ICEJ’s Ever-expanding International Reach
By Mojmir Kallus, Vice President of International Affairs
Even though travel has been restricted over the past year, the work of the ICEJ’s International department has not stopped. Like other activities at the Christian Embassy, the development of our global network largely just moved online. It has been rewarding to see our relationships with the ICEJ national directors and representatives around the world even strengthened during this time. Indeed, we have never had such frequent contacts, and it has been a real joy to see familiar faces, exchange experiences and ideas, and pray for one another.
Every month, a global online meeting has been held called the “ICEJ Family Prayer”. Dozens of our national directors and representatives regularly participate, receiving first-hand information from the global headquarters in Jerusalem, while asking questions and praying together. In addition, 24 regional conferences were held during the last year. These online gatherings have provided a more intimate platform for deeper discussions, and an opportunity to invite pastors from the various regions to introduce them to the ICEJ ministry in a manner suited to their needs and specific region.
In addition, many members of our global family have regularly participated in the Global Prayer Gatherings on Wednesdays, or selected topics of interest from our series of weekly webinars on Thursdays. All these online activities have kept everyone up-to-date, and even proven to be a great way to showcase our ministry at its best to church leaders with little prior contact with us. And of course, the online Feast of Tabernacles provided a superb opportunity for thousands of Christians to join us virtually for this biblical festival in Jerusalem and even to celebrate Succot in their own countries. In addition, the monthly Rosh Chodesh prayer chains have added another special feature to our wide range of online programs, and their growing length demonstrates how many nations are finding it very exciting to be globally connected in prayer through the ICEJ.
New Faces
These online initiatives have yielded some precious fruit in the form of establishing or renewing contacts in many countries. For instance, we met a dedicated team from Cordoba and appointed them to represent the Christian Embassy in Argentina. New national teams also were appointed in Honduras and El Salvador, restarting works which had existed for many years but went through times of inactivity.
New representatives also were added in the Eastern Europe, namely in the two former Yugoslav Republics of Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina. In addition, there has been promising growth in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Latvia. And in Russia, we have been able to reach hundreds of new pastors and churches through our various online activities.
In South-East Asia, the country of the Philippines stands out, as the enormous potential of the only nation in Asia with a Christian majority is beginning to manifest itself. This is especially the case with their ever-growing prayer involvement, which is very impressive. There have been good developments in Malaysia, and Thailand also has become very active, even providing interpretation so that many local pastors can participate in our online events.
In Africa, we established a strong office in the Ivory Coast, a result of several years of cultivating relationships with senior leaders of the Body of Christ there. We appointed a new representative in Uganda and held a regional conference in Gabon, one of a few physical meetings which were possible. We expect further growth in this immense and important continent, and to facilitate it we have appointed regional coordinators for Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.
New Initiatives
It has become quite clear that prayer functions as the engine of our ministry. It is probably the most inspiring part of what we do. We have established ties to prayer houses in many countries. Some of them go beyond a mere house of prayer to believers establishing prayer mountains. It started in the Philippines, where national board member Sister Mercy operates seven prayer mountains, one of which is solely dedicated to praying for Israel. We have heard wonderful testimonies about God’s power at work in those meetings. And recently, our new team in Argentina has decided to establish altars of prayer throughout their country.
Last, but not least, our well-established offices in the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Taiwan and throughout Western Europe have all improved their performance. Thanks to generous donations mostly from these countries, we were able to finance a record number of 48 bomb shelters across Israel in 2021, as well as to help nearly 3,800 new immigrants return to their ancient homeland.
This illustrates well the value of our global family. We couldn’t achieve it alone; together we make up this unique ministry, united in love and passion for God’s purposes with Israel and the nations. We look forward to continuing this relationship in the new year, even as we may move through uncharted waters. It is our prayer that God might use us to comfort Israel and teach the Church about His unfolding redemptive plan for mankind.