Staff Minister to Israeli Soldiers Near Lebanon Border

While most global news reports focus on details of the war in Gaza, an equally important battlefront lies in northern Israel. There, Israeli citizens face rocket bombardment from Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Israeli Defense Forces are engaged in combat with Hezbollah forces.

In support of the northern battlefront, our missionaries and local pastors are engaging in spiritual warfare while providing much-needed aid to displaced families, those without work, and soldiers called to active duty lacking many necessary supplies. We have helped with food parcels, grocery gift cards, boots, nail clippers, medical-grade first-aid kits, socks, knives, headlamps, and more.

Recently, one of the pastors of our congregation, Or HaGalil (Light of Galilee), went into a sporting goods store called Ricochet to ask the owner, whom he knows, what supplies soldiers need. The owner—not a believer yet—was so happy to see the pastor and had a profound spiritual conversation with him. He said the soldiers do not have cold-weather-rated sleeping bags for sleeping outdoors in the winter. They need good sleeping bags and often cannot afford the really warm ones. So, our pastor paid for 100 sleeping bags, and before leaving the store the same day, he gave ten to a unit commander who arrived and needed ten sleeping bags for his men. The commander could hardly believe the warm ones were already paid for as a gift from our congregation!

Another of our missionaries was recently at a store where soldiers buy supplies. He saw a young man—a believer he knows—who was called up to duty and looking for much-needed boots. This young man was with his commander, who is not yet a believer. Our missionary paid for the boots and other supplies their unit lacked, and the young soldiers thanked him.

Not long afterward, the believer wrote (translated into English from Hebrew), “I wanted to say a huge thank you for the boots. The exact timing amazed me as I talk a lot with my friend about faith, and this kind of thing happened at the right time. Amazing stuff, God’s love in action! Thank you very much. I distributed the gift bags that you gave me to the soldiers.” Even more amazingly, the unbelieving unit commander has since spoken with the pastors of our congregation, inviting them to come talk with the soldiers in his unit since he is highly intrigued by their stories.

Our congregation in the Upper Galilee is a microcosm of northern Israel, where many Jewish and Arab people live in peaceful co-existence. Just as the rockets from terrorists in Hezbollah or Hamas threaten both Arab and Jewish Israelis, the message of hope, salvation, and peace through Jesus’ atonement beckons to all. The gospel does not discriminate against any people group. We proclaim God’s message of forgiveness, open for everyone.

Please pray for our congregation Or HaGalil, and all our pastors and missionaries serving in the north and around Israel. Intercede for the Israeli soldiers fighting to protect the nation from violence and bombing. Pray our staff will have divine appointments with people hungry for spiritual nourishment. Please pray the communities of Muslims, the Jewish religious and non-religious groups, Arab Christians, the Druze, and all others in Israel will come to faith in Jesus. Thank you!