All Israelis have to serve in the army, including those who love the Lord. There are currently around 500 Jewish and Arab believers in the IDF, and our Soldiers Ministry equips and serves them, helping them stand strong in their faith and be a beacon of light and hope.
Just before the war with Iran broke out, we hosted a conference to support our soldiers entitled “Apologetics: Defending the Faith.” The focus was to help them to give a reasonable account for their faith, and also to provide them with encouragement and fellowship.
“The conferences are very important. I have a lot to learn about the faith, so this was a great opportunity to dedicate hours to the Lord on Shabbat, connect with other believers, and study God’s Word calmly and with focus, giving Him dedicated time.”
The difficulty we always face is how to cover ground in any topic in the very short window of time the soldiers have over a weekend, before they have to go back on duty. This year, the team cracked it by sending out short devotionals for the weeks before that laid the groundwork before they even arrived. During the conference itself, everything was thoughtfully prepared to maximize the limited time they had together.
“We thank God for a truly blessed conference and for all the soldiers being able to attend without any surprises! At such a short conference, it’s always a challenge to dive deeply into every subject, especially a topic like apologetics. Thanks to the hard work of the speakers and the team, the conference content was a great success,” they reported.
We received a lot of feedback saying that the lessons and workshops were very educational, meaningful, and most importantly, practical for the soldiers.
“I was really glad to learn in depth our faith and why we believe what we believe. The conference really encouraged me because I received answers to questions I had.”
“Eli Haitov was excellent. His openness to questions and his well-grounded answers were great, as well as the arguments he presented and the relevance of what he said.”
The teaching covered subjects such as how our faith gives logical answers to the most challenging questions faced by humanity: the creation of the universe, the soul of man, the existence of truth and morality. The conference aimed to help soldiers see apologetics not as a battle, but as a way to stand on the truth.
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)
The seminar topics were well appreciated by the soldiers
– Faith and Science: How they work together rather than contradict.
– The truth and justice in our faith: How God is a God of love and also justice.
– The word of God in our hands: Investigating the fundamental questions about the veracity of the Bible.
Although the subject matter was desperately needed, it previously seemed too complicated to cover in such a short time — the life of a soldier on duty is extremely busy and they did’t have long together. But eventually, with careful planning, the team put together a successful event that equipped and blessed the soldiers.
“We were very happy and satisfied because we were able to dive deep, really giving them what they needed. They went out of the conference with practical tools how to defend the faith and explain it better, and also for their faith to grow — to be more sure about what they believe in,” the team reported.
“It was super fun and very educational. I was reminded how much I love engaging my mind in apologetics. We should go even deeper!!! More time for each workshop would be amazing.”
“Really, it was huge success from our point of view because to go deeper and hold a professional conference on such a complex subject in just 24 hours over four sessions is almost mission Impossible. It’s a hard subject and the soldiers have been asking for it for a few years. We wanted to strengthen the soldier’s faith against all kind of claims and challenges, and we did it. It was really good weekend.”
