The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference is preparing for a convergence between evangelical Hispanics and Israel through the Hispanic Israel Leadership Coalition.
HILC is preparing to equip pastors and churches with the necessary resources to engage Hispanics with the pro-Israel movement, and consequently help them understand the prophetic implications of partnering with God’s chosen people.
“The Word of God says He will bless those who bless Israel,” says Tony Suarez, vice president for NHCLC and conference director. “We still believe Israel is the apple of God’s eye. God’s promises and covenants haven’t changed.”
Through HILC, Pastor Mario Bramnick says the evangelical Latino community will build a firewall against anti-Semitism and incline its members to be pro-Jewish advocates. To achieve this, the Coalition has formed an advisory board full of key Hispanic and Israeli leaders, including Dr. Samuel Rodriguez of NCHCLC, Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver and Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations’ Malcolm Hoenlein, among others.
Their vision, though, goes beyond loving Jews and looks toward the Middle East as a whole, especially concerning Muslims’ relationships with the Jews.
“We need to effectively reach out to Christian Arabs in Middle East so they understand God’s plan and God’s will for evangelizing Muslims,” Bramnick says. “Many Middle Eastern Christians feel their cultural heritage has been hijacked by Muslims, and we want to stand for them, to bring to light plight of Arab Christians, even Palestinian Christians.”
To do this, NCHLC and HILC have created a Latino-Jewish roundtable and are also planning to send hundreds of Hispanic leaders to Israel this summer for Empower 21.
The roundtable will focus on pro-Israel advocacy; countering racism, discrimination and anti-Semitism; joint initiatives to combat the campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel; and establishment of an international effort to impact Latin American governments, to advance pro-Israel policies and to fight bigotry and anti-Semitism.
It’s all to honor the Lord in blessing Israel, Suarez says, and Bramnick agrees.
“The Lord has appointed NHCLC … to stand in the gap between pro-Israel movement and God’s will for Ishmael,” Bramnick says. “The reconciliation agent can only come by the Spirit of God and the cross of Jesus Christ.”
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