NEWS FROM ISRAEL


Publishing

Volume Two of the Childrens Illustrated Bible (Joshua II Kings) has been published and received with delight. Were very excited about this and grateful to God for progress made. Work on volume three, consisting of the prophets, is in full swing.

Responses to Baruch Maozs book on Messianic Judaism have been very encouraging. Most of the reviews are positive, sales are going well and readers write in to say how helpful the book has been to them. The publisher has produced a second edition after selling out the first in four months. All income from the book is directed toward Grace and Truths building project. We long for the book to be useful in promoting a biblical view of the Gospel and of the Jewish people.

Distribution of the Grace and Truth Russian language magazine has grown in 18 months from 1,500 to 10,000, with new readers clamouring for more copies. Grace and Truth Magazine, a solidly Reformed periodical, is distributed free of charge in the former USSR because it has been discovered impossible to collect subscriptions under the complicated and onerous bank regulations in these countries and the substantial bank charges that would render subscription fees meaningless. We are considering the possibility of increasing distribution. Other things being equal, we estimate that we could well reach the 100,000 copy distribution mark within five years. Our desire is promote a biblical view of the Gospel, to combat anti-Semitism in the churches, and to serve as an antidote to Messianic Judaism.

Upon receipt of confirmation from our Dutch friends, who will fund this project, we are about to publish a Russian translation of the Westminster Catechism, and to republish in Russian Baruch s Hebrew book on The Law of Moses and Jewish Identity in Christ, the latter in response to popular demand.

Work continues on other projects, including our on-going project producing Sabbath School material in Hebrew.

The team presently engaged in publishing has been greatly reduced due to the significant fall in support for this work. There are many opportunities, which tug at our hearts, but we must accept the limitations of Gods providence and learn to work within them. Spirits are high among the team and God is blessing our fellowship as we labour together for him.

Inter Church Relations

On Friday, July 25, a group of 14 churches in central Israel met at the culmination of a three-year long process.

An inter-congregational Pact was signed, according to which the signatory churches established agreed biblical grounds for congregation discipline, agreed to support each other in matters of church discipline and agreed to help instruct and edify each other in related matters.

It was a festive occasion at which we all sensed the blessing of God. One of Pastors (David Lazarus, Pastor of the Charismatic congregation, Beit Emmanuel) ably led the meeting, introducing each congregation represented, describing the value of the Pact and intimating his own earlier reservations, removed in the process of discussion and mutual education as the various congregations met to formulate what ultimately became the wording of our mutual undertaking, to be affirmed on that day. Sasha Seriapov, from Grace and Truth, brought a message from the word of God, reminding us that, as Elders, we are engaged in building for God. We must build according to his instructions, and with the right materials. Discipline, he told us, is one of the building materials.

Baruch related the short history of the Pact. A draft had been framed in conversation with four churches in the area at the initiative of two, one of which was Grace and Truth congregation. It was then submitted for discussion and modification to all the congregations in central Israel, excluding in Jerusalem and its satellite cities and townships.

According to the Pact, each signatory congregation has equal standing; the integrity of each congregation is closely safeguarded, as is the unity of the Body of Messiah. Both important principles are recognised and accorded a role in the relationships between churches that chose to sign the document. As an expression of our respect and love for the whole Body of Messiah in Israel, and in recognition of the biblical principles which inform the wording of our Pact, signatory churches undertook to relate to all congregations in the country, signatory or otherwise, according to the wording and the spirit of the undertaking we assumed with our signatures. It is our shared earnest hope that more congregations in central Israel will choose to sign the Pact in the course of time.

We were reminded that church discipline is an act of love, not of retribution, and that its goal is to glorify God, labour for the purity of the churches and secure repentance and restoration for the erring.

Following prayer, the Pact was signed and the original was deposited in the safekeeping of Emmanuel House congregation. We closed with a practical discussion of difficulties encountered by some of the congregations in the realm of discipline, and agreed to meet on a regular basis for similar discussion and prayer.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Friday morning, at 9.00 on October 24th., when our subject will be Goals of Church Discipline. There will be a short message from the Bible on the assigned topic, to be followed by discussion on biblical ways in which the goals of church discipline can best be achieved. Following about an hour of study and discussion, we shall hold an open discussion on issues of church discipline any of the participants wish to raise. Elders and Pastors from the central Israel area are invited. There will be opportunity for new churches to sign the Pact if they wish so to do.

We give thanks to God for this practical expression of our oneness in Christ. There are significant differences between our congregations, but we believe that Messiah overshadows them all. Our working together in the realm of church discipline gives practical expression to the supremacy of Jesus over all our differences. We will not compromise on our commitment to truth as we find it disclosed in scripture, but neither will we compromise on our duty to love our brethren in Christ, in more than merely declaratory ways. The Pact is squarely based on a clearly and uncompromisingly evangelical Statement of Faith, which Statement has excluded a number or purportedly Christian congregations in the area. This, too, has been a helpful outcome, and unusual in a country where theological lines are seldom drawn between professing Christians.

A Pastoral Understudy

We are in earnest search for a Pastoral Understudy, someone of solid Reformed persuasion who can work well with people of other persuasions, who has had a good theological training and some pastoral experience, and who can immigrate to Israel. Such a person, once found, would be slated take over the pastoral care of our congregation when Baruch retires. We have an excellent Eldership and an unbelievable congregation, but are in need of a pastoral leader who can help us forge ahead in a fluid, ever-developing environment, full of opportunity and challenge.

The House of Grace and Truth

Construction on our building is slow but steady. We have recently received a anonymous contribution of $200,000, which will allow us to make significant progress. But we still have a long way to go before completing the building. The economic situation in Israel has not made our task any easier. The drop in the value of foreign currency (edging close to 20%) in spite of a rise in costs, plus the volatility of the market, make it impossible for us to sign long-term contracts because companies are constantly going under and taking their clients money with them.

Three congregants are presently employed in the construction, with volunteers from the congregation helping, as they are able. During the summer vacation some of our younger ones, aged 12-15, volunteered at the site. They have completed most of the plastering on the lower (basement) floor, cleaned up the site and the building, built two of the three sides of the perimeter wall (one of the two others will be iron grating and the third is already built). They are now plastering the ground floor and the galleries. The perimeter wall was estimated to cost us $76,000. By doing most of the work ourselves, we reduced our costs to $21,000. At this stage, we are not in a position to project when construction will be completed, but we are seeking to use every resource to the best of our ability in order to bring completion as close as possible. If you saw how crowded we are as we meet for worship, you would understand how important this building is!

In October we are expecting a volunteer plumber to come from Germany with two workmen in order to do a good bit of the plumbing, still further reducing our costs. Hilfe fur Bruder, a German body that has assisted us in the past, has undertaken to purchase the tools and materials necessary for this stage of the project. They all deserve our sincere thanks.

Concerned about security, particularly with relation to vandalism, we have been looking for an efficient and reasonably cheap way to protect our windows and skylight. We have chosen to have these constructed of reflective polycarbonate, which will allow all of the light through but very little of the heat, and which can effectively resist impact. We have further decided to build the central dome of similar material, thus reducing our future lighting costs and according the building a lighter load than a concrete dome. These decisions have enable us to save a further $20,000 of the estimated costs.

Our main concern at the moment is to winterise the building and the site. Since we have plastered much of the building, this is imperative. The funds we have on hand will enable us to build the skylight and the dome, and to continue plastering in the coming months.

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