The Organization
Present day Southern Baptists in Israel date their beginnings from 1911. From that time, Baptist work in the land, under the name Baptist Convention in Israel, has continued to expand and can be found today from the north to the south of the country with about 25 families working with their Jewish and Arab believing brothers among the different people groups.
Historical Perspective
In 1911, a young Palestinian Arab returned to his hometown of Safed after being baptized into the fellowship of FBC, Dallas, Texas. He established in Nazareth the oldest continuous Baptist witness in the Middle East. The first assigned Baptist workers came in 1923 and began a house ministry in Jerusalem. The year 1929 saw the opening of work in Haifa. All personnel were evacuated at the beginning of WWII and returned in 1944 and 1945. The George W. Truett Children's Home for orphaned children was established in Nazareth and moved to Petah Tikva in 1955. This property is still owned by the Baptists and is now known as Baptist Village.
Present Situation & Future Vision
At the Baptist Village, we have an active sports ministry and host numerous camps and conferences. At the Baptist House in Jerusalem, there are four different congregations ministering in English, Hebrew, and Russian. The International Prayer Center in Jerusalem is being developed in East Jerusalem. One aspect of the work here is to assist people who come on vision trips or prayer walks to see how God might use them in His work. These people are a boon to the land of Israel both financially and spiritually. We hope to continue this and expand the work of volunteers who come to help out short-term in many ways.