"It's hard to convince Americans that Palestinians are more than just terrorists," admits a Southern Baptist Christian worker who serves among Palestinians across the Middle East. "But these are needy people who for the most part are oppressed and marginalized. The Bible teaches us that 'God so loved the world,' but most of us think 'the world' is people who are like us. We try to help people understand that 'God so loved the world' includes Palestinians."

Erich Bridges, The Baptist Press, Jun 28, 2007

A global network of evangelicals is urging its members to pray for Christians in Lebanon who are facing a “perilous time” as fighting continues between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants.

by Derick Ho, Christian Today, July 16, 2007

Israeli cable television HOT is planning to drop a major Christian TV network which runs missionary advertisements directed at Jews. The move has prompted threats of legal action by the station's representatives.

The decision by the Hot Cable TV to halt the broadcasts of the Daystar TV network is pending the authorization of the Israeli Council for Cable TV and Satellite Broadcasting.

ETGAR LEFKOVITS, The Jerusalem Post, July 19, 2007

"The Nazareth Cross", the world's largest cross, is an initial private building plan under consideration, officials said Sunday.

The proposal, which is still in its planning stages, is being floated by a group of affluent Christian businessmen from Israel and abroad. The fascia of the Cross of Nazareth will be made of mosaic tiles in ston. 7.2 million tiles will cover this majestic structure, each one engraved with a name. The purchaser will be able to choose both the material and location of the tile on the Cross.

The Jerusalem Post, July 17, 2007

Muslims and evangelical Christians are talking — at least behind closed doors at the Egyptian Embassy — according to several guests at a top-secret lunch on July 2.

The meeting was an initiative of Rev. Benny Hinn, who is a Palestinian and was born in Jaffa, Israel. It featured ambassadors from nine Arab states plus their umbrella group, and several American prominent evangelical leaders or their sons.

The Washington Times, July 11, 2007

Dr. Bill Baker arrived in Nazareth in 1950 as a child of Baptist Missionaries. He was 9 months old. His family spent 10 years in Nazareth, while their children attended the Nazareth Baptist School (NBS), together with the local children. Bill never graduated from NBS. He only finished the 5-th grade, while he continued his education to become a professor in the Middle Eastern Department at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

In the evening of June 2, 2007, NBS held its annual graduation ceremony with more than 500 people present. Before the 72 graduates of NBS were awarded their diplomas, the General Director of the school came to the podium, introduced Bill and invited him to come forward to receive a certificate of graduation.

Special For "Come and See", July 10, 2007

The Nazareth Center for Christian Studies (NCCS) will be opening its doors in September 2007 welcoming students for its BD and pre-Masters degrees.

The Center, an initiative of the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel, is inter-denominational, welcoming students from all Christian denominations and groups. The NCCS Board includes both national and international members and the Director is Rev. Dr. Bryson Arthur.

Special For "Come and See", July 5, 2007

While looting, sporadic violence, and instability still plague the newly Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, a Christian persecution group hopes that a long-established friendship between it and Hamas will keep the small Christian community relatively safe from targeted attacks.

Open Doors, an international ministry working with persecuted Christian, said although it fears a worsening of living conditions for Gaza inhabitants, it does not think Christians will be attacked by the Islamic fundamentalist group.

The Christian Post, June 16, 2007

The leader of the Melkite Greek Catholics of Galilee has proposed the establishment of a new "branch" of the Neocatechumenal Way to work specifically in the Eastern-rite Church.

In a recent letter sent to Father Rino Rossi, director of Domus Galilaeae -- a project of the Neocatechumenal Way -- Archbishop Elias Chacour recognized that this ecclesial reality is bearing "excellent fruits" in its evangelizing work within the Melkite Church.

Zenit, The World Seen from Rome, June 5, 2007