Israel
History is filled with accounts of antisemitic atrocities committed against the Jewish people.
Violent acts, often carried out in the name of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus’ Hebrew name), have resulted in many Jewish people finding it difficult to put their trust in the Lord Yeshua. They have a “spiritual veil” on their minds, which prevents their full understanding of salvation through Yeshua (2 Corinthians 3:14). Therefore, it is no wonder that many Israelis find it difficult to put their full trust in Messiah Yeshua, and thus, this has made it extremely challenging to build messianic congregations, but all of this has changed over the past 15 years. Being led by Israeli young people, the inhabitants of the Land are now increasingly curious about whether Yeshua was the Promised Messiah spoken of in Isaiah 53. Many are putting their faith in Him today and messianic congregations are multiplying and growing. Even in the Arabic-speaking areas of the country, people are being drawn to the claims of Messiah and are searching the Bible for answers to life’s questions. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is a new day in Israel — and the Gospel is spreading widely with thousands coming to Messiah each year.
Israelis live each day with the reality of possible war. They face constant pressure and threats from the neighboring countries of Iran, Lebanon, and Syria. A phrase often heard amongst the people is: “Pray for peace but prepare for war”. At the same time, thousands of Jewish families pour into Israel from countries around the world each year. This is known as “making Aliyah”. Therefore, this diverse cultural and linguistic population is constantly seeking financial security, prosperity, and spiritual fulfillment in a small country being threatened by its neighbors and with families striving to make a living in the midst of high unemployment and a high cost of living.
Each year traditionally, millions of tourists flock to the Holy Land to see historic sites and walk where Jesus walked as recorded in Scripture. Israel is home to three of the world’s major religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. It is difficult to identify the exact number of new believers each year in Israel since some Israelis who become followers of Yeshua do so very quietly for fear of reprisal from their families and communities. Twenty years ago, only 40 to 50 Messianic Jewish congregations existed in Israel. Since then, messianic congregations have flourished and especially among immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Today, messianic congregations total more than 300 with a large number of those attending coming from Russian-speaking countries while Arabic-speaking congregations’ number over 100. These gatherings of believers range in size from small home fellowships to congregations of 200 to 300 or more.
- Official Name
- State of Israel
- Form Of Government
- Parliamentary Democracy
- Population
- 9,225,612 (2023)
- Capital
- Jerusalem
- Primary Languages
- Hebrew, Arabic, Russian
- Religions
- Jewish, Muslim, Christian
Empower’s Response in Israel:
Empower Ministries strengthens and equips messianic congregations, Christian Arab outreach ministries, Arabic-speaking churches, and generally the Body of Yeshua in this Middle Eastern country that, spiritually speaking, is ready for harvest. It is Empower’s goal to encourage those seeking spiritual answers in life to investigate the claims of Messiah and put their faith in Him – Yeshua, the Promised Messiah.
Scripture
In partnership with the Bible Society in Israel, Empower Ministries is providing a variety of Scriptures (Bibles, New Testaments, and other Biblical books and material), free of charge to seekers, congregations, and individuals throughout Israel, with the intent of helping the Body of Christ to grow wider and deeper in the Word of God. These are being provided in Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Amharic, and a variety of other languages to meet the culturally diverse makeup of this country.
It is Empower’s goal to saturate the Holy Land with God’s Word, laying a firm foundation for even a greater turning to Yeshua as Messiah in the months and years to come.
Donate to ScripturesCompassionate Outreach
Empower works with messianic and Arabic-speaking congregations to further enhance their ministries and outreaches through a variety of means. Furniture and appliances for newly arriving families; banquets and bus tours for those new to the Holy Land and seeking to know more about Yeshua; emergency supplies in the event of war; hot meals and food baskets for impoverished Russian Jewish immigrant families; and food, clothes and other support for Holocaust survivors and their families.
Give to Compassionate OutreachSupport of Messianic Jewish Congregations
Empower has formed friendships with a number of messianic congregations in Israel who are reaching out to their neighborhoods with love, compassion, and an unashamed message of hope in Yeshua. Empower Ministries assists these congregations in different ways according to their situations. This support may take the form of rental of premises, sound systems, rental of buses to bring families to congregational gatherings, vehicles for transporting goods and scripture, as well as some short-term pastoral support for fledgling congregations.
Provide Assistance to Messianic CongregationsSupport of Arabic-Speaking Churches
Throughout the country, there are many smaller Arabic-speaking churches that currently exist or are in the process of being planted. Empower Ministries seeks to come alongside some of these ministries and provide them with the means to reach out to their districts with the Gospel and compassionate aid. Especially in the poorer situations, Empower is able to assist with biblical study books for pastors, short-term partial support for church plants, partial renovations of church buildings, and emergency aid in times of crisis.
Support Arabic Speaking ChurchesOther Countries We Work In
Empower Ministries operates all over the world — from Canada to Burma, from Israel to India, and beyond. We believe there has never been a better time to equip people to share the Gospel.
