Dear valued readers and Friends (Chaverim),
Please check out our latest August edition of Israel & Christians Today. It’s full of interesting and important articles, reports and updates to keep you informed and inspired, so you can feel equipped to pray and advocate for Israel and our Jewish brothers and sisters in these uncertain and challenging times.
I encourage you to order extra copies to share with family, friends, work colleagues and your church — or simply show them how to subscribe for their own free copy. Details are on the back page and at c4israel.com.au/signup
Reporting Back: C4I Asia Conference in the Philippines
It was a great privilege to represent Christians for Israel Australia at the recent Christians for Israel Asia Conference in the Philippines, addressing over 200 delegates — bishops, pastors, Bible college students and Christian leaders from right across Asia.
I brought two messages. The first, Antisemitism in Our Time and the Heart of God, traced what the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob says about Israel, and unpacked the truth that Israel is God’s firstborn son. From there I challenged delegates: if this is who Israel is to God, how should we love who God loves?
The second, Modern Zionism and the Role of the Gentile Church, walked through the history of modern Zionism from the 1800s and the restorationist church leaders who began asking a daring question — what if God truly meant to fulfil His promise to regather the Jewish people to their ancient homeland? We explored the rebirth of Israel in 1948 and the Church’s role in helping bring the Jewish people home, comforting them, and provoking them to jealousy in these days before Messiah’s coming.
The response was tremendously encouraging, and I’m already considering turning the lecture notes into a series of articles for future editions and our website. Watch this space.
Join Us: Israel & Greece Tour, October — Our 25th!
Mandy and I are excited to be leading another tour to Israel and Greece this October, with Vision Tours and Olive Tree Travel — remarkably, our 25th tour! It includes a 4-night cruise across the Greek islands, taking in Patmos, Rhodes and Ephesus, following in the footsteps of St John and St Paul. Seats are limited, so if you’re interested, please call Olive Tree Travel free-call on 1300 550 830 to secure your place. For more details got to vision.org.au/tours.
Volunteers Needed: Work From Home
We’re looking for a couple of volunteers to work from home taking phone calls and enquiries for the ministry. Full training is provided, along with a dedicated ministry phone. If this sounds like you, please send your interest and CV to info@c4israel.com.au and we’ll send you the position description and further details.
End of Financial Year Appeal — Goal Exceeded!
Our End of Financial Year Appeal was a wonderful success. Together with the United Israel Australia Appeal, we set out to raise $60,000 for our joint project helping bring the Bnei Menashe — the Jewish community of Asia — home on Aliyah, dollar-for-dollar matched.
Not only did we meet that goal, we exceeded it by over $15,000. So over $75,268 was raised. Thank you to everyone who gave.
A New Project: Healing for Israel’s Youth in the North
Building on the success of our Bnei Menashe project in partnership with UIA and Keren Hayesod, we’re now turning our attention to another urgent need — the plight of thousands of young Israelis, particularly in the north, still carrying the weight of post-war trauma and PTSD.
From there I challenged delegates: if this is who Israel is to God, how should we love who God loves?
Through UIA’s Rebuilding Israel Fund, new Youth Resilience Centres are being established to give displaced and traumatised youth in northern Israel safe spaces to heal.
These centres provide emotional therapies, creative and multimedia equipment, structured sport and leadership development, helping teenagers process the anxiety, disrupted routines and lingering fear caused by prolonged rocket fire and mass evacuations.
Programs include therapeutic and recreational spaces, leadership opportunities where teens mentor younger children, and integrated art, sport, volunteering and social action projects.
All donations are tax deductible, and together we can bring real comfort and unconditional love, expressing the very heart of the Father we serve.
“Your Israel Connection”
We recently sent out the first edition of our new newsletter, Your Israel Connection, reaching around 5,000 supporters across Australia.
This edition carried a special tribute to our dear friend, the late Hugh Kitson, the gifted documentary filmmaker whose work brought the story of Israel and the nations to life on screen. We want to honour Hugh’s legacy by exploring what it would take to complete the third and final film in his series, Whose Land? 3. We’ll keep you updated, and would love to hear from anyone who shares a heart to see Hugh’s final vision realised.
SafeWill, Lasting Legacy
Scripture speaks often of the importance of preparing for the future and leaving a godly inheritance for our loved ones, outlining core principles for managing our wealth and stewarding our legacy well. We’d encourage every reader to prayerfully consider making provision in putting your family’s affairs in order.
So with that said, we’re also excited to soon offer readers the opportunity to have a professional legal Will prepared, free of charge, through our partners at SafeWill, during a special promotional period. For more details click here.
A Final Word
Thank you, as always, for standing with us — in prayer, in giving, and in love for God’s people Israel. Details of how to support our various projects are on the back page of our newspaper and at c4israel.com.au/donate God bless you as you prayerfully and generously give and support this work. As Jesus taught in Matthew 25, whatever we do for the least of these, His brethren, we do for Him.
0 Comments