B'SHAYRT - Prayer for Israel and Celebrate Messiah NZ
“It was meant to be; it was destined.” That’s what “b’shayrt” means. Basically, it’s the Yiddish word for “kismet.” But in Yiddish the word also makes reference to one’s intended soul mate. Everyone is looking for their b’shayrt. But not CMNZ. We’ve found ours!
By now, some of you are aware that Prayer For Israel NZ (PFI NZ) is scaling down its operations and has invited CMNZ to carry on its tradition of promoting Israel-focused intercession throughout NZ. Here is how Ken Taylor, Director of PFI NZ, describes this new turn of events:
Over the past few years, we have seen the need for change in the ministry, for new energy and skills. However, Mary and I had hoped that we would be able to hand the ministry on as a going concern to ones who could take it into the future. This was not to be. Being conscious that there are very few Israel related ministries with a similar focus to PFI we scanned the spectrum of ministries. The Board had always considered that Celebrate Messiah NZ (CMNZ), with its focus on evangelism, shared our heart to see the Jewish people come to know Yeshua as their Messiah. When we learned that the Lord had impressed on them in a new way the importance of prayer for His people together with the arrival in NZ of Michael and Teresa Thomas with their giftings, discussions were commenced between our two organisations. The result has been that CMNZ have agreed to accept the responsibility of promoting prayer for Israel within this country and PFI will scale down its operation. Our relationship with Scott and Marjorie Brown of Celebrate Messiah NZ is a joy and we commend them and their ministry to you all. As they promote prayer for Israel within our nation in a new way we are confident that the next phase will be very fruitful.
Given our great respect for PFI-NZ and our sincere love for its Directors, Ken and Mary Taylor, we couldn’t be more honoured to accept this praiseworthy mantle. While we at CMNZ are primarily an evangelistic mission agency, we are convinced that our evangelistic efforts are powerless apart from the prayers of the saints. Simply put, “prayer for Israel” is the fuel behind all of our evangelism, which explains why we at CMNZ so deeply love and respect the work of PFI-NZ. Without prayer for Israel, there is no salvation for Israel!
But PFI-NZ has not only focused prayer and resources toward the salvation of Israel, they have also pleaded with the Almighty on behalf of the local church, educating believers throughout NZ concerning Israel’s special role in God’s Plan. This is yet another example of the common bond between PFI and CMNZ. Last year, CMNZ speakers were privileged to teach in 46 towns and cities throughout NZ, with a particular focus on Israeli in prophecy, the Jewish roots of Christianity, and Jewish evangelism.
Are you catching a glimpse of God’s handiwork in the union of PFI-NZ and CMNZ? Do you see how this is b’shayrt, divinely delivered from the hand of Providence? And since we are convinced of God’s involvement, we at CMNZ will be seeking Him for bold new prayer initiatives in the coming months, with a view toward extending PFI’s distinguished heritage in NZ.
Are you willing to receive our bi-monthly CMNZ-PFI newsletter by email? If so, it will allow us to extend this ministry while reducing the cost. Additionally, we’ll have the ability to communicate with you more frequently including urgent prayer alerts and notifications of events in your area.