations mark a boy's 13th and a girl's 12th birthday, when the child takes on responsibility for a life of covenant faithfulness, observing the Torah, worshiping the Messiah Yeshua, and serving within the community. Under Rabbi Todd White's direction, students learn to read Hebrew and study Jewish history and Messianic heritage in Yeshua.
Sisterhood, Messianic Mommies, and Anshei Chayil
Women 13 and up are invited into Sisterhood for meetings, retreats, and service projects, a space to grow spiritually, make new friends, and have fun. Messianic Mommies takes a smaller-scale approach, meeting once a month in person for cooking, crafting, and creating, with guest speakers from time to time and childcare provided, and maintaining its own Facebook community.
Anshei Chayil is the men's ministry: a fellowship of men of all ages and varied backgrounds whose common bond is an interest in programs to strengthen and enrich their own Messianic faith, support Israel, provide Mitzvah to others in the congregation and community, and offer fellowship opportunities.
2B1 Marriage and Chavurah Small Groups
The 2B1 Marriage Ministry exists to help couples take the next step to a stronger marriage, whether they are just starting out or have decades behind them. Members are encouraged to join a Chavurah, the congregation's name for its small groups, chosen for proximity, a need for childcare, or a particular topic of study. Regular attenders who are not yet members are asked to complete the Foundation course before requesting to visit a Chavurah.
Mitzvah Homeless and the Dance Ministry
On the first Sunday of every month, rain or shine, CBM volunteers meet at 2418 McGowen St in Houston from 3:00 to 5:00 PM to serve the homeless through an outreach ministry called Mitzvah Homeless. The two-hour window includes a worship service at the start, setup and meal preparation, the meal itself at 4:15, cleanup, and a closing group prayer. Volunteers are asked to dress for the weather, leave food and bags in their cars until 3:30, stay with the group, and follow the on-site leaders' guidance about giving and praying with those being served.
The dance ministry invites men, women, and youth to dance as the Lord leads them, with seasonal teams during Passover and Rosh Hashanah and weekly pre-service practice on Shabbat mornings. Congregational dance lines are open to anyone on Shabbatot and feast days, and the team offers workshops and seminars throughout the year for beginners through advanced dancers.
Lifelong Learning: Foundation, Adult Ed, Yeshiva
The Foundation Class introduces newcomers to CBM's mission, culture, and Messianic framework over two weeks and is offered in spring, summer, and fall. An Adult Education menu includes family discipleship sessions, studies in the Fall Feasts, and classes walking through Leviticus to find Yeshua. The Yeshiva track dives deeper with a multi-session Hermeneutics course taught by Rabbi John.
Daily and yearly Bible reading plans support the rhythm at home. A daily schedule and a full-year plan beginning on Nisan 1 are both available for download, framing the year around the Hebrew calendar and the congregation's structured engagement with Scripture.
Visiting Congregation Beth Messiah
The building is at 9001 West Airport Blvd, Houston, TX 77071. Office hours run Tuesday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Friday from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The Resource Center, where the congregation's bookstore is browsed and online orders picked up, is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and after service ends on Shabbat until 1:00 PM.
Spanish translation is available for those who need it. Services are livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and past messages can also be watched through Faithlife. The CBM app is available for iOS and Android, giving members a way to give, sign up for events and classes, register children, and submit prayer requests from a phone. A printed Next Steps Guide and a monthly newsletter are available for newcomers who want to keep learning after their first Shabbat.