Nazareth Evangelical College Something Good Out of Nazareth
Christian leadership is one of our main focuses at Nazareth Evangelical College. Through our leadership courses and programs we aim to produce leaders who understand and put into practice the spiritual, personal and practical leadership skills that will enable them to perform their leadership within their cultural contexts as an effective but also godly and biblically faithful ministry.
Equipping and training a leader is not an easy task, even almost after three years of Jesus’ ministry with the disciples, they still argued among them about who was the greater. Jesus’ response to their argument was a challenging and shocking one: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) It was against their expectation and their human nature. This challenge is still the challenge of leadership also in our days. As our area is lacking a good model of leadership, we seek to present, for the next generation of the Christian ministries in Israel, Christ model of leadership, a servant leadership model.
We invite you to be our partners in this journey and to celebrate with us as we fulfill our mission.
Meet a Student: Zaher Haddad
Zaher Haddad is the General Secretary of the Fellowship of Christian Students in Israel (FCSI), and organization that is affiliated with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES; a sister ministry to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship in the US). FCSI serves Messianic Jews, Arab Christians and international students in eleven university and college campuses in Israel. Zaher is married to Rana and they have two children, Fuad (10) and Dana (5).
We asked Zaher, “How has studying at NEC influenced your ministry?”
“One of the main reasons I study at NEC is to improve the way I do my ministry. The courses that I have taken so far at NEC are directly relevant to my work; they have helped me evaluate and develop the way I do ministry, helped me develop my personal spiritual life, and they have significantly contributed to my understanding of the Bible. The latter is particularly crucial to my ministry, since Bible study and one of things we do with students on campus.”
Zaher’s MA thesis is the relationship between para-church institutions and local churches in Israel. As such, we pray that Zaher’s studies at NEC will not only enrich his life and ministry but will also help improve to the interaction between local churches and Christian institutions.
Equipping Leaders – Our Leadership Summit
Last October Nazareth Evangelical College and the Baptist School in Nazareth hosted the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) for the second year in Nazareth. About 140 people from various backgrounds attended the conference. Some of them were Church leaders, such as pastors of local churches and leaders of Christian organizations, while others were leaders in various secular professions.
Top leaders from around the world shared their minds and hearts with us. They inspired us, made us laugh and weep as we reflected on our responsibility as leaders. We had precious times of reflecting on their wisdom and on putting their presentations in dialogue with our culture as well as with our Christian faith.
Local leaders were hosted as well. Judge Jamil Nasser, a senior judge in Israel, emphasized the importance his places on testifying to Christ in his workplace; he argued that a successful leader is one whose heritage glorifies Jesus Christ. Dr. Nakhleh Bishara, the former director of the Nazareth Hospital, spoke about the necessity of being a humble leader in order to lead a team.
We wanted to see what attendees thought of the conference, so we interviewed a number of local leaders. Here are some of their key statements:
Judge Jamil Nasser – Senior Judge in Israel
“The conference provides us with new horizons to shape the successful leader in the Lord’s ministry for the edification of the body of Christ.”
Ms. Randa Elias – Human Resources Director in Nazareth Hospital
“This conference challenges us to transform what we learned into effective actions that make a difference in our society.”
Mrs. Mary Sakran – The director of the largest human development college in the Arab sector in Israel
“Although I come from the secular world of leadership, this conference widened my knowledge and gave me new skills by which I can improve my leadership role.”
Dr. Louis Abboud – A Senior Doctor (Physician)
“The conference has been helpful for me as a senior physician in the Israeli health system; I am also sure that the content of the conference will give me new ideas for my church ministry.”
Pastor Bishara Deeb – Pastor of Jaffa Baptist Church near Nazareth
“The purpose of the conference’s content is to enrich the leader’s mindset in order to develop their skills so that their church or organization will function in a way that fulfills the goals God has put on the leader’s heart.”
Sponsor a student
There is a great need for forming Arab Christian leaders in Israel who are able to contextualize God’s message to Arabs, to deal with the divisions of churches in our context, to advocate reconciliation with Jews and Muslims, and to love God wholeheartedly and with all of their minds, and seek to build his kingdom in this land. Each student costs us $ 5000 per year. Would you consider supporting the full amount or part of a student cost?
Please pray for:
- The impact of the Global Leadership Summit on the leaders who attended the summit, and for us to follow up with them.
- The Christian students’ ministry that Zaher Haddad is leading.
- Our students as they approach the end of the fall semester
- Our financial needs, especially for our expansion of our library and scholarships for our students.
