By Steve Rees, Special to ASSIST News Service
LOVELAND, CO (ANS – February 7, 2015)
-- With high-profile Christian speakers from the United States and
Jerusalem, a sold-out conference on Israel drew 1,700 Bible-believing
supporters to Colorado as a couple hundred more watched live streaming
coverage beginning Wednesday (February 4, 2015), the opening night of a
two-day summit that organizers predict will grow into a global
solidarity movement of Jews and non-Jews.
Speaking
Friday night, Dr. Jack Hayford, who is considered by ministry leaders
to be a pastor to pastors, said Israel will continue to be a focal point
of world history. And, as Bible-believing Christians align themselves
with Israel, Hayford says they can expect both God's blessings of favor
and protection, as well as persecution from enemies of the Jewish state.
“Standing with Israel and for
traditional marriage are non-negotiable tenets for Christians living
amid changing cultural viewpoints,” Hayford told Christians from a dozen
nations and the United States on the final night of what some call an
historic summit.
As Israel-loving Christians and
Messianic believers from the U.S., Brazil, Pakistan, Sweden, Australia
and India filled Resurrection Fellowship's worship in Loveland and a
global online audience logged onto computers for the Feb. 4-6
conference, a small group of pro-Palestinian advocates braved cold and
snow to protest “unequivocal support for Israel's shedding of innocent
Palestinian blood” on the opening night.
Conducting
a candle-light vigil and carrying signs critical of Israel's role in
inflicting casualties among Palestinians civilians, protest organizers
said they hoped to draw attention to “unimaginable and unspeakable” war
atrocities. Their primary goal was to convince the church's host pastor,
Jonathan Wiggins, to cancel the conference which, protestors say,
amounts to “treating political Israel with God-like status.”
With delegates traveling to
Colorado from across the U.S. and foreign nations – and with what
Wiggins believes is a fair, balanced treatment of Palestinian issues by
conference speakers – the pastor refused the opposition's suggestion he
cancel the themed event, Israel Summit: Stand FIRM.
Instead, Wiggins reaffirmed the legitimacy of both the conference and
the claims of those who oppose it for political or spiritual reasons.
“I gladly respect the right of this group to gather,” Wiggins said.
Every
group in a free society should have the right to celebrate those
individuals, customs and cultures that have paved the way for that which
makes us who we are,” said Wiggins, noting that Christianity is rooted
in the same covenants as Judaism, was established by Jews, is supported
by a Jewish New Testament, and was led by a Jew, Jesus Christ. “We do
this proudly and boldly, and we support others’ rights to do the same,”
he said.
Wiggins, who envisioned the
conference in 2014 and drew broad support for it from other ministry
leaders, went on to found FIRM (Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries)
late last year. He offered protestors support for a “lawful, orderly,
and honorable” demonstration by providing bottled water, hot drinks,
snacks, and a portable bathroom.
FIRM formed in 2014 with 20
Christian leaders signing on as board members, including Wiggins, under
the leadership of Jerusalem-based Pastor Wayne Hilsden. He, Wiggins and
Resurrection Fellowship's former pastor, John Stocker, forged
friendships around Israel and the congregation Hilsden leads, King of
Kings Community in Jerusalem.
Hilsden introduced the new
ministry on the opening night of the Loveland conference, calling the
summit “historic.” Wiggins and other leaders echoed that, saying FIRM's
formation and plans represent “history in the making.”
“FIRM,” Hilsden said, “is a
global fellowship of biblically-grounded believers committed to
cultivating Messiah-centered relationships to bless the inhabitants of
Israel (Jew and non-Jew) and the Jewish community worldwide.”
Hilsden told the audience – a
mix of young and old – it was several years ago when he sensed that
Israel and the Jewish people had entered a time of “shaking on many
levels, both externally and internally.”
“Growing forces are attempting
to delegitimize and stigmatize the nation of Israel,” said Hilsden, who
titled the first message of the conference “Dare To Be A Daniel.”
“Many Jews are predicting the
end of the Zionist dream. And the historic solidarity of evangelical
Christians with the nation of Israel is undergoing a shaking as well,”
said Hilsden, who is witnessing unparalleled prayer among believers for
Israel's physical and spiritual restoration.
