Unity in Israel

I was recently invited to represent Chosen People Ministries, along with another colleague, at a special dinner hosted by the Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries (Firm). This event, in many ways highlights the very best of the body of Messiah in Israel. So what is FIRM? The reason I've chosen to share about this event, is because of the significant mission of this "fellowship." It's a mission that I fully support and I think you should too!

As you probably know, lots of people say that they support Israel. I have personally spoken with many people who give financially to ministers and ministries in Israel. FIRM exists to authenticate and verify that these ministries are the right match for the ministry partner. More than once, I have spoken with a pastor whose church supports a pro-Israel organization only to discover later that the organization wasn't even operated by believers. FIRM exists to help lovers of Israel connect with healthy organizations in Israel. They are essentially a stamp of approval. Much like Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) helps believers know which organizations they can trust with their donations, FIRM exists to help believers find trustworthy ministries that are really serving on the ground in Israel.

The head of every ministry that has staff in Israel was invited. This includes both Jewish and Arab ministries, outreach ministries, education ministries, congregational ministries etc... Everyone was invited. The message of the meeting was unity and partnership. The heads of these many ministries were encouraged over and over again to partner with one another.

A few ministries were invited to share briefly. One specific speaker stood out in my mind. The head of the Pro-Life organization, Be'ad Chaim, shared how they have many partnerships with local congregations and ministries. These allow them to use their offices or congregational centers for training, counseling and more. These partnerships have enabled Be'ad Chaim to use their volunteer network of trained counselors to reach nearly every major city and town in the country. 

This is a great example of the kind of partnerships that we have in Israel and it's the kind of partnerships that our ministry believes in strongly. Afterwards, I spoke with the head of Be'ad Chaim about possibly doing a seminar in our new Greater Tel Aviv Messianic Center, once we are up and running. She was very thrilled at the offer to help educate more Israelis about options for saving their babies. 

It's not really the point of this article, but I feel compelled to briefly explain their approach. They discovered that most women in Israel would be willing to keep their babies if they were able to get the financial help they need for the first year. It's only about $1500 to save a LIFE! Be'ad Chaim gives them baby furniture, diapers etc... Imagine that, just $1500. 

Another speaker shared about the dental clinic they opened up. They provide free or subsidized dental work in the name of Yeshua (Jesus). Both of these ministries provide those of us in the field opportunities to partner with them. We can send people to the dental clinic. We can recommend people to Be'ad Chaim or distribute their free calendars (with photos of saved babies). Partnership is something that Chosen People Ministries really supports. For example, our video outreach https://www.ifoundshalom.com is done in partnership with an Israeli based ministry http://igod.co.il. Even our Isaiah53 Explained outreach in Israel has other local partners, from printing to online advertising. Recently, we were even approached by another ministry that has offered to help us follow up with the flood of people who have ordered the book online. These are just a few examples, there are many more. Healthy partnerships are really important to maximize our effectiveness in ministry.

As we begin our newest project in Israel, we will need plenty of good partnerships and all for the single purpose of spreading God's Kingdom here in Israel. What I like most about FIRM is their desire to help provide much needed transparency into ministries in Israel. FIRM represents the very best of us as Israeli believers and I hope that you will take some time to look at the ministries represented on their website.
Location: Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

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