Dear brothers and sisters:

Two years ago in fulfilment of a dream we had for 7 years, my wife and I along with our Baptist friends and colleagues set out to found a Theological Seminary in Nazareth: the place where Jesus grew up. We approached this task in fear and trembling, and rightly so because we were beset with many challenges. As a former Engineer, I like to square up to reality and the reality was that we had, and still presently have, profound problems, but to Engineers problems are lifeblood because they exist to be solved. Challenges only need to be met! We were standing at the bottom of a great and awesome cliff, but we were not standing alone. The Lord was with us and he is with us now.

Tertullian, the early church apologist, said “If it is impossible, that is a reason to believe it.” In the same way, we face the impossible at NCCS but for us, if it is impossible that is a reason to do it. We are attempting to develop a ministry of international standard: theological, Biblical, and leadership training in an environment of division, suspicion, political chaos and identity damaged people. We are attempting to build the kingdom of God in a war torn land locked in a never ending cycle of death and destruction. This is Israel the Holy Land! But the kingdom of God has not passed from Israel. It is still here in the hearts of the thousands of true believers, both Arab Christian and Jewish Christian. And the wonderful news is that it is growing.

We surveyed the situation before beginning and found that so many of the Christian leaders were untrained. We saw the divisions and bitterness even among the evangelicals. The Christian churches were struggling to stay alive. Oppression and poverty and in some places despair and depression prevailed. Yet there was deep love and gentleness. We saw courage and the great quality of faith which so often is drawn out only by oppressed minorities. We witnessed the presence of the Holy Spirit with the believers in Christ their Lord, and we realised the enormity of the privilege to serve such a people.

We did not set out to build an institution but to build the kingdom of God in Israel, and we did not come to impose a Western world view and Western standards on the indigenous Christians. We came that they might impose the precise nature of their great need upon us, and we came to respond in the strength and power of God alone. In the power of God we have seen miracle after miracle: our campus (Baptist house) is the former mission house of the early Baptist missionaries and was purchased by the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel with no money. May (my wife) and I were faced with closed doors in our attempt to come back to Israel. The major missionary Society that we approached stated very strongly “we do not and we will not operate in Israel.” We asked them to re-consider our proposal and within two months they completely changed their policy and were willing to send us. In the next two months we raised double the support we needed.

One evening from the balcony, as I looked in on our new library and I heard the powerful voice of Brent Neely lecturing in New Testament, I realized our dream had come to pass and I experienced an almost tangible presence of God. I truly felt this was His work and we were all invited to serve in it. If you hear His voice, you also are invited. Join us, support us, pray for us and come. Come and see what good things are still coming from Nazareth.

I wish you the warmest of blessings in our beloved Saviour

Rev. Dr. J. Bryson Arthur - President