Ashkelon is an amazing 4000-year-old city rich with biblical history, where the world’s most ancient city gates are found standing. These gates have remarkably remained standing throughout history without being replaced, broken down, or buried underground. This means they are the very same gates Abraham passed through when he visited Ashkelon. Now THAT is historical!
Ashkelon is a vibrant coastal city that attracts a lot of young families due to its affordability. Unfortunately, its location near the Gaza strip also means Ashkelon has been and still is, a target of much rocket fire.
The past two years have been incredibly challenging for our Ashkelon congregation. Covid has brought so many changes to our lives and also changes in the way we do church. Complicating matters even more is a war that broke out earlier this year that has only made things more difficult for our work in Ashkelon.
It has not been an easy road, but we continue to claim this city for the Lord. Our vision is to build a strong congregation in Ashkelon that reaches thousands of people. It has taken many months and a long process of rebuilding our congregation in Ashkelon, but we finally relaunched our weekly services!
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…
Zechariah 4:10
We have seen the effectiveness of the work and outreach in Ashdod and have been applying the same principles in Ashkelon, with remarkable results. We are witnessing an incredible openness among people to the gospel and seeing the fruit of what God has shown and promised us at the beginning regarding Ashkelon. God is moving powerfully in this city full of rich biblical history.
God has been preparing us to move even more effectively in Ashkelon, showing us how His word and testimony are changing countless lives in that city. We have invested much in building up our local congregation and ministry in Ashkelon, including supporting a Hispanic congregation in Ashkelon and starting a ministry in Amharic for Ethiopian Jews.
In addition to the current diverse population, there has been a mass influx of Ukrainian Jews arriving and settling in Ashkelon. We are able to embrace them and show them the love of Yeshua through the Good News of the Gospel because of the generosity and love of Christians like you who selflessly help and support them in their plight.
As a result of this work, we recently baptized eight (8) new believers in Ashkelon. Thirty (30) non-believers (seekers) signed up for our seven-week discipleship course designed to help ground them in their faith and encounter Jesus in their pursuit of God. These are people who might not be ready to join a local church yet but are actively seeking and wanting to know more about God.
It has been amazing to see the transformation and change taking place in Ashkelon as the outcome of our preaching the gospel, reaching people with the Word of God, and showing them His love through acts of kindness.
When we help people practically, just as Jesus fed the masses that came to hear his teaching, their hearts are open to the message of His love and salvation. It is all about being sensitive to people’s needs while sharing the Good News of Jesus.
We are thankful for your prayers for Ashkelon and the local congregation there. Your generous support of this church and its humanitarian outreach has been a tremendous blessing.