Dear friend,
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you will enjoy some delicious food and fun times with your family and friends this month. There is nothing like a bountiful Thanksgiving meal to remind us how God uses food and hospitality to unite families and friends.
Thanksgiving is not the only holiday with special foods intended to help us remember the past. Every Jewish holiday has its unique cuisine. For example, we eat a dish at Passover called tzimmes, usually made with carrots and dried fruits. The secret ingredients to excellent traditional tzimmes are honey and cinnamon. Why? Because redemption from slavery is always sweet! Our Jewish culinary customs encourage us to find joy despite life’s difficulties because God is a mighty deliverer. We are alive today to eat the sweet mixture on Passover only because of His covenantal faithfulness!
Inviting others to our homes and tables is rewarding and can also be a powerful ministry strategy, especially among our Jewish friends and neighbors. Food is central to Jewish life. There is a well-known saying within the Jewish community when summarizing the history of the Jewish people: “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!”
Food is a stunning reminder of God’s love and care for us! Jesus said it Himself in the Sermon on the Mount: “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
Throughout the years, I have found that one of the most fruitful ways to show God’s love and proclaim the gospel with others is through the ministry of hospitality, which—you guessed it—involves lots of food!
This month, I am delighted to explain how you can become part of God’s great plan to redeem Israel by showing hospitality. But first, let me describe how this innovative ministry began and recount a few good stories of how God works through believers when we bring His love to life around the table.
Reaching Israelis through Hospitality
One of the pioneers of our hospitality ministries to traveling Israelis is a Jewish believer who grew up in the Washington, D.C., area and eventually led one of our Chosen People Ministries Messianic congregations in Maryland. Scott describes why and how he left a thriving congregation to move nearly 9,000 miles to serve Israeli backpackers in New Zealand:
My wife and I motorcycled throughout New Zealand’s wild South Island to celebrate our thirtieth anniversary. We discovered scores of young travelers—Israeli and otherwise—everywhere we went who seemed primed and ready for spiritual conversation.
We moved to the South Island the very next year to test the idea of a hospitality ministry. We soon discovered evangelistic opportunities were even better than we initially thought! I remember one night, it took me four hours to finish a forty-five-minute cleaning chore at the campground where we had planted ourselves. No, I was not slacking off, and my sponge was not broken. Young Israelis at the camp kept stopping me, wanting to talk about God, Jesus, and the Bible!
The ministry in New Zealand grew, and with some help from the United States, our New Zealand team bought a beautiful fifty-plus-bed youth hostel in Wanaka, one of the most beautiful places you have ever seen. We call it the Zula Lodge because, in Hebrew, the name implies a place of rest and relaxation. Young Israelis come to this charming town by the thousands each year after getting out of the army.
Our hospitality ministry in New Zealand, which is a natural wonderland for young Israelis, is still going strong! Michael and Teresa, our current directors there, had this to say:
Zohar, a native-born Israeli on our team, frequently checks the New Zealand “Israeli Travelers WhatsApp group” to see if Israelis need a place to stay in the visually spectacular town of Dunedin. He asked us if we could host two women for just a day. “We would be delighted!” Teresa responded. The next day, Maya* and Shoshanah* arrived! They met at the Zula Lodge and decided to travel for a few weeks together.
One night turned into three, and on the third night, we all had dinner together. Luckily, Teresa is used to cooking plant-based meals, as both were vegan! The usual question came up: “Why do you host Israelis?” We talked for two hours, during which I had the opportunity to share our testimonies and our love for the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua!
The Hospitality Ministry Expands
One of our newest guest houses, Beit Samurai (“House of the Servant”), is in Tokyo, Japan. The couple who leads this ministry has already hosted hundreds of Israelis!
Ori* and Abigail* stayed with us for a few days in December. As they walked up to our house from the train station, Abigail told Ori, “I am really craving challah right now after being away from home for so long.”
One of our staff offered them some challah she had baked the night before. Abigail could not believe her eyes. She marveled at how crazy and unexpected it was because she never imagined eating challah in Japan!
The offer of physical bread opened the door for her to receive spiritual bread as our staff embodied the love of Jesus.
Stories like these illustrate why our hospitality ministry to Israelis has blossomed among mission-minded believers worldwide. We now have hostels in New Zealand, India, Japan, and Australia. We also have hosts ready to welcome Israelis in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and now, the United States.
We cannot have hostels or rent apartments everywhere. However, God is drawing people from every nation whom He is eager to use to provoke Israel to jealousy—and here is where you come in!
Introducing Our “Host Israelis” Program!
This month, I am delighted to announce the official launch of “Host Israelis,” a program in which God can use you in young Israelis’ lives by inviting them to your table!
There is no need to speak Hebrew or know much about Israel—though it might help. Most important is having a heart for blessing Jewish people everywhere with hospitality, friendship, love, and the good news of the Messiah.
Your Mission to the Jewish People provides training and resources on Israeli culture and how to recognize opportunities for spiritual conversations. When you connect with “Host Israelis,” you join a global network of like-minded believers overseen by seasoned Chosen People Ministries missionaries.
A few American hosts have already welcomed Israelis to their table! I was amazed to hear what God did while we were still beta testing the program. If the following story can happen with just a few host families, imagine what can happen when we have a nationwide network of Christian hosts passionate about the salvation of Israel!
One Israeli family traveling across the United States stayed with eleven hosts on our network. Our host families are all reporting they had an amazing time. This Israeli family is very open to the gospel. They are reading the New Testament and listening to Christian worship music! They like Jesus. The husband believes He is the Messiah. The wife is also very warm and open to Jesus, but she has questions.
Hospitality and Jesus
Showing love through hospitality can be a powerful way to draw Jewish people to the Messiah! We see it through stories like the one above and in the Scriptures. The Gospels often depict Jesus dining with people. He broke bread not only with His disciples but also with outcasts and members of society not accustomed to sitting with rabbis. He was known for “eating with the tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 9:11; cf. Mark 2:16; Luke 5:30). In many cases, a communal meal provided the context for revealing Himself as the Messiah.
How It Works
It is simple! Go to chosenpeople.com/host and click the link to fill out the online application. We request two references from people who know you well and will set up an interview to get to know you better and answer any questions. Once you are approved, you will have access to our many training videos to help you understand how to navigate the app, create your listing, engage Israeli culture, and talk about Jesus with your guests. As soon as your listing is made active, Israelis can contact you through WhatsApp and view your profile.
Will You Join Us?
We hope you will partner with us in this exciting work of reaching Israelis traveling worldwide—including in your backyard! At the same time, we understand not everyone can host guests overnight. You can still play a key role by being a day host or supporting this ministry in prayer and financial support.
If you are seeking a spiritual adventure, you can even come to help us at some of our international hostels on a short-term mission trip.
Whether you invite Israelis to your table, support this outreach, or pray for us, we know the Lord will use you with your Chosen People Ministries partners to reach Jewish people around the globe.
Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Mitch Glaser