The Media Line: Despite War, Christian Leaders Unite in Israel, Marking October 7 With Hope and Solidarity
Written by on October 7, 2024
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Despite War, Christian Leaders Unite in Israel, Marking October 7 With Hope and Solidarity
Evangelical pastors from multiple countries joined to pray for peace in Israel, even as attacks escalated around them
By Maayan Hoffman / The Media Line
Dozens of evangelical leaders representing a quarter of a billion evangelicals worldwide, including 100 on a mission to Israel, gathered Sunday night for what Mike Evans, founder of Friends of Zion, called the largest solidarity event in Israel’s history.
The mission, organized by Bishop Robert Stearns and his Eagles’ Wings movement, included 33 senior pastors from the US, UK, Brazil, Peru, and Hong Kong. They told The Media Line that their mission was to stand in solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people, sending a clear message to both Israel and the world: Israel is not alone.
The night the mission arrived, Iran launched over 180 missiles at Israel, forcing the group into a bomb shelter at their Tel Aviv hotel.
In the months leading up to their visit, Hezbollah fired thousands of missiles, prompting Israeli retaliation, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several other senior terrorist leaders.
Despite the dangers, Bishop Robert Stearns told The Media Line that no one canceled their trip, marking the 20th anniversary of the Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
“Bishop Stearns started this event many years ago, every first Sunday of October in Jerusalem. The fact that they didn’t cancel this year, even with missiles and threats overhead, is amazing,” said Israeli advocate Calev Myers, founder of ARISE, a nonprofit organization connecting international business networks with Israel’s economy. “It’s proof that praying for and supporting Israel is the top priority for our Christian friends.”
“‘If you think you are safe in the West, you are deluding yourself,” added Stearns. “This is a global war, so we are not afraid to come and stand on the front lines.”
At the Friends of Zion Museum, where the events took place—including a small private reception for the mission at 2 p.m. and a larger event with hundreds of attendees at 7 p.m.—participants prayed, sang, and blessed Israel. Emotions ran high, mixing pain and despair with support, hope, and love.
“Our hearts break, our hearts mourn with the Jewish people,” Stearns told The Media Line, referencing the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi to express solidarity. “Ruth told Naomi, ‘I will go with you wherever you go.’ Likewise, we are with you, heart and soul.”
On her first mission to Israel, Joan Allis shared that the world is experiencing a “moment of change” and that “it’s important to have a strong democracy still in the Middle East.”
Another Christian leader, Pastor Jon Jennings of Pure Heart Church, told The Media Line, “It’s the right thing to do. We are friends with Israel. We stand with Israel, and we wanted to show our solidarity with the people of the land by coming and supporting them during this very challenging time.”
The global solidarity event featured videos from leaders worldwide, including former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, who, like Stearns, said that since October 7, “our hearts have been broken repeatedly.”
Prominent pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, affirmed “Israel’s right to defend herself and her right to exist. Those are not rights granted by the United Nations or even the United States but by God himself.”
A Chinese Christian attendee shared that she was moved to tears by the testimonies. A representative from the Philippine Embassy in Israel told The Media Line he attended the ceremony to express gratitude for the release of two hostages from his country, adding, “We hope the joy our families feel will soon be shared by the families of the Israeli hostages.”
As the evening event began, Israeli influencer Ashley Waxman Bakshi, who hosted the gathering, explained how to reach the nearest bomb shelter. A yellow chair, symbolizing the 101 hostages still in Gaza, sat quietly in the left corner of the stage.
“The vast majority of Zionists in the world are not Jewish,” Myers noted. “There are over 600 million evangelical Christians who love Israel and believe the modern State of Israel is nothing less than a miracle of biblical proportions. October 7 was like shooting a flare into a very dark night—it illuminated exactly where everyone stands, who your friends are, and who your enemies are. And our Christian friends have truly stepped up.’”
The evening ceremony focused on the stories of those killed on October 7, those who survived the massacre, and those whose loved ones remain captives of Hamas in Gaza. It also honored several unexpected heroes of that day, such as Shifra Buchris, an Orthodox mother of 10 who rescued young people from the Nova music festival while it was under attack by Hamas.
In a video message, Buchris shared how she repeatedly drove back and forth from the festival to a gas station she designated as a safe spot, rescuing hundreds of potential victims. She drove with her gun pointed out the window, miraculously surviving the ordeal.
“I had my own personal feelings,” Buchris said. “What was going through my head was anger, frustration, sadness, and shock at what was happening. But on the other hand, I had the privilege of having a uniform and a gun so that I could protect myself.”
Another woman, Nurit Cohen, a volunteer with ZAKA, the post-disaster response organization that recovers human remains after emergencies and terror attacks, was interviewed on stage. She described how, under live gunfire from terrorists, her ZAKA team worked to retrieve the bodies of Israelis from the Nova music festival. They had less than a minute and 10 seconds to bag each body—more than 200 in the first round.
Cohen was at the Re’em army base, where, as part of a United Nations-recognized organization, she was obligated to bag not only Jewish victims but also terrorists. ZAKA handled more than 3,000 bodies, caring for the cars, safe rooms, and cities. For nearly five months, the team would go out every day to find bodies, body parts, tissue, and blood—anything they could to bring peace to the families.
“For me, it felt like we were entering a ghost town,” Cohen said, recalling the days after the massacre in southern Israel. “It was only ZAKA, the police, and IDF forces. There were no civilians,” she said. “And we saw evil—through horrific scenes, we saw the worst side of humanity.”
Cohen emphasized that she could not call the terrorists monsters or animals because they were neither. “This was an act deliberately perpetrated by human beings,” she said.
In a deeply emotional interview, Shira and Moshe Shapira, the parents of Aner Shapira, a Nahal Brigade fighter on leave on October 7, described how he and about 30 others found themselves trapped in a bomb shelter under attack. Shapira heroically fended off eight grenades thrown by terrorists before he was killed. His best friend, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was also in the shelter and was taken captive. His mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, became a global symbol for the hostage movement, fighting relentlessly for nearly a year to secure her son’s release.
Tragically, last month, just days before the IDF was close to rescuing him, Goldberg-Polin was murdered by Hamas.
Michal Greenglick, whose brother Shaul was killed in battle in Gaza, delivered a heartfelt musical performance. Though many of the songs moved the audience to tears, her presence was meant to inspire hope and to thank the 250,000 Christian supporters watching from around the world for the hope they provided.
“The Jewish people’s story did not start now. It did not start 100 years ago or 300 years ago,” Greenglick reminded the audience. “The pain is unbearable, but the mission is clear. … I know there is hope.”
President Isaac Herzog echoed this sentiment in his opening video address: “We will emerge, and we will overcome. We will not stop believing that a better world is possible.”
“Stand strong,” concluded Pastor Jennings in his interview. “You have friends. You have people that are standing with you, praying for you, and who will speak out on your behalf.”
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