Abounding in Blessings!
WMM Staff
Word of Messiah has had another blessedly successful year!
As we look back over the past 12 months, we see the mighty God we serve, by His all-sufficient grace.
Our first Planter’s Conference for 2018 was in Phoenix, AZ during February. There, 27 Congregational leaders from various Messianic Congregations and plants came together to learn how to be more effective in establishing and developing their teams of leaders and volunteers to be a testimony to others.
February and March were filled with Passover opportunities to proclaim the Lamb of God, with numerous people responding to Messiah’s salvation invitation.
In April, during our Messiah in the Passover Banquets, Word of Messiah Ministries sent Sam to New York and Philadelphia in one day! God provided the increase as a total of 22 people came to know Yeshua, and yes, while flying, one fortunate passenger sitting next to Sam on the plane, also trusted Yeshua as Savior and Lord! Praise God!
May and June were planting time! Sam helped a new congregation plant in Ohio understand the Messianic call in reaching out to the Jew first and equally to the Gentile, while Miriam conducted a Messianic Women’s Conference in North Carolina.
In July, Sam taught a Messianic Yeshiva for 60 leaders on the importance of Messianic discipleship in the home and congregation.
Throughout 2018, understanding that the healthy local church is the most effective way to reach the lost in their community, Sam ministered in bible believing churches throughout the country, encouraging and exhorting pastors and their flocks to reach out to their Jewish neighbors, as they showed God’s love and faithfulness to His people. (Please remember this vital ministry in prayer as we seek the Lord to open up the doors of many more throughout 2019 and the next few years).
Some of our new Word of Messiah staff were able to join in, as these young men, trained by Sam and representing Word of Messiah, were sent out to neighboring churches as emissaries of the Good News, to show that He Who promised is faithful to fulfill His objective for Israel.
Over the course of the year, Sam spent a great deal of his time ministering to Congregational leaders via phone, Skype and sometimes taking God-ordained phone calls, which ended in Jewish husbands and fathers becoming brand new believers in Yeshua! BH!
Our High Holy Days are always a special time of reflection, remembrance, and re-dedication. This year’s High Holy Days were no exception, with the added bonus of Jewish parents coming to recognize Yeshua as their Jewish Messiah! (Please pray with us as we trust the Lord for others to also realize that Yeshua is Who they have been waiting for).
As we entered October, we had another blessed Conference in Charlotte for the southeast region! A total of 65 leaders and planters attended, were instructed, empowered and encouraged to pray, evangelize and disciple, to establish and effectively develop a healthy Messianic Congregation. When asked what the key principles were that he took away from the conference/briefing, one participant summed the entire Conference up in one sentence: “Prayer, discipleship, prayer, family building, prayer, congregant development into leaders, more prayer!” Yes, Word of Messiah seeks more prayer for more to be accomplished for the Good News of Messiah!
The September and October Fall Festivals (Rosh Hashanah/Trumpets, Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement and Sukkot/Tabernacles) became amazing opportunities for greater outreach, and for Jewish people to come, by amazing grace, to trust in Yeshua the Messiah!
In November, as Sam continued in his conference ministry in Phoenix, the Lord brought his Lyft driver to saving faith in Yeshua! As Sam turned the discussion to spiritual matters, he shared his testimony and the grace of God in the Messiah. As they approached the conference location, Sam simply asked, “Can you think of one good reason you would not want to trust in Messiah right now?” The driver could not think of a reason not to and wanted to do so. Before leaving the car, the man became a child of God by faith in Yeshua!
December provided the double blessing for outreach: both Hanukkah and Messiah’s (traditional) birthday. Hanukkah is the perfect time for outreach by proclaiming Messiah’s Hanukkah message from John 10:22-30. Though many realize that Messiah’s birthay is not commanded for observance, still we get to proclaim the Good News by teaching on “The Virgin Birth” from Isaiah 7:14.
December is also the time we celebrated the birth of a new book by Miriam Nadler, “Compassion and Redemption: Celebrating the Women in Messiah’s Royal Line” and soon, in the coming year, Sam’s newest book will finally be finished, “Messianic Marriage Matters: Restored to the Original Design.”
As you can see, our year has been jam-packed with spiritual and physical blessings and victories in Messiah Yeshua. Through it all, we are forever looking forward, as we trust the One Who has made all things possible and Who is always faithful to His word, even to the Jew first!
