Since the modern era of Baptist work began in the land now known as Israel in 1911, Arab believers have been at the forefront of spreading the gospel. It was an Arab Christian — Sukri Mussa who had studied in the United States and been baptized by George W. Truett — who was the catalyst for the earliest Baptist efforts.
With the support of Baptist churches in Illinois, Mussa returned to what was then Palestine and began going from village to village preaching the gospel. The first Baptist church was organized in the village of Zefat, where Mussa baptized his first convert.
Southern Baptist workers arrived in the area in 1923 and helped found Nazareth Baptist Church in 1926. The church was directed primarily toward Arabs, and Baptist work among Arabs has continued to be centered in Nazareth until today.
In 1956, three area churches formed the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel (ABC). Today the number of participating churches stands at 19. Thirteen of the churches are Arabic-speaking. Two worship in Hebrew, two worship in Spanish and one each uses Filipino and Russian as the major language. All are located in Galilee or in central Israel.
Reaching unbelievers
Baptized members in the churches number about 1,500, but participants in the churches total around 3,000, officials said.
Recently two churches joined together for a baptismal service in the Jordan River, where more than 30 new believers were immersed.
The association has a goal of planting 20 new churches during the next decade.
A major ministry of ABC is Nazareth Baptist School, one of the top academic schools in Israel. The school of 1,000 students has been located adjacent to Nazareth Baptist Church since 1960.
About 70 percent of the students in grades K–12 are Christians. About 30 percent are Muslims. All students are required to study the Bible and attend chapel.
Recently the school was rated seventh in the nation in the percentage of students scoring “excellent” on the graduation exams. Botrus Mansour, general director of the school, told visiting state Baptist paper editors the list for admission is long and the school could double its enrollment almost immediately if resources were available.
In September 2007, ABC initiated its newest ministry — the Nazareth Center of Christian Studies. The center is seen as a major step toward the goal of training and equipping pastors and other leaders for service in Israel.
Theological education
This new center is designed to undergird the work of all evangelicals in Israel by providing theological education at several levels. One level will be seminary training leading to a master’s degree through International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic.
A second level will lead toward a bachelor of divinity degree in partnership with Spurgeon’s College in London.
Continuing educational opportunities and diploma-level instruction for church workers and lay volunteers who need to upgrade their knowledge and skills will be a third level.
Sharing the gospel
Yohanna Katanacho teaches Old Testament at the Nazareth Center. He is a graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois and earned a doctorate in Old Testament at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill. During an interview, Katanacho noted that Arab Christians are active in sharing the gospel. He predicted continued growth among Arab Christians as resources continue to be come available for their use.
ABC coordinates a number of other ministries from its offices at Nazareth Baptist House. An extensive summer camping program is conducted in cooperation with Baptist Village (see story, page 4). A number of home Bible studies are conducted as Arab Christians open their homes for use in order to reach their Muslim neighbors with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mansour said ABC is working more closely now with the Baptist Convention of Israel, the organization of Southern Baptist representatives. He acknowledged that for a time, cooperation between the two groups was strained but now coordination and cooperation are increasing.
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