Sharing Jesus’ Love With Our Neighbors
A unique course at Galilee Bible College, teaches Israeli Arabs how to share Christ with their Jewish Neighbors.
A unique course took place during spring semester at our Nazareth-based, Galilee Bible College extension. This intensive 3-hour course, which was designed for Israeli Arab students and taught in Hebrew, focused on “How to Share the Christian Faith with One’s Jewish Neighbors”. The class was comprised of Christian students and leaders from diverse churches and ministries in the area– some from Galilee Bible College’s MA and BA students. Anan Najar and Waseem Qanazie, two students who took the course, were particularly impressed by Professor Ephraim Goldstein whom they consider an excellent presenter and one with great knowledge of the subject matter since he is Jewish and lived as a Jew before committing his life to Jesus. Both Anan and Waseem were impressed by Professor Goldstein’s testimony and personal witness and the fact that he had taken upon himself to share his faith with fellow Jews.
Anan and Waseem described the course as very helpful saying:
“Through the course we learned much about the Jewish people and how to share our faith in Christ with them. We had discussions, interactions, and covered different aspects and strategies to share our faith with Jews. We learned Jewish history, both biblical and secular, and we learned how to use quotations from the Pentateuch, the prophets and the New Testament to share the message of Christ with our Jewish friends. The course also covered prophesies about Christ in the Old and New Testaments and we saw how the New Testament is a document that is fully integrated to the Old Testament. The course also covered obstacles that stand between the average Jew and the message of Christ. We learned about the different Jewish sects in Israel. We also studied how to bring the gospel to the Jews in a non-threatening manner and steer away from useless arguments or hurtful discussions. We thank God for this course!”
Director of the Galilee Bible College, Dr. Nabil Samara, attended some of the classes and reported that the students were very interested, asked many questions, and recognized their need to know more about their neighbors. He noticed that the biggest surprise for the students was discovering that the Jewish people in Israel embody a wide variety of groups. According to Dr. Nabil, “A wide variety of students attended the class and they felt happy to study in an atmosphere of love and respect. It was a very enriching experience for them.”
