**** Congregation in Israel Celebrates 4 Years!
“It’s been four years already since the Lord gave me a vision for **** and its surrounding Judea region. It fills my heart with so much gratitude looking back at what God has done in and through our lives and ministry for the past 4 years. So much has happened, often more than we ever expected.
The vision not only included starting a new Hebrew congregation, first of its kind in ****. The Lord also showed me the need in preparing and raising up new generation of leadership; a good team of harvest laborers for mission work in the cities of Judea [known in the press as the "West Bank" but well-known in the Bible as the home of many of the prophets and the setting for many of the Biblical accounts]. Many cities have no congregations, and some don’t even have believers in Yeshua. The need is great, but God’s vision is always greater.
Judean Messianic congregation
As God continued to expand and enlarge this vision, we founded Voice of Judah Ministries and were able to raise up young leaders. We have experienced extraordinary favor and influence which has enabled us to plant three additional congregations. Now we also have congregations in Ramle, Kiryat Gat and Eilat.
Additionally we have started home groups and fellowships in Lod, Rehovot, Bat Yam and Rishon LeZion to see God’s vision and prophetic promises for this nation come to pass. We welcomed seven congregations to join the family of Voice of Judah Ministries with the goal of creating unity of mind and heart, which will strengthen the believers and help them grow in Yeshua (Jesus). Now we co labor with congregations in Arad,Be’er-Sheva, Hertzeliya, and Haifa to see God’s vision and prophetic promises for this nation come to pass.
We thank God that His vision is at work and is being fulfilled day by day. During this time a wonderful team of workers and ministers has been raised up.
I**** and I***** are both Israeli born Hebrew speakers, A**** is both Russian and Hebrew speaker and E*****and A**** are Russian speaking leaders from our leadership team. They all serve as an example of how God can raise up young dynamic and anointed leaders who will impact many for Yeshua and His kingdom.
We have been sending out teams of evangelists, who’ve been going from city to city preaching the gospel. Some of it has been pioneer work, since there are still cities with no congregations and no believers. We’ve seen so many receive Yeshua into their hearts, lives transformed, people healed and so much more.
Though it might be difficult to see explosive growth in numbers in congregations in Israel, we thank God that He has given us a lot of influence and we can boldly say that Voice of Judah Ministries are making an impact in this land, while God has been enabling us to reach more cities and more people than ever before.
Thanks to the Humanitarian Aid projects we have initiated and were part of, the municipality of _____, which was previously very cold and even aggressive towards Messianic believers, has now warmly embraced us and is gladly cooperating and often working directly with us.
During these past 4 years God has opened great doors for us, but also we’ve had to endure some harsh persecutions. We came through criticism of the Orthodox leaders in ****, as well as personal persecution on my family.
There was an ongoing battle to revoke my and my family’s citizenship based on the claim that if I believe in Yeshua I was no longer Jewish, which means I had no right of return to the land. The Lord gave us tremendous victory when the Ministry of Interior, that previously refused to do so, now finally issued me an extension of my passport!
Another attempt to stop the Lord’s work was when the police informed me of an investigation against me for “Religious converting of Jewish minors to Christianity.” In this case, God again had the last say, all charges were dropped and the case was closed.
Now, in order to celebrate our congregation’s 4th birthday, we will be organizing a conference with our sister congregations from Kiryat Gat, Ramle and Eilat. It’s going to be wonderful to gather people from Haifa in the north to Eilat in the south.
We’ll also use this opportunity to take up a special offering for mission work in Israel.
If you have a special heart for missions and the salvation of Israel, we encourage you to join us in funding and carrying out mission and outreach work in Israel. A gift of any amount can make such an incredible difference.
The Lord strengthened us through everything and gave us victory on every side. We are so deeply thankful to you, as well as all our friends, for your ongoing support of our ministry and family. Your continuous standing with us for the salvation of Israel has been so invaluable! Your faithful prayers, uncompromising support and sacrificial generosity has and is enabling us to do what we do!”
Humanitarian Outreach Work Continues to Expand
The world’s financial crisis has affected many all over the world. It has especially affected the needy and the poor here in Israel. After seeing so many needs, we want to expand our work to help and reach more people.
We will be opening an Outreach Distribution Center for widows, single mothers, Holocaust survivors, and elderly people. There we’ll be able to distribute clothes, food parcels and basic necessities to the ones who need it most. People that receive help know that it comes from Christians who love and support the nation of Israel, and they are deeply touched by it.
The place we rented is located in the very center of *****, which makes rent higher than a place on the outskirts, but the point is to make it easily accessible to people by public transportation. We want to bring help as close as possible to those in need, even if the cost will be higher.
The costs are running high, but we trust that God will provide through His faithful children. We are so thankful for our friends that are helping us with this center. We’re all aware of how difficult life has become financially, including for believers, but this is the perfect time to allow our testimony to shine and show the society that we don’t back down when things get tough. This is the time when our actions truly speak louder than words.
We believe such projects allow us to not only preach the gospel, but reveal it practically through our actions. It’s important to now only share the gospel, but also show the gospel of Yeshua to those in need.
Right now we must prepare the Distribution Center we rented by furnishing and installing shelves, cupboards and storage solutions. This will cost $1,500, and it is a one-time investment to enable us to have the center open and operating as soon as possible.
Our monthly expenses for this center will be $600 for rent and electricity, which is something we gladly want to pay if it means more people will receive the help and the comfort they need.
The Bible says we have no choice – we must open our hearts to the poor. Today I ask you to help us feed the hungry and share the love of God with those who are desperate for it. Help us do more by reaching out with your best gift.”
“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.” Deuteronomy 10:18
