About Us

A Messianic congregation and house of Biblical study dedicated to reaching those in our community and beyond with the truth of YHWH (Yahweh), and providing a place of spiritual growth, in depth Scripture study, and discipleship for all people. We are dedicated to introducing people to the transformational power of the Gospel of Y’shua Messiah and the beauty of the Torah.

Our ministry is to the fatherless, the widows, and those in prison, to the sick and to the well, to those in darkness as well as to those in the Light. Our goal is to build strong individuals, strong families, and strong community.

Derek Echad was founded by the husband and wife team of Moreh Adoniyahu and First Lady Tirtzah Lewis. Moreh Adoniyahu is a Torah teacher who has been in the faith his whole life and has taught Torah for over 25 years in a congregational setting. He is the head elder and teacher (Moreh in Hebrew) at Derek Echad. Lady Tirtzah has been in the faith for over 20 years and is responsible for female discipleship and teaching the children.

IMPORTANT NOTE: We preach the gospel of Messiah for all people. We are NOT affiliated with any groups that espouse hate doctrines or racism of any group of people. 

WE BELIEVE...

• The Bible is the inspired Word of YHWH (pronounced Yahweh) and our guide for doctrine, correction and instruction in righteousness. In addition, we accept any translation of the Scriptures which accurately translates the existing Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts. [See Note 1 Below]

• That YHWH our Elohim is one. The Most High has been manifested in multiple ways throughout Scripture, however, all are extensions of, or manifestations of, and/or representations of the One True Elohim; whether it be the Father, the Son, the Arm of YHWH, the Hand of YHWH, the Angel of YHWH, or the Holy Spirit.[Deuteronomy. 6:4; Genesis. 22:15-16; Isaiah 52:10; John 8:18 and John 14:16-20]

• In the deity of Y’shua Messiah, that He is and has always been divine, eternally existing with the Father, and that He is not only fully deity as well as Elohim, but fully man while here on Earth, and the Son of YHWH. [John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16; and John 8:28, Romans 8:3]

• That the name of our Heavenly Father is that name which is found in the original Hebrew Scriptures over 6000 times; YHWH. [See Note 2 Below]

• That the Savior came in His Father’s name and that His name is identified with the Father’s name and is Y’shua. [See Note 3 Below]

• The Biblical plan of salvation provides for us, among other things, both redemption as well as justification; and is applied to us according to the formula given in Acts 2:38. 
  1. Repentance from our rebellious nature against YHWH and from our specific sins that we commit against the Almighty.
  2. Immersion in water in the name of Y’shua for the remission of sins.
  3. Receiving spiritual regeneration which is imparted to those that believe.

• We are redeemed from the power of Satan/Pharaoh and from the pressures of this world/Egypt; and we become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the bondservants of the Almighty. [Titus 2:14; 1 Corinthians 6:20, Ephesians 2:1-6; 1 Corinthians 7:22-24]

• We are declared righteous/justified by Elohim once we receive salvation and that is totally based on the work of Y’shua. [Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16; and Ephesians 2:9]

• The Most High has scattered Israel across the four corners of the earth and has promised to re-gather His physical people. The New Covenant is the mode upon which that end is met. The power of that mode is the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Faith in the work that Y’shua fulfilled through His death, burial, and resurrection make it possible for that power to be attained by whosoever believes.  [See Note 4]

• Salvation is to everyone that believes; to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). Therefore, physical identity is important in terms of being a witness of the Most High re-gathering His people Israel.  However, we will never turn away ANYONE from the truth, but our primary evangelical focus is towards those that the Bible describes as being physical Israel.  

• Any gentile that believes in Y’shua is grafted into the olive tree and would forever after behave as an Israelite as it regards to the statutes and commandments that dictate the life and conduct of the people of the Most High.  [Romans 11:17-24, Leviticus 24:22; Numbers 15:16]

• The Law is still for us today, while it has nothing to do with our initial justification, the Word tells us that “we are his workmanship, created in Messiah Y’shua unto good works, which Elohim hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” This ‘good works’ that we are ‘walking’ in is the Law of YHWH. It is not the cause of our relationship with Him, but it is the result of it. It is our sanctification. Now, through Y’shua and the Holy Spirit, the law is written on our hearts, so we walk in the Spirit; which is the primary point of the New Covenant. [Ephesians 2:9-10, Romans 8:4, John 14:15 and 15:10; 1John 5:1-3, Romans 8:14, See Note 4]

• Any and all Torah commands that can be kept are the righteous responsibility of ALL the follow Y’shua.  
  1. The Ten Commandments were given to Israel as the condition of the covenant of the people of YHWH. Now, for all those that are a part of the NEW covenant, walking in the Spirit is the condition of the covenant. The Spirit leads you into all truth and causes you to keep the commandments.   [Exodus 19:8, John 14:26]
  2. The holy, set-apart feast days of the Almighty are not only a direct reflection of the complete plan of salvation, but they are explicit, eternal commands given to those that follow YHWH. [See Note 5 Below]
  3. When the Most High calls for Israel to be holy as He is holy, His context of holiness in regards to the consumption of clean and unclean foods. [See Note 6 Below]

Note 1: We hold the Bible canon to be the Law, Prophets, Writings, New Testament (Apostolic Writings), and Apocrypha. We do not accept or use the Pseudepigrapha (Enoch, Jasher, Jubilees, etc) as inspired Scripture.

Note 2: Exodus 3:15. In the original Hebrew, every time the King James Version reads all capital “LORD” or “ELOHIM” the equivalent to יהוה, YHWH/Yahweh is what it says in the English.

Note 3: Matthew 1:21- it says, “…he shall save”; which is actually what Y’shua literally means in the Hebrew. Y’shua is actually a shortened, and contemporarily popular form of the name Y’hoshua which means YHWH will save; and is also the Hebrew form of the name that we recognize as Joshua. So the successor of Moses and the Son of Elohim had the same name. We see this exemplified in two places where the text is referring to Joshua, but the translations reads Jesus (Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8). So everywhere we see the name Jesus we know that it was actually referring to a man named Y’shua.

Note 4: Deuteronomy 28:64, Jeremiah 31:31, Ezekiel 36:25-28; the manifestation of these verses is the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. The point of Y’shua dying was so that He could send the Spirit to mankind (John 16:7). John 7:38-39

Note 5: Leviticus 23 gives us a list of all the feasts of YHWH as well as instructions of when they are to be kept. Colossians 2:16-17 helps us to see that the feasts are a shadow of Messiah; we are able to see His relevance in and through them.

Note 6: Leviticus 11 list all those things which are permissible and prohibited to eat. After going through all of that the chapter is ended by…For I am YHWH your Elohim: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. For I am YHWH that brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your Elohim: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps upon the earth: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten. (Lev 11:44-47)