{"id":36940,"date":"2021-06-15T14:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T05:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=36940"},"modified":"2021-06-12T13:46:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-12T04:46:32","slug":"vomk-report-159","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/06\/15\/vomk-report-159\/","title":{"rendered":"GAZA\u2019S ONLY PROTESTANT CHURCH, DAMAGED IN LATEST ISRAEL\/HAMAS CONFLICT, CARRIES ON"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”36987″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”The building of Gaza\u2019s only Protestant church sustained minor damage in the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas, but the one dozen remaining congregation members are continuing the church\u2019s sizeable outreach ministries despite the risk, according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The Lord\u00a0<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span>miraculously\u00a0<\/span>preserving\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>witness for himself in Gaza\u2014that is the only possible explanation for the\u00a0<\/span>continued\u00a0<\/span>survival of Gaza Baptist Church,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>There are\u00a0<\/span>now\u00a0<\/span>f<\/span>ewer than 1,100 Christians\u00a0<\/span>living\u00a0<\/span>in Gaza\u00a0<\/span>amidst\u00a0<\/span>2 million Muslim Palestinians<\/span>. There is one Catholic church, one Orthodox church<\/span>, and\u00a0<\/span>one\u00a0<\/span>Protestant Church: Gaza Baptist.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”36945″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Gaza Baptist Church widows support group led by Pauline Ayyad (2nd from left), widow of Gaza Baptist church leader and Christian bookstore manager Remi Ayyad, who was martyred in 2007.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Ac<\/span>cording to Representative Foley, the church was founded in 195<\/span>4 by Southern Baptist missionaries<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Ha<\/span>nna\u00a0<\/span>Massad<\/span>, who converted\u00a0<\/span>from Greek Orthodoxy to the Baptist faith in his youth, became the church\u2019s first\u00a0<\/span>Gazan<\/span>-born<\/span>\u00a0pastor, in\u00a0<\/span>1987<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>The church\u00a0<\/span>grew to around\u00a0<\/span>200 members\u00a0<\/span>by\u00a0<\/span>the early 2000\u2019s and\u00a0<\/span>were\u00a0<\/span>meeting in a six-story building<\/span>, which they still use<\/span>. But i<\/span>n 2007<\/span>, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip<\/span>, and Christians became subject to the severe religious restrictions of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Christians began\u00a0<\/span>to flee<\/span>\u00a0the territory<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Pastor\u00a0<\/span>Massad<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>himself\u00a0<\/span>was forced\u00a0<\/span>to relocate to the United States due to a series of violent attacks on the church\u2019s building\u00a0<\/span>and members<\/span>. A church-related bookstore<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0the only Christian bookstore in Gaza, was firebombed.\u00a0<\/span>Rami Ayyad,\u00a0<\/span>one of the church leaders<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>served as the bookstore\u2019s manager<\/span>, was martyred in an execution-style killing<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that t<\/span>oday\u00a0<\/span>only about a dozen church members\u00a0<\/span>have\u00a0<\/span>been able to\u00a0<\/span>remain\u00a0<\/span>in Gaza<\/span>, but\u00a0<\/span>Pastor\u00a0<\/span>Massad<\/span>\u00a0leads\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>weekly worship\u00a0<\/span>service via Zoom\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>onference call that brings together th<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0local Gaza\u00a0<\/span>group\u00a0<\/span>with Gazan Christians who\u00a0<\/span>have been\u00a0<\/span>forced to flee from the ter<\/span>r<\/span>itory<\/span>. \u201c<\/span>Each week the Zoom call strengthens the remaining local believers by keeping them connected in worship\u00a0<\/span>with\u00a0<\/span>the church\u2019s \u2018diaspora\u2019 population in<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Australia,\u00a0<\/span>Europe, America,\u00a0<\/span>and across\u00a0<\/span>the Middle East<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

A<\/span>ccording to Representative Foley, the local\u00a0<\/span>church members\u00a0<\/span>continue to have an impact on Gaza that is far larger than their\u00a0<\/span>number<\/span>. \u201c<\/span>The church operates a school called the Lighthouse School,\u00a0<\/span>through which they make a tremendous Christian witness to the community<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In 2006 they opened a library for the community,\u00a0<\/span>containing many\u00a0<\/span>Christian books.\u00a0<\/span>They distribute food and other aid to families in need, both Christian and Muslim.\u00a0<\/span>They help widows and orphans<\/span>. There is even a\u00a0<\/span>support group for widows<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0which is run by the widow of martyr\u00a0<\/span>Rami Ayyad<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”36947″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Gaza Baptist Church front entrance” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”36946″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Gaza Baptist Church Pastor Hanna Massad” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs\u00a0<\/span>organizations worldwide\u00a0<\/span>ha<\/span>ve<\/span>\u00a0supported the church\u00a0<\/span>and its various ministries\u00a0<\/span>since\u00a0<\/span>2007<\/span>, when\u00a0<\/span>persecution intensified.<\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>Persecution of Christians in Gaza goes back to the time of the Roman empire<\/span>, yet the Lord has never\u00a0<\/span>in history\u00a0<\/span>left himself without a witness in th<\/span>at<\/span>\u00a0region<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>But the fewer the believers that\u00a0<\/span>have been able to\u00a0<\/span>remain<\/span>\u00a0and survive<\/span>, the more important it is for us to\u00a0<\/span>care for them.\u00a0<\/span>Most recently, Voice of the Martyrs Korea provided funding for the widows<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0support group<\/span>\u00a0led by\u00a0<\/span>Pauline Ayyad<\/span>. Now,\u00a0<\/span>as\u00a0<\/span>the church\u00a0<\/span>repairs its building from the latest round of conflict and as it continues its outreaches in these\u00a0<\/span>difficult times, we are inviting Christians around the world to join us in standing with them once again<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>So<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Voice of the Martyrs Korea is\u00a0<\/span>designating\u00a0<\/span>all<\/span>\u00a0donations to\u00a0<\/span>our\u00a0<\/span>Families\u00a0<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0Martyrs and Prisoners\u00a0<\/span>fund through the end of Ju<\/span>ne<\/span>\u00a0for Gaza Baptist Church and all of its associated outreach ministries.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that those who are interested in helping\u00a0the\u00a0Christians in Gaza\u00a0can make their donation at\u00a0www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/span><\/a> or give via electronic transfer to:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uad6d\ubbfc\uc740\ud589<\/span>\u00a0(KB Bank) 463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\uc608\uae08\uc8fc<\/span>\u00a0(Account holder): (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please include the phrase \u201cFOM\u201d on the donation\u00a0(for \u201cFamilies of Martyrs\u201d).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”36987″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”The building of Gaza\u2019s only Protestant church sustained minor damage in the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas, but the one dozen remaining congregation members …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":36989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}