A New Year of Ministry

Dear friends,

Shalom in His grace.

I am leaving for Israel on January 9 and will be with our staff for five days. I am eagerly looking forward to being in the land to encourage and pray with our wonderful staff. Lately they have been in bomb shelters every night as Houthi missiles rain into Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel each day. I heard from several of our dedicated staff that they experienced some great opportunities to share the gospel in bomb shelters!

I also received a note from one of our youngest missionaries who took part in our monthly Sabbath dinner event with dozens of young Israelis. She was surprised by an unexpected conversation. Let me share this story with you in her words:

Yesterday, a new security guard came to Hamercaz (the Tel Aviv Messianic Center)—a young, atheist guy. I had the chance to tell him who we are and discovered that he knows a Messianic believer. During our conversation, he shared that he was supposed to be at the Nova Festival but canceled his tickets just two days before October 7, when Hamas slaughtered hundreds of Israelis at that very festival.

I asked him if he thought it was just a coincidence. Immediately I added that I think it was a miracle and thanked God, to which he agreed :). This opened an opportunity to talk about Yeshua (Jesus). It seems like the security guard comes from a challenging background. He was open to sharing, and I invited him to join our young adults’ meetings (though he was not too excited about the idea). It was hard for me to think clearly, which honestly frustrated me because I couldn’t focus the way I wanted. Still, I trust that God will continue to work from the conversation we had. Let’s pray for him and for more opportunities to share the gospel with him! :) “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7).

And that’s the story. Isn’t it amazing whom the Lord places in our paths for the sake of the gospel?

I have high hopes for the new year and would appreciate your prayers. Please pray for:

• This young security guard whose story I just told.
• For me and the team who is going with me to the Holy Land.
• Our new Tel Aviv Messianic Center to be completed by March 1, our set goal. I am hopeful we can make it.
• For the dedication tour, scheduled around June 15. On this trip, we will explore the land, help with some ministry projects, and celebrate the completion of our new center. We will announce the full details and open registration on our website soon.
• For funds to help pay for an office manager, which we will need for the new center (about $65,000 for the year).
• For Israel to be at peace internally, politically, and externally with her neighbors!
• For the hostages to be returned soon. It has been over 400 days since Hamas seized 275 people of all ages as hostages. Probably between 50 and 70 of the estimated 100  hostages still in Hamas captivity are alive. This breaks my heart every day.

Thanks for caring for the global work of Your Mission to the Jewish People, especially in Israel. May the Lord fill you with His joy in the New Year. And thank you for your prayers and financial support that enable us to reach the 15-plus million Jewish people around the world.  Today, we are in twenty countries and recently opened a branch in Brazil where there are 350,000 Jewish people.

We could not do all this without you!

Blessings in 2025,

Mitch