Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him.”
Mark 3:13
There are seasons when the voice of God can become difficult to hear beneath the noise of everyday life. Responsibilities, decisions, relationships, work, questions about the future—especially for young adults, life can pull the heart in many directions at once. Yet throughout the Gospels, we see Yeshua doing something deeply personal: He called people to Himself. Before His disciples were sent out, before they carried the Good News to others, they first had to learn to come near, listen, and walk with Him.
For those of us who care deeply about the future of the Body of Messiah in Israel, this matters. Reaching people with the Gospel is essential, but so is helping young believers become deeply rooted in their faith. They need opportunities to know the Word of God, grow in prayer, build strong relationships with other believers, and learn what it means to follow Yeshua faithfully in everyday life.
This Feast of Trumpets, 20 young adults from our Beit Hallel Congregation in Israel will travel to the Sea of Galilee for a special discipleship retreat centered on exactly that—drawing near to Yeshua. In the very region where He called His first disciples and began preparing them for what lay ahead, these young believers will step away from their normal routines for intentional time in Scripture, prayer, worship, fellowship, and discipleship.
The purpose is much more than giving them a few days away. It is to create space where their relationship with the Lord can deepen, their understanding of His Word can grow, and the foundations of their faith can become stronger.
There is something especially fitting about gathering during the Feast of Trumpets. In Scripture, the sound of the trumpet called God’s people to attention. And amid all the competing voices speaking into this generation, our desire is that these young adults learn to recognize and respond to the voice that matters most: the One who still says, “Follow Me.”
And what a place to listen for that call. Along the shores of Galilee, Yeshua met young men in the middle of ordinary life and invited them to follow Him. They did not have everything figured out. They had questions, weaknesses, ambitions, and much still to learn. Yet Yeshua called them close, walked with them, taught them, corrected them, and prepared them for what He had called them to do.
Before they were ready to carry His message to others, they first learned what it meant to walk with Him. That same principle of discipleship remains important today.
Through our Beit Hallel Congregation in Israel, these young adults are being given opportunities not simply to attend gatherings, but to grow as disciples of Yeshua. During the retreat there will be teaching and Bible study, but also meals together, conversations, prayer, worship, and the kind of fellowship where questions can be asked honestly and relationships can deepen. We want to see these young believers rooted in the Word of God, secure in their identity in Yeshua, connected to other believers, and equipped to live out their faith with courage and conviction.
Through Voice of Judah Israel, we have an opportunity to stand behind this next generation and help make the retreat possible. The cost is being subsidized so that finances do not prevent a young person from participating. A gift of $50 helps provide a place for one young adult, including meals, accommodation, and discipleship study materials.
Behind that $50 is much more than a bed, a meal, or a study book. It represents an opportunity for a young believer in Israel to step away from the noise of everyday life, open the Word of God, seek Him alongside other believers, and receive the teaching and discipleship that can strengthen their walk with Yeshua.
There will be 20 young adults at this retreat, but we do not want to see them simply as a number. These are 20 individual lives—young believers growing in their faith and discovering what it means to follow Yeshua in Israel today. Through your partnership with Voice of Judah Israel, you can help strengthen the work taking place around them and invest directly in their discipleship.
Two thousand years ago, Yeshua called His disciples to Himself in Galilee, and they came. This Feast of Trumpets, another generation of believers will gather in that same region with the desire to come near, listen, learn, and follow.
Will you help make a place possible for one young believer in Galilee with a gift of $50 today?