Lawrence is a Jewish believer in Jesus who was born in South Africa. The Hirsch family attended an orthodox Synagogue through which Lawrence received his religious education culminating with his Barmitzvah at the age of thirteen. Lawrence received his secular education through public schools and even though he rubbed shoulders with "Christians" every day of his life, he recalls that no one ever told him the Gospel in a way that related to his Jewishness. "I was brought up to believe that Jesus was the God of the Gentiles and that we, as Jewish people, did not believe in him. All I knew of Jesus is that Christians had used his name to excite persecution against our people for two thousand years," Lawrence recalls. After Secondary School Lawrence went on to study a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Cape Town. In 1983, Lawrence and his family immigrated to Australia.

It was in Melbourne, in 1984, where Lawrence came to faith through the witness of his brother Alan, who had come to faith in Jesus a few months earlier. Amazingly, at the very same time, Lawrence's childhood sweatheart living in South Africa at the time, also came to faith in Jesus. Lawrence and Louise were married one year later and took up residence in Melbourne.

In 1990, Lawrence and Louise trained and worked as missionaries in South Africa for five years. In October 1994, the Hirsch family returned from South Africa to take up their vision of sharing the Gospel with Jewish people in Australia. It as in 1995 that Celebrate Messiah was born. Lawrence and Louise have been involved in planting several messianic congregations and have had the privilege of leading many Jewish people to faith in Jesus.

Lawrence and Louise have four children; Asher, Sarah, Jesse and Liorah. They have a busy and challanged family life due to Sarah's disability and welcome your prayers for them as the serve the Lord.

Lawrence is also the former representative for the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism for Australia and New Zealand and the President of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of Australia.

Email: [email protected]