_ On  December 4th through 7th, Messianic leaders from 14 congregations and fellowships around the country met to discuss and solve the problems of Messianic congregational planning. Organized by Natalia Fomin and emceed by Hope of Israel youth leader Gary Corrado (and Greg Leekley), and brought to fruition by a number of volunteers from Hope of Israel who tirelessly served, we received feedback that the conference was not only highly useful and understandable, but also quite challenging from the Scriptures, laying out a full vision for Messianic congregations.

The first day (beginning on Sunday evening) was a “boot camp” wherein Sam gave a course covering the gamut of responsibilities and systems of the congregation. The sessions delved into the contents of the book Establishing Healthy Messianic Congregations, addressing the responsibilities of prayer, the ministry of the Word, and overseer within a congregation, as well as the systems of contact-making (evangelism), disciple-making, member-making, and leader-making, which are essential for a congregation to grow and stay healthy. The morning worship and devotional times (given by Ron Bohning, Michael Herts, and Ben Alpert) were a real delight.

The second day began the main conference with a evening session on the overview and vision for Messianic congregations. We considered the “iceberg principle”: the real structure and relationships which make up the Messianic congregation are mostly below the surface, but we tend to focus on external issues which might distinguish one congregation’s service form another’s, for example.

The next morning, a CPA and expert on finances in ministry gave a practical session on how to handle finances in congregation planting, addressing the real need for responsibility and integrity before the community and  government. We also considered the function of administration ministry within a congregation, and during a session on Prayer and Worship there was an in-depth panel discussion led by Steve Weiler (of Shoresh David) on the various life-cycle ceremonies performed in a congregation, as well as a panel discussion on dance ministry in the congregation led by Debbie Bateman. In the afternoon there were sessions on discipleship, considering its values and materials in both the home and congregation, with panel discussions on ministry to women, men, youth, and a Children’s Ministry workshop led by Debbie Holford.

After dinner a conference session on evangelism and outreach co-led by Sam Nadler and Steve Weiler covered matters both visionary and practical, from the use of festivals and getting members trained to the role of the internet and considering the demographics of your community. Finally, on the last day a very spirited discussion took place where leaders wrestled with questions about the realities of congregational membership, and the conference closed with a session on leadership development. Please remember the leaders as we continue building together. 

One Friday a few weeks ago, I was on my way to stay with my brother in Los Angeles and to teach at a Messianic congregation. At first the plane ride was appearing to be uneventful so I picked up the only book I had which was Messianic Foundations (a good read!).

Eventually my restlessness took over and I started to look around, noticing various people on the plane. A man behind me was reading a novel with the word “Salvation” in the title. The couple beside me, a young couple from Boston, were absorbed in their plans for the weekend. A man directly in front of me would walk up several rows occasionally to talk to what appeared to be his kids. A few minutes later the kids started making their way back down the aisle to talk to their father seated a row ahead of me. I couldn’t believe my ears when they started speaking to their father in Hebrew. I couldn’t make out everything except that they something about going to the sherutim (“bathroom”).

I prayed that I would have a good opportunity to talk to him, though he was a row up. After about a minute, I just decided to go for it in Hebrew. “Sleicha, atah midaber ivrit?” (Excuse me - you speak Hebrew?). He nodded and we proceeded to talk. Udi and his family were Ethiopian Jews from the Hertziliya area, and they were on a tiul (trip) going all over the United States, from New York to Florida to California.

He asked if I also lived in Israel and what I was up to in Los Angeles, I explained that it was my faith in Yeshua that was bringing me to LA just as being Jewish led me to live in Israel for a year. He stood up and turned around to face me. He was naturally surprised to hear that I was a believer in Yeshua. I asked him about his beliefs and struggled to understand as he rapidly talked in Hebrew about his ideas. As if on cue, a girl seated across the aisle turned to “shush” us, interrupting our chat. She was trying to watch Kung Fu Panda on her I-pad.

At that point I remembered that the Messianic service where I would be speaking would include a Hebrew prayer service and a complete reading of the Hebrew portions from the Scriptures. So I asked if he had plans for the coming Shabbat. At his openness I invited him to services, writing down all of my information as well as the websites for Word of Messiah and the congregation. He said he wanted to keep in touch and would see about visiting at the services. Just when you think a plane ride is going to be uninteresting…