The Ministry of Staying

(This email is just for those who know us). A joke in the Old City led us to an unexpected realization: Calvary Chapel in the Old City.

Dear friends,

At the beginning of this year, Matt and I started to talk about something we had never seriously considered before.

What would it look like to have a Calvary Chapel fellowship in the Old City of Jerusalem?

Not a large church. Not even to move into our own building. Just a simple gathering of believers where we already are. Local residents, students, volunteers, and visitors passing through the Old city.

We even sought counsel from some of you while we were there.

Soon after we returned war broke out, and the conversation disappeared almost overnight.

Our focus became much simpler: remain faithful.

Care for the students.

Keep the doors open.

Pray.

Worship.

Teach the Bible.

Make it through to the next day.

The idea of starting anything new felt almost ridiculous.

There was hardly anyone here.

All the tour groups disappeared. Christian pilgrims stopped coming. Many ministries scaled back or paused entirely. The streets of the Christian Quarter grew painfully quiet.

But every friday evening we continued.

We worshiped through sirens.

We prayed through uncertainty.

We shared communion behind locked city gates.

One day, while walking through the Christian Quarter, several shopkeepers jokingly told Matt they were going to buy him a ring and a staff and make him the “Pope of Calvary Chapel in the Old City.”

We laughed and contined drinking our Turkish coffee. Obviously that was ridiculous.

But later I realized something.

The joke only made sense because everyone already understood what they meant.

In the Old City, people already know us as Calvary Chapel.

When visitors have questions, people point them toward Matt.

When believers come through the city, they often find their way to us because someone else told them.

Over the years, relationships have been built. Trust has been built. Opportunities to serve have been built.

Matt has been given a key at Christ Church. He has been invited to teach. Lead worship. Friendships and alliances have formed across denominational lines. A reputation has steadily developed over the years.

Not because we set out to create one. There was never a flag.

We just stayed.

Recently while we were praying a thought finally dawned on us.

What we thought we needed to start, God had already been establishing.

For ten years.

Through worship services.

Through discipleship.

Through volunteers.

Through conversations over coffee.

Through prayer meetings.

Through ordinary acts of faithfulness that often felt very small at the time.

The Calvary Chapel presence in the Old City was not something waiting to be built.

It was something God had been building all along.

And many of you helped make that possible.

Through your prayers.

Through your financial support.

Through your encouragement.

Through your visits…so many of you have come and we have shared wonderful memories with you.

Through your willingness to stand with us year after year. Through Covid, Oct. 7th and the most recent war.

The relationships we enjoy today and the opportunities we have been given are not ours alone. They are the fruit of a decade of faithful partnership.

Recently, after the students left, the landlord wanted to know if we intended to rent our facility for the rest of the year.

But I didnt know how to answer that question. Our program has all but disappeared. And I found myself asking a question I had never needed to ask before.

How do people find us?

How do future students discover us?

How do pastors, churches, and believers know there is a Calvary Chapel presence in the Old City?

The surprising answer was that many simply don’t.

For a long time that wasn’t a problem. People came to Israel and found us.

But now that fewer people are coming, we have realized that after years of discreetly doing the work, we have become almost invisible to those might still be looking for us.

I asked google is there a Calvary Chapel ministry, chapel service, discipleship program or anything in Jerusalem/Old City and he said: No.

If God has used this ministry in your life, here are a few simple ways to help us remain present.

There are several ways you can join us. Even the smallest things are almost the most important right now.

• Apparently Google is using facebook reviews to establish credibility. If you have been associated with our ministry in the Old City. Please take just a minute and give us a review. Just a thumbs up is enough to say, ‘I have been there and this is a real place and ministry’.

• If you have a website consider linking us. This will also help google know that we are real and a part of the Calvary Chapel family and or the church in general.

• We are looking for churches that want to partner with us.

  A church partnership can look like:

  • Prayer support

  • Monthly giving

  • Discipleship referrals

  • Tour groups

  • Speaking opportunities

  • Interns

  • Volunteers

  • Pastors who teach

• If you know a Calvary pastor or Bible teacher who will be in the land and would like to join our service or even teach. Have them reach out to Matt. Our Service is Friday Morning 10-12 at Christ Church by Jaffa Gate.

• We are also beginning the search for an female intern who can help us in the coming season with things like overseeing the facility, social media, church outreach. Age between 20-30 years old. If you know someone please respond to this email and let us know.
  - Also, Once we find the right person, we will be looking for partners who would like to help bring them to Jerusalem through an El Al plane ticket.

• You can also help by sharing ‘Field Notes’ with someone. Especially if they pray!

• And as always, your prayers and financial support are a huge need.
  
  Here are a few of the specific needs:

1. We have found reliable car that a fellow believer is selling for an amazing price if you would like to give torwards that we would be so grateful!

2. Also, we have need of a rental car during our trip home.

3. Support for our facility in the Old City

Looking back, I think we were asking the wrong question.

The question was never, “Should we start a Calvary Chapel fellowship in the Old City?”

The question was, “Can we see what God has already been doing?”

Thank you for your help in establishing it.

With gratitude,

Elizabeth & Matt Finch

Jerusalem Light

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” 1 Cor. 3:6