Israel is part of God’s story.
And so it is part of ours.
We are not an “Israel church” and not an Israel ministry. But we believe that a church which takes the whole of God’s story seriously cannot leave Israel out.
For God’s story with his people is not over. And if we want to understand who God is, how he acts and what place we have in his story as Christians from the nations, there is no way around Israel.
Anyone who wants to understand God cannot ignore his story with Israel.
God chose Israel. Not because this people was more perfect than other peoples, but because God decided to act through this people, to reveal himself and to make his faithfulness visible.
Through Israel we encounter a story of calling and promise, of human failure, judgement, mercy and a faithfulness of God that does not depend on human achievement.
That is why Israel is not a marginal theological topic for us. When we understand how God deals with Israel, we learn something about God himself. And through this we also understand better who we are as Christians from the nations and what place we have in his story.
Understanding Israel → understanding God’s faithfulness → understanding our own place
Standing with Israel does not mean approving of everything.
When we speak of God’s lasting election of Israel, we do not mean uncritical approval of every decision made by an Israeli government.
The modern State of Israel is not a New Testament church. That is why our attitude does not begin with a political party or government, but with God and with the question:
How does God see his people?
Israel’s human failure does not cancel God’s election and faithfulness. It is precisely here that we encounter something of God’s nature: he remains faithful to his promises.
That is why we want to learn to see Israel through God’s eyes, to stand up for the Jewish people and to follow the biblical call to comfort, prayer and practical love.
In doing so, we do not want to blindly justify Israel and its actions, but to ask how God judges a situation. And we do not want to emphasise Jewishness so strongly that unity in Christ becomes too small.
Christ is Israel’s comfort and salvation. And God’s story with his people is not over.
Israel and the church are not competitors.
Our engagement with Israel does not lead us away from the church. It is part of how we understand the church.
Again and again we see the danger of turning Israel into a special interest of individual Christians or particular ministries. At the same time, a strong focus on Israel can even lead to the church and Israel being played off against each other.
For us, both belong together. We passionately believe in the importance of the ekklesia, the Church of Jesus. And precisely as a church we want to take God’s ongoing dealings with Israel seriously.
That is why Israel should not be a special programme with us that is brought out once a year. God’s story with Israel may quite naturally be part of our teaching, our services, our prayers, our relationships and our shared life.
A normal part of our church life.
At Friends of Jesus, Israel is not a separate area of church life alongside all the others. We encounter God’s story with Israel in various places in our shared life.
Teaching & the Bible
Israel and God’s history of salvation are regularly part of sermons, Bible study and conversations together. The point is not to talk about Israel all the time, but to read the Bible in its context.
Biblical feasts
Again and again we take up Passover, Shavuot or Sukkot in church life – together with our children and with liturgical elements. We explain their biblical background and discover what they show us about God’s actions and about Jesus.
Relationships
Over many years, personal friendships with Jewish and Israeli people have grown. People from Israel visit us in Germany, we visit them – and a topic turns into names, faces and friendships.
Comfort & practical love
We do not just want to talk about Israel. The biblical call to comfort should become practical – through encounters, friendship, prayer, support and visibly standing up against antisemitism.
Conviction becomes encounter.
Since 2014 we have regularly travelled to Israel with teams. We set up our instruments on streets and squares, sing Hebrew songs, write personal cards, have conversations and spend time with people.
Not to get something from them, but to comfort, to live out friendship and to say visibly: We stand with you.
Over the years this has grown into relationships and friendships that go far beyond individual trips. The project now has its own website, where we tell more about the trips, our motivation and the people we meet.
Discover Israel, We Stand With You ↗God’s faithfulness to Israel also tells us something about who God is.
Romans 11:28–29
That is why we want to look, listen and learn – and act wherever love can become practical.