In the Fall of 2011, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Israel! Although I have traveled for pleasure in the past, this trip was slightly different. For 10 days, I went on a short-term mission trip with the Christian missions organization e3partners.org. We traveled to Tel Aviv to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with God's chosen people. We also took a couple of days to visit Jerusalem and see the Holy Sites.
To my supporters: This trip was made possible by the financial, personal, and spiritual support of my great friends and family. THANK YOU to everyone who donated money and prayed for my trip. I couldn't have done it without you! This blog is dedicated to you.
Tel Aviv
I traveled with a small team of a dozen people to partner with a small Jewish messianic church to help spread the Good News of Jesus Christ with the Jewish community in Tel Aviv. Here's our team:
Tel Aviv is a very modern city, akin to Los Angeles or Miami. This was a surprise to me, as I had thought before this trip that everywhere in Israel probably looked like the Gaza Strip. Just goes to show you that you never really know a place before you visit in person.This beach city is actually a popular tourist destination for many Eastern European countries who enjoy the cultural and religious freedoms unique to Tel Aviv and not found in many other places in that area of the world. Check out the beautiful sky over the beach!
Here is the Jewish Christian church service on the Sabbath:
What's a Jewish Christian church?
I know what you're thinking: how can this be a "Jewish Christian" church? Aren't those different religions. The answer is technically yes, but that's precisely what we talked about in Tel Aviv. the message that we shared, in partnership with the small Messianic Jewish community, is that Jesus is not just the God of the Christians, as is commonly thought in Jewish culture.
In fact, for a Jewish person to follow Jesus, is actually for that person to come into the fullness of Judaism. God created the Jewish people to be a very special, chosen people group. But He also created them to know Jesus as their personal Savior. For it says:
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile". - Romans 1: 16
It's because of this verse, and many other like it, that you have this Jewish Christian church singing songs about Jesus in Hebrew like this - "Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord":
(VIDEO TO GO HERE)
Our Daily Mission
Our daily mission in Tel Aviv was to go out into the community and share the Gospel. We did this in a number of ways:
-taking surveys about "Your Spirituality" in public area, such as parks, markets, and busy squares
-handing out free Gospels of Mark in Hebrew at different community events and at homes
-hosting a Coffeehouse night with live music
-singing acoustic praise & worships songs in public parks and squares
Here's our team holding our daily morning briefing before setting out into the city:
Here's me with a couple of team members preparing to go out for the day:
Here's a pic of us going to the apartments in the neighborhood, passing out info, and inviting people to our show later on in the week.
Here's Jan, on of our team leaders, sharing the Gospel with an old Jewish woman in a market:
During the day, we stopped into small places like this in crowded markets to get great eats. Here I am getting fresh fruit juice - YUM.
One of the places we did outdoor ministry was a city-wide, late-night Nike run. Here is part of our team getting ready to hand out information and gospels to the crowd.
Our team performed some acoustic music at a local coffee shop in a busy area of Tel Aviv. We sang several Christian songs, as well as other popular songs from Adele and U2. During the week when we talked with people in the community, we promoted the coffee shop event and invited people to come. Several people showed up, and we also had visitors that just walked in upon hearing the sweet sound!
Final Thoughts
Our ministry in Tel Aviv was challenging and rewarding. Challenging because, of course, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Israel is not exactly an easy thing. However, Tel Aviv is the most liberal and open-minded city in all of Israel. If any religious discussions about Jesus are going to happen in Israel, it's going to be in Tel Aviv!
What was rewarding were the few people who took a look at Jesus' own words about who he was, and considered them - even in it was just for a moment. Considering something you've disagreed with for your whole life must be a difficult thing, but I was encouraged by the people who took time to examine Jesus' claims and decide for themselves. After all, following Jesus is a personal decision. I think people should all be brave enough to examine what's really out there, and make up their own mind.
Despite there only be a few people who considered what Jesus had to say on our trip, I count this mission trip as a complete success. Because this mission trip was not about converting anyone to Christianity. I was about simply sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with God's chosen people, and letting him do the rest!
After we wrapped our ministry in Tel Aviv, it was on to Jerusalem!
CLICK ON THE JERUSALEM BLOG LISTED UNDER "MARCH" TO THE RIGHT!
