In 1986, after recently graduating from Northwest Baptist Seminary with a double Master’s, Tim Hegg helped co-pastor a non-denominational church in Tacoma, WA. He and his wife, Paulette, were raising their two sons and they felt blessed to be where they believed God had called them. However, the Lord had more in store for the Heggs. Their lives were about to be shaken up and Tim would soon put into practice the education he received from seminary.
It started when Tim’s grandfather, Billy Schwartz, who, just before his passing, implored Tim to never forget his family heritage. Tim remembered that his grandfather had made comments in the past about being Jewish and, from time to time, he would speak Yiddish. This charge by his grandfather and these memories stirred a curiosity in Tim. It didn’t take long for him to verify that he did indeed have Jewish lineage through his grandparents on his mother’s side.
In an attempt to connect with this newfound heritage, the Heggs began attending a local Messianic Jewish synagogue. They explored the biblical festivals and the traditions associated with them and after some study on the seventh-day Sabbath, the Heggs began to observe it at home.
In seminary Tim had learned Biblical Hebrew—a skill that gave him a head start in studying and understanding the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament scriptures. Also in seminary, the focus of his study gave Tim special insight into Biblical covenants—a key topic in Messianic Judaism. His master’s thesis was titled “The Abrahamic Covenant and the Covenant of Grant in the Ancient Near East”. It became clear that the Lord had led Tim to seminary so he could become equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary in furthering the new Messianic Movement.
In 1988 Tim started a Torah-based fellowship that they named Beit Hallel (House of Praise). His study on Torah related topics increased and he began writing articles about the blessings of God’s law. Through his studying, Tim concluded that God’s law was not only for ethnic Jews but, rather, it is to be followed by anyone who would attach themselves to the God of Israel. This understanding was (and still is) in opposition to many of the leading Messianic teachers who teach that the Torah is only for the Jews. At Beit Hallel, Tim taught that the followers of Yeshua (Jesus) were brought into the New Covenant and that the blessings and stipulations therein were granted to all covenant members, including the Gentiles. Over the next fourteen years Tim would continue to study and write from this theological perspective which would later be known as “One Law” or “One Torah” theology.
By 2001 Tim’s articles and studies were being shared between some Messianic communities and Torah pursuant believers in the United States and abroad. Not only were his teachings Biblically sound, but his ability to take large theological concepts and present them in a way that anyone could understand made his material popular. Requests for copies began to grow and grow.
In 2002, because of the high demand, Tim launched a website where people could order copies of his papers and books. This website was called TorahResource.
In 2006 demand continued to grow and the task of packaging and then shipping the materials had become a part-time job and too much for Tim to handle alone. He hired his son, Caleb, to put orders together and run the website.
In 2009, as he reflected upon the results of the reformation—namely the institutes of higher education that were established—Tim saw a need for organized, sound theological education in the Messianic Movement. The spread of false teaching and sensational ideas were a distraction from the true message of the Scriptures. Many were being enticed by Rabbinic teachings and some even denied Yeshua as Messiah and converted to Judaism. This burdened Tim’s heart so he began to pray and plan for the next step.
In 2011 Tim brought on more staff and teachers, including Rob Vanhoff and Ariel Berkowitz, and together, like the reformers before them, they started an educational institution—an online Messianic school of theology, TorahResource Institute (TRI). Over the next 12 years, Tim and the staff of TorahResource would produce a sizable catalog of books, lectures, articles, and online classes in order to provide biblically sound education for disciples of Yeshua.
In 2024, the final academic year at TRI came to a close and Tim stepped into partial retirement. The mission and vision of TorahResource continues with a different approach as Caleb steps up to the helm of the ministry. TRI and the online resource library have been combined in the new TorahResource Learning Center and new educational efforts are now underway.
At TorahResource we truly believe we are in a second reformation. The first reformation was focused on how a person is justified. The Reformers concluded that a person is justified through grace alone by faith in Yeshua the Messiah. This second reformation is focused on how a person, once justified, is sanctified unto God. Tim is one of the “reformers” of our age. He has taught that sanctification is a work done in cooperation between the believer and the Holy Spirit. This is an ongoing transformation of the believer brought about by the renewing of the mind and the writing of the commandments on the heart.
Tim’s commitment to solid biblical exposition is the backbone of TorahResource. Our entire team is dedicated to this heritage and we continue Tim’s legacy by producing solid, biblically-based materials with a pronomian emphasis.
Today, TorahResource is the leading voice for “One Torah” theology. We believe the Lord continues to expand this reformation through our work and we are blessed to serve our great God and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah in this way.
