Congregation Planting
The Messianic movement in Israel, though still young and small compared to, say, the United States, is thriving and, most importantly, is strongly rooted. Messianic congregations are the lifeblood of the Messianic community, places where Jewish believers can worship in a Jewish way - through music, liturgy, and holiday observances, among other things - and hear the Gospel of the Messiah placed firmly in its Jewish context. A congregation leader sponsored by CPM recently wrote to tell a wonderful story from his congregation.
A few weeks ago we had a tremendous blessing: the wedding of [Names withheld]. Both of them grew up in our fellowship. [The groom], as a seven year old boy, as well as his mother, his aunt and cousins, were saved through the ministry of the congregation. [The bride] came to Israel as a young girl, being part of a big family of believers. Both attended the congregation's children's program as well as summer and holiday camps, [They] became close friends since age 16, while active our youth group. Then we blessed both of them as they went to serve in the Army.
After their time in the Army, they both got actively involved in the children's ministry of the congregation. A year ago, she became a leader of this ministry. Meanwhile, he started to feel a special calling upon his life to minister to the homeless children in Russia. [The two] were married few weeks ago in our congregation.
These Messianic newlyweds have been sent by their congregation as ministry workers to Russia, where they will work with homeless children. What an amazing story of congregational growth and maturity!
Congregations across the country continue to grow. One congregation in Tel Aviv, which has a weekly attendance of over 100 people, reports that they recently began a baptism class in which ten new believers enrolled. These brothers and sisters will be baptized in the Sea of Galilee this February. In the meantime, pray for their spiritual growth and solidity in their faith. Pray also for the new leader of this congregation, one which hosts both Russian and Hebrew language services.
