Stephen's Gate Ministry, Israel

The majority of Christians in the Holy Land are Arabic-speaking Palestinians. Some are Israeli citizens and others live in the Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and Gaza. Although the Christian population in the Holy Land is shrinking due to immigration, those Christians who remain in this land truly serve as salt and light, bringing Good News in the midst of this conflict.

Besides reaching out to those who do not know Christ, it is also important for Arab Christians to support one another in faith because they often feel caught in between the larger Jewish and Muslim populations and cut off from the international Church.

Ministry to the people of the Holy Land is critical to combat the environment of fear, suffering, and hopelessness caused by the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The conflict has brought not only physical damage to the lives of many but also mental anguish and spiritual uncertainty. Christians and non-Christians alike desperately need a message of hope at a time when all human attempts at peace and justice have failed.

In the Holy Land, due to a lack of entertainment options, most people spend a lot of time at home watching television and listening to the radio. There are some local television stations owned by nominal Christians that air Christian programs on Sundays, however, many television and radio channels lack programs to broadcast. As a result, they repeat the same programs over and over. Local media outlets are highly interested in finding new programs to broadcast and increasing their audiences. Your gifts to this project will help SGM acquire and broadcast evangelistic and pre-evangelistic programming and music that will catch the interest of children, youth, and families.

A second part of the project involves Christian film showings. People in the Holy Land, especially youth, love movies. Despite Christianity’s strong roots, many people don’t understand what Christianity really is. They don’t know the real reason for Jesus coming to earth, nor the values that Christianity encourages. Christian films can introduce these ideas in a non-threatening way and bring people to a more accurate understanding of Jesus and the Christian faith. Your gifts will help SGM purchase a screen and projector. Their goal is to do 100 film showings over the next two to three years.

Because the Holy Land is a “storytelling” or “oral” culture, television, radio, and film are appropriate and very effective ways of sharing the Gospel.

SGM has been leading these “evangelistic tours” for two years. The results have been beyond expectations. Some have given their lives to Christ. Some have moved from hating Christians and the Bible to seeing a different side of Christianity. Others, particularly nominal Christians, have come to realize through the archeology lessons that their forefathers were disciples of Christ, giving them a new understanding of their Christian heritage.

Those participating in the tours are from many areas including Gaza, Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Jericho. Both Palestinian and Israeli Arabs participate. In 2010, approximately 1,000 people participated in these one-day trips, of which 30-40% were Muslims. In the coming year, SGM hopes to conduct 40 evangelistic tours, exposing 1,000 people to an explanation of the biblical significance of historical sites and sharing with them about the life and work of Christ.

  In the coming year, SGM hopes to conduct 52 evangelistic tours, exposing more than 1,500 people to an explanation of the biblical significance of historical sites and sharing with them about the life and work of Christ. Twelve of these trips are discipleship trips specifically for youth. Getting Muslim youth away from their families to a place where they can open their minds, consider for themselves the validity of the Bible, and hear stories about Jesus is a very powerful experience. The average cost for one group tour is $2,175. By giving toward this project, you can provide a life-transforming encounter with Christ to a Muslim or nominal Christian in the Holy Land.

>WEST BANK OFFICE: $130,500

Ministry Office Building, SGM

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 Jerusalem is divided into two parts: the Jewish part and the Arab part. SGM is primarily focused on ministry to the Arab side of the city where the majority of the city’s Muslims live. However, the SGM office is located in the portion of Jerusalem controlled by Israel, and the team travels all throughout the area to serve the Arabs in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The separation between the people of Israel and Palestine is growing all the time. Checkpoints make even the simplest trips time-consuming and difficult. The West Bank is surrounded by a high wall that was built after the second intifada. Commuting between some places is simply not possible for some SGM team members or volunteers. For example, SGM has one staff member in Bethlehem who cannot go to Jerusalem. Transporting people and materials from their main office to the West Bank is getting harder all the time. SGM’s ministry requires ease of transportation to distribute media, visit the poor, and to carry out the discipleship tours. Because of this challenge, SGM hopes to establish an office in the West Bank to be the headquarters for its work in the Palestinian areas. SGM feels that now is a strategic time to register an organization and purchase an office in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority, being a new government, is busy building the country and trying to mark the borders with Israel. For now, they are not focused on Christian activities. The Arab Spring has added to the contentious political and religious climate in the Holy Land, thus the team hopes to move quickly while the doors are still open.

In addition to serving as an office and headquarters, the new site will house a film and recording studio, a gathering room for discipleship, a duplication center for the media ministry, and a storehouse for relief items.

SGM has already raised $50,000 toward the project. Partners hopes to contribute toward the remaining need.