FIRM's leadership, which
includes 20 pastors and the endorsement of Billy Graham's daughter, Anne
Graham Lotz, intends to raise global support for Israel from cheer
leading to action.
Citing the heroism of the
biblical prophet Daniel in standing with Israel, Hilsden quoted Daniel
11:32 which reads, “The people who know their God shall stand firm and
take action.” The pastor also introduced a new prayer focus for
Jerusalem.
Called
the One Percent Challenge, the focus calls for 14 minutes of
intentional prayer for the peace of Jerusalem each day. It is one
component of FIRM's appeal to current and future supporters, which it
hopes to add beyond the inaugural conference.
Acknowledging that there is
disagreement among Christians on doctrine, Wiggins, Hilsden and other
FIRM leaders say they themselves don't approve of every action by
Israel, one point of contention for Palestinian supporters who accuse
Christian Zionists of blind acceptance of Israel.
“Consistent with the God I know
is a worldview that values the human rights of Arab Israelis as well as
the Palestinian people,” Wiggins says. “Every life matters to God and
should matter to me, too.”
Offering as proof its support
for Palestinian human rights, FIRM enlisted a Jerusalem-based attorney
and activist, Calev Myers, in forming its board of directors.
The founder of the Jerusalem
Institute of Justice, Myers advocates for Palestinians in Israel and
conducts seminars on college campuses throughout the West by engaging
students in dialogue about human rights for all of Israel's citizens,
Jews, non-Jews, Arab Christians and Muslims.
Myers and his 15-year-old
daughter, Noam, traveled to Colorado for the conference and Calev Myers
also spoke at the University of Denver on Thursday afternoon, when he
was part of a Palestinian human rights panel discussion.
FIRM’s leaders hope the new
initiative bolsters future generations' support of Israel, which is
viewed by justice-focused Millennial Christians as an aggressor nation
that disregards the underdog, the Palestinians.
Israel supporters like Liv
Hicks, who traveled from Idaho to attend the summit, is a Jewish
believer in Jesus Christ in her late 60s. She's like many Christians who
have an affinity with the Jewish state and its diverse faith
traditions.
Having lived in Israel for two
years and in two European countries, Hicks applauds FIRM's leaders for
seeking support from new a generation of believers that will stand in
solidarity with the land and people she loves.
About 500 students and 90 young
evangelists in training will be immersed in the Jewish roots of their
Christian faith by participating in conference sessions on Friday, the
final day of the summit. Resurrection Christian School and Youth With A
Mission students will join discussions led by Myers and other FIRM
leaders.
Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, a FIRM
board member and host of the Jewish Voice television program, is one of
six board members who spoke at the conference. Others include Dr. Jack
Hayford, founder of the King's University; Dr. Kerry and Sandy
Teplinsky, a cardiologist and lawyer and author, respectively.
Bernis shared in two sessions
that, growing up as a Jew, he didn't believe in the God of the Bible,
living a life of rebellion that included drugs and loose living until
friends began praying in earnest for him. Upon coming to faith in Jesus
the Jewish Messiah, Bernis says his spiritual eyes were opened to see
that everything he read in the Old Testament pointed to Christ.
Bernis also spoke about growing anti-Semitism in the world, whose roots he says are demonic.
Outside Resurrection Fellowship,
pro-Palestinian opposition groups – We Hold These Truths, Coloradans
for Justice in Palestine and Project Straight Gate – conducted a protest
similar to boycotts they've brought to 105 churches since 2002,
according Charles Carlson, a former Southern Baptist who now opposes
Christian Zionism through his books, videos and boycotts. We Hold These
Truths, founded by Carlson, conducted the first anti-Israel
demonstration 13 years ago in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Coinciding with the Israel
Summit, FIRM launched a new website on opening night and, along with
live-streaming coverage of the conference, it extended the ministry's
reach to a global audience. The website address is www.firm.org.il.
Photo captions:
1) Pastors Jonathan and Amy
Wiggins, left to right, receive prayer from Jerusalem-based Pastor Wayne
Hilsden (center) and Michael Mistretta (left) at Resurrection
Fellowship
2) Israel Summit logo
3) Jack Hayford, one of the speakers
4) Wayne Hilsden with his wife, Ann
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