We Stand with Israel
We stand in solidarity with Israel and her people. God told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3, NIV84). The Apostle Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 1:16, NIV84). It is our belief that when Jesus returns, He will rule the world from David’s throne in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 9:7; Psalm 110:1-2; 132:11; Luke 1:32; Acts 2:30)
Blessing Israel
We want to experience God’s blessings by being a blessing to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. We do this in the following ways:
1. Prayer for Israel
Psalm 122:6 commands us to pra for the peace of Jerusalem. As it goes in Jerusalem, so it goes in the rest of the world. God has chosen this city on which to write His name. We commit to praying for Israel.
2. Understanding a theological distinction between Israel and the church
Many Christians hold a position of “Replacement Theology” in which they believe the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. We reject this position as being non-biblical (this is included in our statement of faith.) We believe that God made promises to Israel that have not yet been fulfilled, but that these promises will be fulfilled literally to Israel in future days. The Apostle Paul asks, “Has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not!” (Romans 11:1a, NLT).
3. Israel Bible Study Tours
In order to accomplish several goals we lead a tour to the Holy Land approximately every two years. The goals of these tours are:
a. That Christians would fall more deeply in love with God as the Bible comes alive when they “walk where Jesus walked.” It is our experience that when Christians tour Israel their spiritual life goes to a new level that does not diminish over time.
b. That Christians would love the land of Israel and connect the places of the Bible with the actual places in Israel.
c. That Christians would love the people of Israel.
4. Missions Giving that Support Ministry to Israel
We have committed mission dollars to support several ministries that share the love of Jesus with those in Israel. Our first mission dollars given each month are in support of ministry to Israel.
5. Sharing Jesus the Messiah with Jewish People
Millions of people in the world have come to know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through Jesus the Messiah. Israel is not just a nation; Israel is a person—Jacob—and supporting Israel includes our outreach to his descendants the Jewish people—not only in Israel but in our communities locally. It is our calling and purpose to lovingly and respectfully share the grace of God given through the New Covenant with the Jewish people.
Toward Jerusalem II
1. We affirm the election of Israel, its irrevocable nature and God’s unfinished work with the Jewish people regarding salvation and the role of Israel as a blessing to the nations.
2. We affirm that Jews who come to faith in the Messiah, Jesus, are called to retain their Jewish identity and live as part of their people in ways consistent with the New Covenant.
3. We affirm the formation of Messianic Jewish congregations as a significant and effective way to express Jewish collective identity (in Jesus) and as a means of witnessing to Jesus before the Jewish community. We also affirm Jewish individuals and groups that are part of churches and encourage them in their commitment to Jewish life and identity.
4. We affirm our willingness as an ecclesiastical body to build bridges to the Messianic Jewish community; to extend the hand of friendship and to pray for their growth and vitality.
5. We affirm our willingness to share our resources with Messianic Jewish congregations, mission organizations and theological training institutes so as to empower them to fulfill their God-given purpose.
6. We affirm our willingness to be a voice within our own ecclesiastical structures and spheres of influence against all forms of anti-Semitism, replacement theology (supersessionism) and teaching that precludes the expression of Jewish identity in Jesus.
7. Finally, we affirm that as Jewish and Gentile expressions of life in Jesus grow organically side by side with distinct identities that God will be glorified; that the Kingdom of Heaven will be advanced and that the vision of “the one new man” in Ephesians 2 will unfold as part of the original Abrahamic blessing to the nations.