"I would like to take people on a different kind of tour of the Holy Land," explained Brian, who joined the Chosen People Ministries staff in Israel only a few months ago.

Brian's tour would not involve the major biblical sites that draw so many tourists and disciples to Israel every year. His tour would take you to see the people with whom he works on a daily basis: prostitutes, addicts, and homeless people. These beloved of God need someone to show them the Messiah's love in a tangible way, something Brian and his fellow ministry workers do on a daily basis. As Brian explains it, his work in the capital city of Tel Aviv includes three areas of ministry.

The first of these is a soup kitchen. This ministry was begun by a local Calvary Chapel, and through a series of events recently had to change location. God brought them to a strategic corner of the city, and gave them a space that was formerly home to a bar. Sensing God's call to minister to the needy, Brian decided that he needed to get involved in this work. A couple of afternoons a week, to the sounds of a live praise band, 70-100 people gather in this place for free home-cooked food and sweet fellowship together. About half of those who attend the meal are Russian immigrants, and a few have begun attending worship services at the Calvary Chapel.

The second aspect of this ministry is a rehabilitation center that services both Jaffa and Tel Aviv. At least three Chosen People Ministries workers take time to help out at this center, leading Bible studies and offering counseling. The location doesn't offer much space - it is perhaps a 1,200 square foot apartment - to hold as many as 10-12 men at a time. Brian reports that the faces at the center tend to change every week. "As much as it's frustrating to see guys come and go," Brian explained, "it's just the nature of the beast of drug and alcohol addiction. They have to hit rock bottom before the will come back. But if they can hear the Gospel somewhere on that journey, then praise the Lord!"

The third aspect of this outreach is located near the Central Bus Depot in Tel Aviv, within a district populated by houses of prostitution and marred by the problems one might associate with that activity. This ministry was founded by David, a man with a heart for the downtrodden of Israel, helped by Brian. David actively sought an apartment in this neighborhood, and found one that had formerly been a house of prostitution. "The Lord was able to redeem this facility and use it for His work," Brian joyfully shared.

Once the apartment had been cleaned and renovated, David and Brian set up a table across the street, near a place they dubbed "The Devil's Hotel," a haven for prostitution and drug use. From this table, they offered food, coffee and clean clothes to those in need on the street. Then they started offering the apartment as a place to shower, put on some clean clothes, launder their old clothes, and take a nap.

Word spread as these men were faithful to offer a "cold cup of water" to their thirsty neighbors. Soon, a dozen people a day were knocking on the apartment door, looking for a safe haven. Sixty to seventy percent of these visitors are Russian, Brian said, and most are male prostitutes.

These people are looking "to really be loved with a different kind of love than the one the see every day," said Brian.

The love of the Messiah is causing this ministry to grow, and it just moved into a new facility, thanks to the Lord's working. This one is over three times bigger than the last, so that some of the space can be allocated to congregational meetings or praise and worship. A friend of the ministry, himself a former drug addict, helped to renovate this facility, and another local ministry donated bunk beds and chairs. Soon, the outreach center will be fully operational, giving food, clothes, showers, laundry, counseling, love, and the Good News to those who so desperately need it.

This is the other face of the Holy Land, and it is a profoundly human one. These are the people - the prostitutes and sinners - to whom our Messiah came two thousand years ago. Ministry in Israel and across the globe must, with His guidance, follow His lead. Please pray for our staff workers and the others in Tel Aviv working to spread the Good News and share Messiah's love with those who need it most.