RAYTOWN, Mo.- About 2,000 Christians and Jews met to pray for the peace of Jerusalem at First Baptist Church, Raytown, the largest Southern Baptist church in Missouri, according to Baptist Press.

The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle reported the event as, "a sign of deepening ties between the Jewish and evangelical Christian communities."

It was the second such Jewish-Christian meeting since First Baptist pastor Paul Brooks conceived the idea about two years ago while attending a rally at a Jewish school in the Kansas City area following a massacre in Israel.

"I didn't know anybody in the Jewish community at the time," Brooks said. "While sitting there, I felt like the Lord spoke to me. He reminded me that if we can come together politically -- Christians and Jews -- we can get together and pray for the peace of Jerusalem, setting aside our differences. We don't have to agree who the Messiah is to obey Scripture and pray for peace."

Brooks subsequently met with several Jewish rabbis to begin planning the first Gathering.

"The rabbinical association met and decided it was a good idea," Brooks recounted. "We held our first joint prayer meeting last winter and had about 1,700 people, 30 to 40 churches and five to six synagogues present. The second Gathering on March 1 brought in more than 2,000 people, and we had 50 or 60 churches.

"Everybody is really excited about this and wants to know when we can do it again," Brooks said.

"The Jewish people feel pretty alone in the world," the pastor said. "They've been driven out of country after country and slaughtered by many different maniacs. A lot of the anti-Semitism has come from the Christian community.

"I have made friends with several rabbis. I tell them I can't undo what has been done in Europe, but maybe we can make things better in Kansas City. And that's what we're trying to do -- make things better and get along better."

Brooks said both sides understand there are different views toward Jesus Christ.

"One rabbi said to me that when the Messiah comes we will ask Him, 'Is this the first or second time?'" Brooks said. "He went on to say that since we can't agree, we ought to set that aside and just be friends."

In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle, Brooks said he understands why there is mistrust on the part of the Jewish community.

"I'm a Southern Baptist, and I know that not all Southern Baptists would agree with me," Brooks said. "I can only speak for myself and for many of my friends in Kansas City and say that we have no hidden agenda to try and convert the Jews. ... That's not our goal. Our goal is to be friends.

"I am very up front with all of my Jewish friends," he said. "I tell them that I believe Jesus is the Messiah. We agree to disagree."