Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - How many followers of Jesus are there in the Mideast? Read the new “State of the Epicenter 2017” report.

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

How many followers of Jesus are there in the Mideast? Read the new “State of the Epicenter 2017” report. by joelcrosenberg (Jerusalem, Israel) -- Over the last few months, my Joshua Fund colleagues and I have been working on a new report concerning the "State of the Epicenter 2017."  Working with pastors, ministry leaders and experts in the region, we carefully examined the question of how many followers of Jesus Christ currently reside in Israel, the Palestinian territories, and in the five Arab neighbors around Israel. It was the first time since my wife, Lynn, and I founded The Joshua Fund in 2006 that our team has drilled down into the data -- and the trend lines -- to assess the health and growth (or decline) or the church, country by country. Personally, I found the research fascinating, and the results encouraging. At the recent Epicenter Conference held in Orange County, California, I shared those results with the attendees. Now I'd like to share the results with you STATE OF THE EPICENTER 2017: HOW MANY FOLLOWERS OF JESUS ARE THERE? “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” – The Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18, ESV) Many in the Epicenter are being shaken as perhaps never before in human history. Syria is imploding. Iraq is convulsing. Lebanon and Jordan have been overrun by millions of refugees. Egypt has undergone multiple revolutions. Israelis and Palestinians, meanwhile, have faced repeated waves of violence. The Church has also been deeply shaken. Many followers of Jesus Christ throughout the region have been horribly persecuted and targeted by terrorists. Church buildings have been bombed, set ablaze, and riddled with machine gun fire. Christians have been captured, enslaved, tortured, and beheaded. Some have even been crucified. Yet even amidst such darkness, we can rejoice and give thanks because the Holy Spirit is on the move to advance Christ’s unshakeable kingdom. “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.” (Hebrews 12:28) Consider these encouraging facts: News of such wars, persecution and suffering has unleashed a great movement of prayer by believers around the world for the Church and the lost in the Epicenter. Followers of Jesus in the Middle East are boldly and creatively communicating the Gospel to their people using satellite television, radio broadcasts, the Internet, Bible distribution, literature distribution, and their own personal witness – indeed, they are reaching more people in the region than ever before. Millions of Jews and Muslims are now able to hear, read and consider the Gospel message in their own heart languages – just as remarkable, many are open to considering the claims of Jesus for the first time in their lives. As a result of so much prayer and faithful seed planting, pastors and ministry leaders throughout the Epicenter report signs of hope – after centuries of spiritual drought, the Church in the Middle East is bearing fruit again. Jews and Muslims are coming to faith, and are being baptized and discipled. There is much to do, but real progress is being made. In some ways, the current environment is evocative of the First Century. Amidst tremendous hardship and persecution, believers are reaping a harvest by God’s grace. “The news about Him [Jesus] spread throughout all Syria, and….large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.” (Matthew 4:24-25) “When the Gentiles heard [the Gospel], they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.” (Acts 13:48-49) “After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many ten thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed….” (Acts 21:17-20) To be sure, one must be careful with numbers. Some Western ministry leaders and local pastors can, at times, be tempted to exaggerate progress to friends and donors. Likewise, Radical Islamists and Jewish anti-missionaries can report to their compatriots and donors inflated numbers of Jews and Muslims coming to faith in the Lord Jesus in an attempt to exaggerate a perceived “threat” to their communities. That said, interviews with a wide range of Arab and Messianic pastors and ministry leaders in the region, and a review of relevant articles, books and studies, provide a useful, if imprecise, snapshot of the state of the Church in the Epicenter. ISRAEL 25,000 to 30,000 born again believers attend Messianic congregations in Israel. 4,000 to 5,000 Arab Evangelical Christians openly worship Jesus in Israel.... [To read the rest of this report, including the most recent estimates of followers of Jesus in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq -- including detailed end notes -- please click here.] [To watch videos of the speakers and panel discussions at the 2017 Epicenter Conference in Orange County, California, please click here.] NOTE: Please share this report and the Epicenter Conference videos with family and friends on social media. ——————— > To pre-order a copy of The Kremlin Conspiracy (which releases March 6th), please click here. > To order a copy of the new mass market paperbacks of the J.B. Collins novels — or to buy as a set — please click here. Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? This is the non-profit organization that my wife, Lynn, and I founded in 2006 to educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, to care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much! Click here to read the 2016 Joshua Fund Donor Report — and watch the short videos, as well Subscribe (free) to the RSS feed (click here) and receive every new posting on this blog directly via email.  joelcrosenberg | October 29, 2017 at 3:27 pm | Categories: Epicenter | URL: https://wp.me/piWZ7-8xx

