Is Comfort My People relevant?
November 5, 2025
Because of the vast misunderstanding of Israel’s calling, I will attempt to present Why the ministry of Comfort My People exists in Israel instead of listing what our ministry partners do. I will use an illustration regarding a recent meeting I had in Jerusalem.
Steven is a ministry partner of Comfort My People. He is a Palestinian believer, born in East Jerusalem and raised in Bethlehem, which has a population of 80% Muslim and 20% Arab Christian. Steven grew up in that background.
An Arab Christian is someone who grew up with that identity. Most Arab Christians share similar perspectives with American Christians. In Israel, they do not study or teach from the Old Testament, other than for sermon illustrations or Sunday school, because it is known as the Jewish Bible. Steven’s father is a Pastor, as is Steven, but it was not before they each had a crisis of faith. An American visitor gave him a Bible, which he read voraciously. Jesus’ teachings and character captivated him. He came to faith and was born again. When he began to study seriously, it made sense for him to start in Genesis. There he discovered that God gave Abraham the land–where he was now living– to him and his descendants forever. His father became deeply troubled by this new information. He took his Bible to a neighboring pastor and asked him to explain. He was told it is no longer true, and he shouldn’t read it because it was the Jew’s bible.
He grew more confused yet realized it was up to him to choose what to believe. He was confident the Bible was from God and decided to believe it regardless of what others said. It became the foundation of his life, but it came with a cost. Steven was deeply impacted by his father’s commitment even in the face of danger, and he too came to faith. They started a church on their property, and the persecution began to grow. The threats became assaults not only from Muslims but so-called Arab Christians.
At least three members of his church would become martyrs, including Steven’s uncle.
In time, Steven rented a small building and started a church in East Jerusalem, which is almost entirely Muslim. When the landlord discovered who they were, they were evicted. This happened repeatedly as often as they changed locations. When Covid struck, they moved back to Bethlehem joining forces with his father. The church continued to grow as Steven trained disciples and took them into some of the most unreached and dangerous locations in Judea-Samaria (West Bank), where radical Islam is prevalent. Along with their growing humanitarian outreach and evangelistic events, they grew in favor with both God and man, without compromising their beliefs.
They are now in the process of bringing to life a God-given vision called The Nativity Encounter to teach the Palestinians that much of the Bible was written in their own land, and the city of Bethlehem was the birthplace of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. During the past two Christmas seasons thousands came to their temporary tents, which are the precursor of the permanent production. Many Muslims have come to faith but live in secrecy. The fruit of repentance is ultimately visible by an irrational love for the people they were taught to hate, the Israeli Jews. I have witnessed this in person.
When I began the ministry of CMP, God made it clear that to be authentic, we had to support ministry to not only Arabs, but Palestinians. As I prayed, I was introduced to Steven. We hit it off immediately, which is quite unusual. His love for the Jewish people and mine for the Arabs was real and our friendship grew to this day.
The story continues…
Not long ago, he told me about Nadar (assumed). Steven met him years ago in Gaza where they had a concealed outreach. Nadar’s uncle owned a bookstore from which he smuggled bibles, until one day a few Muslim men walked in and brutally killed his uncle as Nadar watched in shock.
Steven was able to convince the Israeli government that these Christians needed protection. The IDF responded by transporting twelve Christian families out of Gaza into safe locations in Judea-Samaria, including Nadar’s. He was yet to embrace his father’s faith. Until that day, he hated Israel and the Jews because that is what they learn in school and media. After he witnessed the savage assault on his uncle, his hatred of Jews shifted to Muslims.
Hatred consumed him to the point where he hated hatred. Fortunately, Steven became his mentor and began to disciple him. It wasn’t long before he met Jesus and became radically transformed.
I told Steven I had to meet him one day. That day came not long after the war began. Steven drove him on the back of his motorcycle to Jerusalem where we met for lunch. I was instantly impressed by his gentle demeanor. In contrast to so many Palestinian youths I have witnessed, he looked angelic.
He sat across from me, and I asked him to tell me of his faith. He didn’t mention the horrid event, nor did I probe, but he told me how Steven played an important role in his coming to faith in Jesus.
I asked him about his hatred, what happened to it? He said that he always hated the Jews and Israel, but when he realized it was them who saved his family, and Hamas who butchered his uncle, his mind was in turmoil. He could do nothing to stop hating until–he was born again. From that moment on he began serving Jesus with Steven. A few months later he was playing worship songs with his guitar on their outreaches, unafraid.
I was a bit hesitant to ask, but as we sat face to face, I told him that I am Jewish, yet also a disciple of Yeshua. I knew that Steven already informed him, but his face radiated from ear to ear. He had never met a Jew who believed in Jesus. That is what love does. Instantly, we both stood up and embraced each other. That is the same relationship I have with Steven and other Muslim born believers who have come to love the Jewish Messiah and His people.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul writes about the condition for peace in the Middle East. Just as the countless attempts to make peace by every US President, the Ephesians peace plan had a name. God called it, the “one new man.” He created it on the cross in Jesus. At that momentous event, He broke the ancient enmity by making the two one, thus making peace. It is the ONLY Middle East peace treaty that will last, but it has been widely overlooked, or should I say effectively dismissed by the church for centuries?
Thus, we continue to spin on broken wheels.
The war with Iran and her proxies was meant for pure evil. In response, God has been breaking into lives all over Israel. The name of Yeshua-Jesus is becoming a conversation like never before in modern Israel. Only time will tell how many Jews, Arabs, Palestinians, and Iranians have come to faith in these horrid two years. Jewish believers on the frontlines are the ones making a difference.
The manifold wisdom of God was not designed to provide free tickets to Heaven, but to make eternal peace. No where in the world is that as evident as in the Middle East.
Christianity preceded Islam by six centuries, yet Islam has grown steadily and today is the fasted growing religion in the world. They critically need and encounter with Jesus. If Muslim born believers are discipled to confront their hatred and begin to love their Jewish brothers, not only will it reveal genuine faith, but destroy the work of the enemy and create peace. Any other way is impossible.
We have lost time to make up as believers. For the sake of peace and the generation to follow, we must play our role.
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