Christians across the world are being connected with the living church in Israel thanks to the efforts of a Norfolk-based charity.
The message lit up on the phone: “Tonight I prayed with three refugees from Baghdad to accept Jesus!” We all like to receive good news, and when Your People My People directors Amanda Harris and Karen Gower received the text, they were understandably excited, not in the least because it had been sent to them by a Jewish, Israeli pastor ministering in Finland!
This kind of good news does not usually make headlines in our media, but is at the heart of the vision of Your People My People, a charity based in Hockwold, West Norfolk.
Karen, originally from Norwich, and now back here via NZ, and the US, and her colleague and friend Amanda, have first-hand experience of both Jewish and Arab Israeli ministries working together and alongside each other, to win their nation with the Gospel, after serving in Israel for over ten years.
Realising that many Christians and churches never hear the good news of what God is doing in Israel, inspired the ladies to start connecting Israeli believers with the Body of Christ around the UK and beyond.
“We realised that the local Arab and Jewish believers in Israel were praying together and doing outreaches together. Looking past the political issues, they look at what they agree on, loving and following Jesus, and together, moving forward from there,” shared the directors, both now living in Hockwold near Thetford.
“We see that many Christians only hear the political news from the Middle East, but God is doing so much more. People are coming to faith in Jesus regularly! Our heart is to encourage Christians to start praying for the church in Israel, that they will be effective in winning others with the love of God and see the Body grow in unity and maturity.”
Your People My People works with and supports several organisations in Israel, Dugit Evangelistic Outreach Centre in Tel Aviv; Helping Hand Coalition who supports and aids the aging community of Holocaust survivors throughout Israel; those helping terror victims in Jerusalem; HOPE, a house of prayer in Nazareth; and actively support Arab and Jewish individuals in full time ministry.
“Forging deep relationships over the years with local believers has given us a unique window to identify some of their needs, and the heart of the local body. Through the ministry of Your People My People, we now want to share these precious stories with you,” said Karen.
“We believe that Jesus is the only hope for Israel and the Middle East, and that if we, as Christians, are willing to engage with what God is doing in this part of the world, then we will begin to see the kind of change that will make a difference!”
If you would like to receive YPMP’s free magazine, or have YPMP run a stand at your event, come and speak to your group /church, or if you would just like to learn more of what God is doing in Israel, please contact them at: [email protected] or visit www.yourpeoplemypeople.org
Pictured are Karen Gower (left) and Amanda Harris of West Norfolk-based charity Your People My People.
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