He was told, “Son, you are too young.” It wasn’t until he was in college that he heard the Gospel and trusted Christ as his Savior. Growing up in a religious family, Jesse at the age of 12 was convicted of his own sin and sought counsel from his mother. Historical PerspectiveĬEF was founded by Jesse Irvin Overholtzer in 1937. It is recognized as an “amuta” (non-profit organization). CEF work in Israel was started in 1948, with the national center located in Nazareth since 1966. CEF has over 1200 staff overseas, approximately 1000 of whom are nationals. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8, NKJV).Ĭhild Evangelism Fellowship, also known as CEF® is a Bible-centered, worldwide organization composed of born-again believers whose purpose is to share the good news with children and to establish (disciple) them in the local church for Christian living. The Bible Society is dedicated to disseminating the Word of God to all people groups in their languages at an affordable price. The Bible Society also makes Christian media materials available in several languages. ![]() We rejoice in the various ministry opportunities: a sports camp for teenagers, a Bible quiz program, publication of 101 Favorite Stories from the Bible into six languages, a joint project with the Nazareth Village publishing a book on the life and teachings of Jesus, special outreaches to foreign workers, new publications of the Gospels, and the Hebrew/English Bible. Today there are three Bible bookstores operating in separate citiesJerusalem, Tel Aviv (the only Bible bookstore in the Gush Dan region with a population of more than one million people) and Galilee, located near Nazareth Village and serving mainly the Arab population in the area. In 1993, the Bible Society received the Israeli governments highest literary award for its complete Bible. ![]() The first complete Hebrew Bible was published in 1959 and, in 1976, the New Testament was translated and published in modern Hebrew. BSI has served in several locations, but in 1979, the main office was established on Jaffa Road across from the Municipality plaza near the Old City walls. The first representative was sent to Israel in 1816 and five years later Joseph Wolff, a Jewish believer, came with 20 camels loaded with Bibles. The Bible Society is a living testimony of God’s faithfulness to preserve and provide His Word in the Holy Land. UBS is also involved in the translating of scriptures, and to date, scripture portions exist in over 2,300 languages. BSI is part of a worldwide organization of 140 Bible societies operating in about 200 countries, making the United Bible Societies the largest publisher of Bibles. It is our mandate to translate, publish, and distribute the Bible throughout the Land in both Hebrew and Arabic, reaching out to Israelis, Arabs, new immigrants, foreign workers, and visitors. The Bible Society in Israel serves local churches of all denominations to supply their scriptural needs. We hope to continue this and expand the work of volunteers who come to help out short-term in many ways. These people are a boon to the land of Israel both financially and spiritually. One aspect of the work here is to assist people who come on vision trips or prayer walks to see how God might use them in His work. The International Prayer Center in Jerusalem is being developed in East Jerusalem. At the Baptist House in Jerusalem, there are four different congregations ministering in English, Hebrew, and Russian. Present Situation and Future VisionĪt the Baptist Village, we have an active sports ministry and host numerous camps and conferences. This property is still owned by the Baptists and is now known as Baptist Village. Truett Children’s Home for orphaned children was established in Nazareth and moved to Petah Tikva in 1955. All personnel were evacuated at the beginning of WWII and returned in 19. The year 1929 saw the opening of work in Haifa. ![]() The first assigned Baptist workers came in 1923 and began a house ministry in Jerusalem. He established in Nazareth the oldest continuous Baptist witness in the Middle East. In 1911, a young Palestinian Arab returned to his hometown of Safed after being baptized into the fellowship of FBC, Dallas, Texas. From that time, Baptist work in the land, under the name Baptist Convention in Israel, has continued to expand and can be found today from the north to the south of the country with about 25 families working with their Jewish and Arab believing brothers among the different people groups. Present day Southern Baptists in Israel date their beginnings from 1911.
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