I just returned from an important "Israel Summit" in San Antonio, Texas, with about 140 leaders from around the United States. We came away deeply concerned about the situation in Israel because of the threat from Iran and with an awareness that what we are doing through Christians United For Israel (CUFI) is more important than ever.
I am motivated to encourage as many people as possible to participate in several upcoming CUFI events. The first is Sunday, May 17, which is called CUFI Sunday. So far nearly 1,000 churches are signed up for this event. You can click here for more information on how to sign up.
Interestingly as the call went out for CUFI Sunday all over America, and more than 200 churches outside the U.S. in 45 different countries indicated an interest in signing up for "CUFI Sunday."CUFI has prepared several brief video presentations that churches can choose to show during a few minutes of the service or some churches are devoting the entire service to the importance of Christians standing with Israel.
May 17 was selected for this event because it is the Sunday closes to Israel's 61st anniversary when it became a nation on May 15, 1948. The idea of CUFI Sunday came from my good friend Pastor Scott Thomas of Without Walls Central Church in Lakeland, Florida. Scott is the CUFI state director for Florida. You may know that I have accepted the responsibility to be regional director for Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, so obviously much of my focus is on those four states. But I am also trying to get out the word around the country for churches to sign up.
In addition to that, it's important to make plans to attend the CUFI Washington Israel Summit in Washington, D.C., on July 20-23. We plan to lobby on Capitol Hill that week and let lawmakers know we support Israel. I will be there, but I'll tell you more about it in an upcoming Report. For more information about the Summit, click here. (The photo shown is from last year's event.)
I have been a supporter of Israel my entire adult life, but recently I have gotten more involved than ever in supporting Israel. An initiative that I am taking personally is starting a new e-newsletter from Strang Communications called "Standing With Israel" which launches Friday. To introduce it to you we are sending it to everyone who receives the Strang Report. The format will be much like the Strang Report only it will focus on matters pertaining to Christian Zionism, the State of Israel, tourism, and of course I will report on many things having to do with CUFI.
I am happy that CUFI is continuing to grow and prosper during a time of economic uncertainty in which many businesses and Christian organizations are shrinking or re-trenching. For example, CUFI started its e-newsletter in 2006 with fewer than 10,000 email addresses, but has grown to just under 150,000 as of last December. And this year it has already close to 220,000 names. This indicates that the Christian community has a great deal of interest in standing with Israel. It's also a testament to the strong leadership being given by Pastor John Hagee and the outstanding team he has put together.
I urge you to subscribe to our Standing With Israel e-newsletter that will begin weekly and grow to bi-weekly. I also encourage you to support Christians United For Israel. Please leave your comments on our website.