Jews Evicted From Hebron House Despite PA Attesting to Validity of Sale - Breaking Israel News

Oct. 23, 2017

Jews Evicted From Hebron House Despite PA Attesting to Validity of Sale Rabbi to Haredi Soldiers: "You Are Followers of Our Great Forefather Abraham" [PHOTO SPREAD] A Good Land Deuteronomy 8:7 describes Israel as "a good land". For thousands of years, the Jewish people lived in exile and were unable to set foot in the Land of Israel. Despite this harsh reality, the Jewish people never forgot the beauty of the Land of Israel and prayed to God to return them to their land. The world watched in awe as the modern State of the Land of Israel was established in 1948 and the Jewish people were finally allowed to return to their ancestral homeland. Whether in Israel or abroad, the Jewish people never forget; Israel is "a good land'. Remember these words with this beautiful pendant which reads "it is a good land". Save 15%! » WATCH: 3D Architectural Plans Show Glory of the Third Temple ICYMI: Black Death Returns as Raging Plague Kills Dozens in Madagascar Including Muslims in Interfaith Dialog is a Biblical Trap By Jim Fletcher Rather than aggressively denouncing the anti-Semitic gang at CATC, evangelical leaders in America—many of whom identify as pro Israel—are silent. This is the problem. Europe’s Next World War Begins in France By Daniel Greenfield The Iran-Hamas Plan to Destroy Israel By Khaled Abu Toameh

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Conan's visit to Israel produces absolutely hilarious clips you gotta see - Israel Video Network

Conan's visit to Israel produces absolutely hilarious clips you gotta see

One crazy trip. Conan shares President Trump’s blueprints for dividing up the Holy Land, hits the streets & beaches Of Tel Aviv, undergoes rigorous training with the IDF and so much more. Click here to forward this email to your friends.

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Click here to watch: INCREDIBLE Sukkot Dancing in Jerusalem True Holiday Joy.

Israel celebrates Jewish soul music at Klezmer festival

Today's Music feature - What better place to celebrate Klezmer than in the mystical Israeli city of Safed?

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Shalom Today Ministry & Love For His People - Providing Sewing Machines in Lahore, Pakistan

Ladies in Pakistan - Shalom Today Ministry sewing training school

Shalom Today Ministry & Love For His People

Providing Sewing Machines

We need your help today.

October 11, 2017

Greeting to you in the Name of YESHUA Ha’Masiacha.

Shalom Today Ministry has been running a Sewing Center for the last five years. The purpose of this Sewing Center is to equip the illiterate girls residing in poverty-stricken areas of Pakistan with the skill of sewing. Our vision is to make the poor Christian women skillful with this skill so they can generate income to support their families.

Most of the girls and women in these sewing centers are housemaids or belong to the families of domestic servants. Therefore they are very vulnerable to get persecuted, sexually abused & kidnapped for the name of their religion and obvious financial instability.

The staff currently working in Pakistan also teaches them the words of God along with the regular lessons. Sewing centre also allows them to be safe, self-sufficient, support their families, develop a sense of worth and most importantly teach them from the Living Words of God.

Moses with a sewing machine graduate student last year.

After the completion of the one-year training Course, we provide them with a sewing machine to start their own business in their homes and avoid work under the bondage of the Muslims.

We are thankful to LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE ministry, which last year supported us financially, providing sewing machines at the annual Graduation Ceremony.

This year on October 21, 2017, we have plans to distribute sewing machines among the orphan and

widows students who have completed their training course in our sewing center Zinda Umeed (which means "A living hope".) Further details are found on our web page www.stmpk.org. 

Shalom Today Ministry, together with Love For His People ministry requests that you would contribute to help us give these deserving ones a new sewing machine upon their graduation. We need only 13 sewing machines. The cost of each sewing machine is $100. 

Please give today, using the donate button on the Love For His People website.

You can DONATE here now. You will receive a USA tax receipt for each and every gift.

Thank you very much!

Moses Julius
Director
LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE




Shalom Today Ministry Pakistan - stmpk.org
www.stmpk.org

Shalom Today is non-profitable, non-governmental and non-political organization. It was established in 2015 in Lahore, Pakistan and registered with the government of Pakistan.

Please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless these through our humanitarian work. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

  

Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. Click here: DONATE 

(or use the DONATE buttons on the blog.)

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc. 

P.O. Box 414   

Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)