May 18, 2004 Yad Hashmonah, Israel …. [Adventist News Review, England/ANN Staff]
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Israel reports continued membership growth, leaders reported during recent annual meetings.
In the past three years, the church added 385 new members through baptism and profession of faith and 622 members through transfer of membership. Although about 350 members, who were foreign workers, have had to leave Israel in the past year, the registered membership increased by 84 percent, from 617 in 2000 to 1,134 last year, according to Dr. Bertil Wiklander, president of the church in the Trans-European region with headquarters in St. Albans, England.
Every Sabbath more than 1,200 people worship God in Adventist congregations. The number of churches and groups has grown from 17 in the year 2000 to 29 in 2003. This is strong evidence of sustained growth, since the church in Israel had only 50 members in 1985 when it became part of the Trans-European region. The annual tithe income in 1990 was 75,784 ILS (approximately US $16,500), but now averages 2.5 million ILS, or US $543,242.
The annual meeting of Adventist Church leaders in Israel was, for the first time, held on a kibbutz, or cooperative farm. The three-day session convened 15 miles (20 kilometers) outside of Jerusalem, at Yad Hashmonah, overlooking the road to Emmaus.
One of the most encouraging aspects of the growth is that the church is becoming a “local” church, which speaks Hebrew. Many Hebrew-speaking citizens in Israel are now joining Jewish-Adventist church services. Hebrew literature and Hebrew songs are becoming more and more important to the membership. This is partly the result of a special Global Mission project, the Shalom project, in which the regional and local church leaders cooperate to train Hebrew-speaking members for pastoral ministry. The work of pastor Michael Murga and his wife Olga among the Russian and Hebrew-speaking people in Israel has also been very successful. The enthusiastic leader of the church in Israel, Pastor Richard Elofer, has plans to also reach the Palestinian population with a similar plan, the Salam Project.
In report after report, the session delegates enjoyed the many signs of progress. The emphasis on “every member a minister” continues in more than 100 small groups across the country. Church delegates voted to form 11 new companies and one new church. In his report, Elofer thanked God and all the members for their faithful support and expressed his wish peace will return to the region so that the work of the church will become even more prosperous. The church is facing challenges through the current situation, but God is giving His blessing to the hard work of members and pastors.
Besides the general unrest, Elofer noted several particular problems: the country has three different religions, but it is difficult to preach the gospel openly; public transport is not available on Saturdays; many members are foreign workers or receive no permission to stay in the country and have had to leave Israel; there is a lack of relevant literature; and the membership is multilingual.
On Sabbath, nearly all Adventists in the country met on the hill overlooking the Emmaus road in a tent, praising God in songs, prayers, and testimonies. Dr. Wiklander, who participated in the session for several days, preached a message of conversion and commitment.
At the Sabbath service a young Adventist woman attended with her boyfriend, an Israeli Arab. They had met in the army and had fallen in love, but would not get married because of their different faiths. For some time he had participated in Bible studies through the local church. During the Sabbath service, he decided to give his life to Christ and be baptized. At every meeting, prayers were said for peace in the world and particularly in the land of Israelis and Palestinians, of Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Copyright ©© 2004 by Adventist News Network.
