A Lot Going On in Tel Aviv!
Returning to visit the staff of Dugit and Agape Ministries,
was like going home to family. After
having worked together in Tel Aviv for over a decade, it was heart warming to
see the familiar faces of long standing friends and exciting to meet some new
staff members face to face for the first time too. We were so happy to spend time with many of
them individually, sharing hearts and encouragement and reassuring them of the
prayerful support being sent their way from many of you back home.
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| Dugit Outreach Centre |
Under the umbrella names of Dugit and Agape, you will find a
cluster of vibrant ministries in downtown Tel Aviv, overseen by Avi & Chaya
Mizrachi. The longest running and most
commonly known is Dugit Outreach Centre, a place where visitors are offered
free coffee, free literature, and friendly staff with a heart to share the
gospel with those that come in. We were delighted
to hear how they had recently taken two new believers down to the beach to
immerse them in the sea as a sign of their new found decision to follow Yeshua! The staff also run ‘Dugit Live’ events
several times a month with local and visiting believers playing live music, or giving art exhibitions and other such creative ideas,
that give a variety of opportunities for the artists to share their faith in
Yeshua through their different mediums.
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| Street Outreach |
Adonai Roi Congregation is also a vital part of reaching out
to Israel’s largest secular city. Here
you will find an indigenous Hebrew speaking congregation filled with young
families, singles and the elderly alike.
The worship teams are mostly young people, some of whom write their
own songs and music -and excitingly they have all come together to start working on the production of an Hebrew worship CD! They have a
growing Shabat (Sunday) School and active youth group, along with gatherings
organised for the young soldiers in their midst. We were very interested to learn they are currently
working with an Arab congregation, planning a central city outreach in Haifa at
the end of the year. “We believe that as
we go out together, Jews and Arabs, local believing Israelis, and share our
faith, that many will be touched as they see the love between us.”
I was touched by
their request for prayer for this event and was reminded of Yeshua’s words
recorded in John, “If you love one another, then people will know that you are
my disciples.” Let’s pray with them that
this outreach is effective and brings many hearts into God’s kingdom!
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| All bagged up and ready to go! |
For many years, the poor and needy in Tel Aviv have been
welcomed to Agape Distribution Centre, where they could receive food and
clothing and a warm, friendly reception.
Due to high costs, the DC had to sadly give up its rental accommodation
just a few months ago. Undeterred
however, the staff relocated the operation to the front room of their office
space and, even though they had to downsize greatly, they are still offering
food to between 10 and 20 families once a month. They were delighted to share with us how, because
of a generous donation for this ministry, they were able to give out many food
vouchers recently for the special holidays to those in need.
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| Tel Aviv - Jaffa |
VIP - Very Important Prayer - these are the words the Lord
laid on Avi Mizrachi’s heart as he named the Prayer Room run under their
ministry umbrella. Three years ago it was an empty office space on the 12th
floor of a called The Lighthouse - today it is a beautiful sanctuary for prayer,
worship, and the presence of God, overlooking the vast city-scape of Tel Aviv. Many evenings in the week you will find
various groups of people holding prayer watches, people from different
ministries and congregations, all able to make use of the VIP Room. During the day individuals and groups also come
and use the room to bring their intercessions before the Lord. Open to all believers, the staff reminded us
how they hope the VIP will be operational 24/7 in the future, to keep “building
an altar of prayer and worship for breakthrough
in our city of Tel Aviv - Jaffa!”
So next time you find yourself in Israel, be sure to include
this important city in your itinerary.
We know the local believers would love to have you visit and would be so
encouraged to know how you pray for them and believe with them for breakthrough
in their home town!
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| The Staff |