Recently in Jerusalem—a city known for extreme conflict between Jews and Muslims—the Christian community is also taking some heat.
According to the Voice of the Martyrs USA, Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions has received a 30-day eviction notice from the church’s landlord. Khoury is forced to find a new place for his congregation to meet.
Soon after getting news of the eviction, the congregation of Holy Land Missions started a time of fasting and prayer.
“The pressure from the Muslim community is so strong that the landlord is given no other choice but to do this,” Khoury says in a message to the Voice of the Martyrs USA. “With just 30 days left to move a church community, another Band-Aid solution of renting a place is not a viable solution. Our church community needs permanent roots.”
The going hasn’t been easy for Holy Land Missions even before the eviction notice came. On several occasions, the church members were physically assaulted and the church was vandalized.
“We are fortunate in the last few years to rent from a kind and moderate Muslim family, but it has come with a price,” states Khoury.
Khoury guessed that the congregation would eventually be asked to leave the premises, so he’s been searching out a permanent spot in Jerusalem for his church for some time. Finding a location to accommodate the quickly growing congregation only adds to the necessity.
With increased attendance to Holy Land Missions recently, believers had been standing in the hallway. Such confirmation of the movement of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem is an encouragement, despite the trials the church is going through.
Khoury, along with Holy Land Missions, asks for prayers as they look for a new location before the 30 days are up. Pray that the Lord blesses their congregation’s ministry and provides a new location for them to worship.
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