Happenings Around the World

180 Young People Attend Youth Conference IN ISRAEL

“I By Bader Mansour

felt the presence of God in my soul from the first song and first sermon,” wrote Hussam, a 23 year old student from Cana in Galilee, Israel, after attending this year’s youth conference. “I could not help crying. It was prayer of repentance and longing to the Lord.” Each year, Baptist churches in Israel organize a conference for youth and young adults from all over the country, held, appropriately, at the start of the New Year as a time for young people to come together and revitalize their faith and renew their hope in the Lord. Hussam’s story is like many of his Christian peers’. He

writes, “I became a believer at a young age, but when I began my studies at Tel-Aviv University, I stopped attending church or any Christian programs.”

It is lonely to be a Christian in the Holy Land.

At any age, it is lonely to be a Christian in the Holy Land.

For youth like Hussam, as they leave home for the first time and begin their studies, being Christian and Arab and living in Israel soon leads to an identity crisis. Also like Hussam, many leave the church. Thanks to dedicated and generous partners, young adults have opportunities like the New Year conference to gather and encourage one another. Many of the Baptist churches in Israel are small, and even for those who do continue to attend church, they find there aren’t many in the congregation who are their age and in the midst of the same struggles they find themselves.

The January 2016 conference was attended by 180 people from around the country. The title was, “Take up your Role,” and featured Andrew abu Ghazaleh, pastor of the local Baptist church in Nazareth, as the main speaker. In the spirit of the

Thanks to dedicated and

generous partners, young adults have opportunities like the New Year conference to gather and encourage one another.

Right: Israeli Baptists at a conference for youth and young adults Above right: Baptist youth worshipping in Israel (Photos courtesy of the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel)

conference theme, he gave a series of sermons on entering into and committing to God’s plan. Additionally, the conference included discussion groups led by pastors where young people shared their fears and challenges and found relief in the sharing and hope in hearing from one another and mentors. The conference also included beautiful Christian fellowship in an atmosphere that is much needed with Israel’s small Christian community.

At the end of the last session, many young people rededicated their

lives to the Lord, including Hussam. He writes, “I made a decision to follow the Lord closely now and I am reading my Bible daily and am attending church services. Glory to God!” Nurturing the faith of young people is critical to the life and work of the church. Unfortunately, this longstanding conference was on hold for a number of years due to lack of funding, and we are delighted and thankful to be back at it, knowing just how vital it is in the faith lives of our young people. In the coming year, we have slated a number of one-day conferences

to offer fellowship and teaching to help sustain the work the Lord began this New Year. As Luna Matar, Association of Baptist Churches in Israel youth ministries coordinator affirmed at this year’s conference, “God is preparing a strong generation that God will use to shape the future of the Holy Land by their prayers and their contribution to the community.” Bader Mansour is development officer of the Association of Baptist

Churches in Israel.

24 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE