Waiting for the Rain 10/31/2010
2009-10-30 The land of Israel is recently enjoying the rains that are now falling after a long, hot summer. My thoughts go to the story of Elijah who prayed, waited and expected God to send rain. He sent his servant to look for rain time after time. Finally, the servant reported to Elijah that he saw a small cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea. They knew that this small cloud would bring great rains. Just like the prophet who walked this area thousands of years ago, we too are praying, expecting and waiting for a spiritual rain to come and bring life-giving water to hearts, people and a land that is dry and thirsty. Just as the rains are surely coming now in their season, we believe God will rain down His spirit on us... Because He Is Faithful. "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." 1 Kings 18.44 Youth Ministry: The youth ministry is flourishing at NCC. It is vital that we reach and care for the booming youth population of our world; they are the future of our society and the church. At NCC we have two youth outreach teams, one for the younger set, led by Venise Mk'abal, and one for the "fifteens" and above, led by Christine Dakwar. Recently each youth team enjoyed an overnight event at the church building. It was an amazing spiritual encounter for the youth, not to mention a lot of fun. There were times of talking, eating together, movies, etc. And, there was a great move of the Spirit on our youth as they prayed, cried out to God, and worshipped. Many made serious commitments of faith to the Lord, many renewed their commitments and were filled with the Spirit. The only thing that was missing from the event seems to have been sleep!     Church Outing: Last month, the NCC body, packed on to two huge busses, went on a mini-tour of Jerusalem and environs. Besides the simple purpose of building up relationships and "togetherness" the goal was to expose our people to the heritage of the Land. So often the local believers miss out on the richness of the biblical history and geography that surrounds us, a heritage that is ours both as residents of Israel and the people of Messiah. Our travels took us to locations such as Jerusalem, the Mt. of Olives, the Garden Tomb, and the Dead Sea region.   One Year Anniversary: On October 11, 2009 NCC celebrated one year in our new premises! Looking back on the dedication service of Fall 2008, we are humbled by God's gracious presence with us and we look ahead with great expectation to the future. The joy of our celebration service was greatly enhanced by the participation of international friends from the U.S., Canada, Singapore, and Finland who all (through no strategy of our own) happened to visit us precisely on this anniversary service! Pastor Yousef challenged us that in view of all God has given us in the year past, we must look to the year ahead asking what we can give back to Him.     Add Comment SITTING AT JESUS' FEET 10/31/2010
SITTING AT JESUS' FEET -- We have been led by the Spirit and believe that this is the time to invest in the maturity and discipleship of our congregation. July 15 we began 8 home groups that are studying the book of James from the Joy of Living series that we translated into Arabic. The people are blessed and excited to invest in their spiritual growth.  At the same time we received 47,000 books on church development in Arabic from a dear ministry in Canada. We distributed these books to 45 different churches around the country.  Reconciled In Christ 10/31/2010
Reconciled In Christ -- July 25th the New Covenant Church and the Messianic Carmel Assembly gathered together for a joint meeting. Pastor Yousef preached during the service. Everyone stayed for fellowship after the service for a barbeque picnic. How blessed to see Jews and Arabs gathered at one table eating, celebrating and enjoying God's unity. This is what our country needs! A living testimony of transformed hearts in Christ.  Movements of the Spirit 10/25/2010
2009-07-31 SOCIAL AWARENESS LECTURES -- May 6th The New Covenant Church hosted a lecture by Dr. Yuval Shamshum, a known sociologist and expert on the topic of the risks and effects of drugs and smoking. These vices have taken on epidemic proportions in our area and in our city, especially among the youth. We felt that we had a responsibility to educate the congregation about these dangers.  Fadi... came to the church one and a half years ago from a background of violence and crime. God softened the heart of this young man. He became a dedicated follower of Christ. He influenced his family to accept the Lord too. Steve... just finished his B.A. degree in Theology. And Rana is one of our media ministry workers. They have taken the decision to serve God together as a family.   A Heart to Reach the Unreached -- These days we feel that God is pushing the church in Israel to go out and touch people. In the last month churches from all over the country have gathered and united to reach the unsaved with the gospel of Christ. It started with the Back To Jerusalem conference under the cover of Life Agape. It continued with an outreach in every city and village. The Jesus film from the perspective of Mary Magdalene was projected in many locations. Thousands came to Haifa to celebrate the catholic feast of Elijah, the prophet. Churches cooperated to give tracks and to share the gospel with those who came.  Season of Development 10/25/2010
2009-05-21 The year of 2009 is a season of development for the NCC leadership team and the congregation. We are focusing our efforts and energy on discipleship, spiritual growth and maturity. We want to be a blessing to all our community and to this land. New Discipleship Program -- Starting in June we are beginning discipleship groups. Everyone in our church will take part of a group and have the opportunity to systematically study books of the Bible - starting with the book of James. We know that each person will grow in the knowledge and image of Christ through the study and through the interaction with others in the body of Christ. Leadership Training Classes -- Our leadership team is meeting weekly to study principles of leadership in pioneering with Dr. Jack Park. Dr. Park is a minister with 40 years of experience. A Place of Worship -- Our new building has become a local place of worship and prayer. Local ministries use the NCC building for concerts and prayer meetings. Projects -- We have completed the room for new mothers and babies in our church. There will be TV monitors for the mothers to watch the service as they care for their babies. This facility is completed just in time as there are several new babies in our congregation. Baptism -- This weekend we baptized 12 people from NCC. It was a beautiful picture of God's mercy and grace. People came from all backgrounds - different faiths, different ages, and different circumstances. There were many who made recent commitments of faith in Jesus Christ. There were youth who have been believers for a few years but have just decided to take the step of baptism as a sign of their faith. Our church rejoiced with each one of them. Please pray for these precious believers.  Church Building Dedication 10/25/2010
2008-10-11 We celebrated the dedication of the beautiful new building for the New Covenant Church in Haifa Over 400 adults came together for the moment of thanksgiving to God. We had special guests from all over Israel and from America. We were honored to have the mayor of Haifa greet us on the occasion. There was a special program for over 50 children that were present. It was a wonderful night of worship, praise, and thanksgiving. We committed ourselves and the building to be a place of community, of outreach. We wish that all of you dear friends could have joined us for the special occasion. In less than one year we purchased a building & completed the renovations.We thank God for all He has done. We invite you to view our media page for a short video presentation showing the renovations and completion of NCC. This is the beginning of something wonderful We ask you to continue to pray for Haifa NCC. Friends, the past year has been incredible. But we know it is just the beginning of something new and wonderful that God is doing in our city, region and country. We are convinced that God is accomplishing His will in Haifa - He is drawing people to Himself. Our hearts are full of expectation at what He will do. Continue to pray for us. We need strength, wisdom, and direction from our Good Shepherd. We thank you for standing with us in this time. New Hope New Faith New Life 10/25/2010
2008-07-22 Dear Friends Greetings from Israel. Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer and generous giving. We appreciate you! While the eyes of the world watch to see what will happen next in Israel, some are troubled, fearful, & depressed. But HOPE is blossoming in our congregation and city - God is moving in a new, powerful way. We share some stories below of God touching hearts I had a dream... A man from another religion has visited the church several times. Recently he came to me and said, “I had a dream. In the dream, a man appeared to me wearing ripped cloths and over his ripped cloths were royal robes. I knew he was Jesus. Can you tell me what this dream means?” The man wept as I told him that Jesus the King of Kings was broken and treated like a slave for his sake. Salvation of Families... A contractor who recently began working on our building was touched by the care that he received from the believers who work alongside him. He has met Jesus. After one month of coming to the worship meetings, he told me, “next week, me and my wife and children are coming to church.” Midnight phone call... One night some people tried to steal materials from the church site. I got a call at midnight telling me “come to the church”. I arrived and found that the muslim neighbors near the church were hiding, waiting to catch the thieves if they entered the building. These men told me, “Go home. We are watching God’s House for you.” They stayed until dawn watching the building. God is using our neighbors to help and even provide the church with materials and tools. It’s so exciting to see a dream taking shape. What’s Next? We’ve used all the resources that have been provided to this point. We have an anticipation that God will supply all the remaining needs. With $200,000 we will purchase windows and doors, tiles, stone facing, fire-safety sprinklers, dry walls, acoustic ceiling, plumbing fixtures, paint, decoration & furnishings. If the Lord is leading you to contribute financially to this project, then please follow this link for more information. Please intercede with us for this great opportunity New Life Campaign --- In July a massive outreach campaign to the Arabs in Israel. For the first time in the history of Israel, we can put material connected to faith on the national TV. 15 stories of believers who have met the Lord will be broadcast during prime time. With the help and support of Finnish Media Organization IRR TV and the cooperation of believing congregations all over this country, we will cover the land with billboards, fliers, DVD’s, personal evangelism and other materials. Please intercede with us for protection and openness in the spiritual realm. Members from our church will receive special training on personal evangelism and knowledge on how to counsel and lead people to Jesus over the phone Renovating the New Building 10/24/2010
2008-05-15 Please continue to join with us in faith, prayers and giving as we continue the renovations and furnishing. For these things we still need about $230,000. We are in the renovation process. We hope to prepare the building for the church as soon as possible because we are now paying taxes for the space. We have a team of professionals and volunteers working every day and we have hope to move into the completed building this year. We know God has all these details in his hands. We want him to clearly guide us in this moving process. Please pray for God’s support, strength & provision. If the Lord is leading you to contribute financially to this project, then please follow this link for more information. Signing building Contract 10/24/2010
 2007-12-02 Pastor Yousef Dakwar signing the contract on the new home for NCC Haifa It’s time to celebrate! On Sunday, 2 December, NCC signed a contract for a new building for our church. We are all very excited and we want to share this moment with you because many of you have participated in this faith venture with us through prayers and sacrificial giving.This building has so much potential and it is in a great location. Water Baptism 2007 10/24/2010
Water Baptism in 07.07.2007 We had a wonderful baptism service at the Jordan River. 24 people from our church were baptized. Malachi 4.6 begins “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers...” One 84 year old man and his wife who were baptized that day had persecuted their children for years for being believers. God has drawn them to Himself and they chose to publicly show their commitment. In our culture the fathers usually baptize the children. But now the children are baptizing their fathers. Three teenaged brothers also were baptized together that day. God is touching the youth and they are responding by giving their hearts completely to Jesus. | Ncc BlogWelcome at the New Covenant Church Blog from Haifa Israel ArchivesMay 2011 Categories |
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