It’s December and Christmas is upon us! Have you ever stopped to think about Christmas in Israel? Probably not…because Jewish people obviously don’t celebrate Christmas, as their eyes are blinded to the One in whom we celebrate: Jesus Christ!

What you might not know is that there is one city that draws curious Israelis by the droves to town every December. That city is Nazareth, home of the largest (and one of the few) Christmas trees in Israel! Amazingly, what was once the birthplace of Jesus is now a predominately Arab city.

But it is also home to Home of Jesus the King congregation, an Arab-led congregation that loves Jesus and blesses the people of Nazareth in so many ways. In fact, HJTK is one reason Nazareth is such a hopping city during Christmas. It literally becomes a mission field to tell Arabs, Jews, Druze, Bedouins and everyone else about Jesus! Pastor Saleem and his congregation are incredibly active and giving. In fact, take a look at this year’s Christmas projects:

As you are contemplating year-end giving, may I encourage you to consider supporting Home of Jesus the King? I know Pastor Saleem and this congregation personally and can attest to their generous and impacting outreaches to the community. Projects are ongoing throughout the year, not just at Christmas, and every outreach includes the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

BTW – my tour group and I will have the blessed privilege of visiting Pastor Saleem and his family to get a firsthand look at the Christ-honoring projects taking place when we are in Israel in February! I can’t wait to reconnect with them!