Together We Can Build HIS Church in Jerusalem

Dear Friend,

Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. This is your opportunity to build His church in Jerusalem.

Many American cities have 50, 100, or even more churches, but Jerusalem only has a couple of Bible-believing churches. Together we can change that.

Jesus’s final command was, “You shall be a witness to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Now God has opened the door for us to do just that!

While I was in Israel recently, I walked past the scroll of honor on your Friends of Zion Center campus — the names of our friends and partners who made the great miracle lighthouse of Christian love a reality. Every Jewish person who visits us sees those names, and they speak blessings and gratitude for those who have reached out to help them.

Today I’m asking you to add your name to a new scroll of honor. I also walked to the property at the corner of our Friends of Zion Center campus and looked at the buildings we are working to purchase — the spot that will be home to the Jerusalem Church. 

This is a dream that’s been a long time coming…and that’s where your name can be listed in the Holy City for generations to come.

As I stood there looking at the future home of one of only a handful of evangelical churches in the Holy City, I couldn’t help but think of one of my very favorite Bible characters, Nehemiah. He risked his very life because he was anguished over the condition of Jerusalem. From that anguish was born a plan God used to rescue and defend the Holy City.

Nehemiah got permission to leave his job at the palace and go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city. God gave him favor with the king, who provided not just the authority to do the job, but much of the resources that were needed as well. Nehemiah had a vision to do something truly great for God. But there was a problem.

A man named Sanballat who hated the Jewish people was bitterly opposed to Nehemiah leading them to build a wall for the defense of Jerusalem. He did everything possible to damage and hinder Nehemiah’s work. 

He told lies about Nehemiah’s motives.

He made threats.

He tried to distract Nehemiah to delay the project.

He mocked their work and claimed it was doomed to failure.

That kind of opposition when you want to do something truly great for God shouldn’t come as a surprise. 

When he was appointed ambassador to Israel, my friend Mike Huckabee asked for my help when he was under attack. I shared with him that when God gave me the assignment to go to Jerusalem, He told me up front that the price of admission would be unspeakable evil and betrayal…and that when it came, I was not to play the victim but keep moving forward.

The enemy hates God and His work. He hates God’s Chosen People. And he hates it when anyone stands up to defend them. It was true in Nehemiah’s day. “When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites” (Nehemiah 2:10).

And it is still true today. As you may remember, 14 years ago we purchased the beautiful five-story building in the Holy City that is now home to the Friends of Zion Museum. 

Over time, the campus grew and expanded, to become today your Friends of Zion Center, your home in Jerusalem. And the more than 460,000 Jewish people who have visited us think of it as their home as well, thanks to you.

Just as Nehemiah did, we have faced opposition from a determined enemy, a man named Avi. When we established the Friends of Zion Center, he saw an opportunity to cash in. Avi holds a lease on a small 800-square-foot restaurant in the building next to our campus.

We made inquiries about purchasing that building but were told it was not for sale. However, we would have been able to buy out Avi’s lease to be able to use that part of the property…but he wanted more than $3 million to leave!

Of course, we turned down that offer. In retaliation, Avi launched a campaign to disrupt and damage us in any way that he could. He flat out told us that he would keep on until we paid him what he wanted. When we opened the museum, he put up huge signs to keep people from seeing what we were doing. Over and over, he would leave carts of vegetables to block the way to the museum. He put drums of oil and garbage out there.

This opposition has gone on for years now. We didn’t ever return his curse. Instead, we tried to bless him despite the way he was treating us. We bought food from his restaurant. We asked about his children. We prayed for him. Nothing helped. 

But the owners recently made the entire property, not just Avi’s restaurant, available to us to purchase…and the purchase price for the whole thing is about the same as Avi wanted for his 800 square feet!

God is amazing!

God turns ashes into beauty. He turns curses into blessings. 

It may be right now that you need one of those amazing Nehemiah blessings in your life. 

Do you need God’s favor on your family, your finances, your health, your relationships, or your future? If you do, God is still keeping His promises, and I would be delighted to join you in prayer for His favor in your life. Just share that with me below.

The most important thing about this building purchase is not that it will solve the ongoing problem with Avi, though that will be a blessing. The most important thing is that it will be home to the Jerusalem Church.

This is the next step in God’s 100 Year Plan for our ministry…and something that will go on long after we have reached heaven. This is a legacy project. This is a plan that will echo into eternity.

When you send your gift of $100 or more, we will send you a special Founder’s Certificate honoring your role in bringing the Jerusalem Church to life along with a special edition Friends of Zion Center pocket New Testament. If you need to you can send two gifts of $50, but I hope you will be part of bringing this miracle to life.

When you send a gift of $250 or more, we’ll send you the special Founder’s Certificate and a Holy Land Illustrated Bible. This visually immersive Bible reading experience will allow you to visit the Holy Land and other sacred biblical sights without ever leaving home. 

I am praying that some friends will respond with a gift of $1,000 or more. If you need to you can send ten gifts of $100. When you do, we will add your name to a special scrolling wall that will be inside the Jerusalem Church where it will stand for decades to come, long after you are in heaven.

When you become a founder of the Jerusalem Church, you are doing something that will echo into eternity. 

One hundred years from now, generations that have not yet been born will go there to worship the Lord. They will see your name and call you a blessing. You will not be forgotten.

Will you place your name in Jerusalem today and become a founder of the Jerusalem Church? 

Will you touch the future of our world in this powerful and prophetic way? 

God put His name in Jerusalem. It’s the only city on earth that He chose. He put His name there. You can do the same today.

Please let me hear from you very soon.

P.S. Don’t forget to share your greatest prayer need with me when you make your gift. We serve a God who does the impossible, and He faithfully responds when we seek His face together in fervent prayer. And please be as generous as you can with your gift. There is no time to waste!

P.P.S. This is your legacy. Virtually everything you have will be gone and forgotten within a couple of years after you die, but what you do in Jerusalem will go on decade after decade after decade, echoing throughout eternity.

Be Part of God’s 100 Year Plan

God has opened a door for us to purchase the property in Jerusalem that will become part of our Friends of Zion Center campus and home to the new Jerusalem Church. Your generous support today will help make this miracle lighthouse of Christian love a reality and touch the lives of thousands of suffering Jewish people.  Please be as generous as you can when you send your gift for Friends of Zion.