The Nehemiah Fund

Ariel, a modern city located in the region of ancient Samaria, has had an ongoing connection with Maranatha Chapel for over a decade. Pastor Ray Bentley and Ron Nachman (former Mayor of Ariel) developed a unique friendship that has allowed the church to build bridges of understanding, friendship, and faith with the people of this community. Because of this relationship, Maranatha Chapel is an American Friend of Ariel and we include this organization as a part of THE NEHEMIAH FUND.

Through American Friends of Ariel, Maranatha helped build Ariel’s state-of-the-art Radio Communications Center, and the National Youth Leadership Development Park. The communications center services the community of Ariel as a remote communications hub broadcasting educational content and also informs the residents of specific procedure in the event of a local or national emergency.

Ron Nachman partnered with Maranatha and other American friends, to build the National Youth Leadership Development Park. There, youth participate in a program which incorporates spiritual disciplines with physical challenges—encouraging them to look to the Scriptures for true leadership values.

For centuries, God’s chosen people have been scattered throughout the world and have faced persecution and hatred. In 1948, when the State of Israel was established, it opened its doors to all Jewish people—inviting them to settle in the land and offering them immediate citizenship through a relocation process called Aliyah meaning to “ascend.”

The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) has played an important role in helping these Jewish families (more than 3 million people), make the move from Russia, France, Argentina, Ethiopia, Iraq, Germany, Turkey, Yemen, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and America where they had lived for generations.

The Nehemiah Fund supports JAFI’s immigration programs and is glad to play a part in helping future generations of Jewish people grow in love with their God and The Land.

Since 1949, Nazareth Baptist School (NBS), located in the hometown of Jesus Christ, has been providing a strong Christian presence in an area populated mostly by Muslims and Jews. NBS openly acknowledges its evangelical beliefs and is the only school in Israel that requires attendance in Bible classes and chapel regardless of the student’s background or religion. Because of its national and international reputation for academic excellence, NBS draws students from non-Christian families. Currently more than 20% of its 1000 students [grades K-12] come from Muslim homes.

We support and pray for NBS’s continued evangelical influence on the young people of the community.

The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB) is a prayer movement initiated and chaired by Knesset Member Robert Ilatov, and co-chaired by U.S. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Each year the JPB brings together government leaders and influential Christian leaders from all walks of society for a gathering in Israel’s capital city to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Established in 1990, ONE FOR ISRAEL began as a Bible college and has since expanded to a multi-faceted ministry with the express goal of reaching Israelis with the Good News of Yeshua, training and equipping the Body of Messiah in Israel, and blessing our community with Yeshua’s love.

The story and ministry of ONE FOR ISRAEL is part of something much larger – the miraculous restoration of the Jewish people and the miraculous unity between Jewish and Arab believers in Jesus.

We are seeing not only the physical restoration of Israel after a 2000-year exile, but a spiritual revolution is taking place right in front of our eyes. Jewish people are returning to their God and accepting the Messiah in numbers not seen since the early church! Not only that, but many Arab people are coming to the Lord and many Arab believers are finding a deep unity with their Jewish brothers and sisters.

ONE FOR ISRAEL exists to do ministry within this miracle.

We are Jews and Arabs, together serving Messiah Jesus, sharing the Gospel with Israel and the world, making disciples, training leaders, and blessing our communities in the name of Yeshua.