Linga- Jerusalem

Back to Jerusalem, a Christian ministry based in Israel, concluded it’s week long outreach campaign with a celebration on the Mount of Olives. A large number of local believers and church leaders attended as well as many who participated in the outreach.

Pastor Rajaei Samawei, director of Back to Jerusalem, welcomed the attendees, many who came from outside the country. Jeries Baransi led praise and worship in Arabic followed by Mark Friesland from San Diego, California who led worship in English.

Pastor Rajaei shared about the vision for Back to Jerusalem, which began four years ago with a desire to win the city of Jerusalem back to Christ. He thanked Pastor Majdi Anwar who was particularly helpful in beginning the ministry. Pastor Anwar shared about the importance of prayer and evangelism. He spoke about the ministry’s beginnings and his hopes that the ministry will expand to include the whole world.

A short film summarizing the week’s activities was shown. Pastor Rajaei reported that thousands of people received evangelistic material in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Haifa, Acre, Tel Aviv and numerous villages in the Galilee. More people accepted Christ during this week than during the campaigns in previous years. Several participants gave their testimonies and spoke of the amazing impact the week had on their lives.

   

Pastor Rajaei then shared about the ministry’s food distribution to poor and needy families. He spoke about an elderly Muslim man who owns a supermarket and donated a large sum of money and sold the ministry staff groceries and other products at a very low price, helping with costs significantly.

Pastor Boutros Ghrayeb led a communion service and was assisted by many of the pastors and church leaders. A Jewish believer by the name of Tony shared about his love for the Arab people and about his experiences sharing the gospel in Arabic countries. He voiced his hope that Messianic believers will join in serving with Back to Jerusalem in the coming year.

Pastor Rajaei thanked the many people who helped with the program including the Linga staff, director Yosef A. Mariam Elias, Dolores Livingston and Pastor Majdi Anwar. The service was concluded by Pastor Edward Tannous who led a time of personal dedication before God to continue the spread of the gospel around the world.

The closing ceremony marked the end of a weeklong campaign to reach the city of Jerusalem with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Participants numbered over 250 and activities included distributing Christian material, visiting homes and hospitals, distributing food to the needy and children’s ministry with the help of Kid’s Games from San Diego, California.