Pastor Jim Scudder of Quentin Road Baptist Church, one of the flagship locations for Flags of Fellowship and whose podcast our President and Global CEO Yael Eckstein appeared on, talks about why his congregation’s participation in Flags of Fellowship is so important:
While some ministry leaders are hesitant to be public in their support for Israel, we feel the opposite. We believe in and desire the blessing of Genesis 12:3: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (KJV) It is clear that the one true creator God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) unconditionally and unilaterally promised an eternal homeland called Israel to the Jewish people, and blessings to those who agree with His sovereign decision.
I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I’m not foolish enough to oppose God!
In the last four years, our ministry has worked hard to develop friendships with the Jewish community around us. And these new friendships have emotionally enriched us. Recently, my wife and I attended the dedication ceremony for a food pantry called “Hersh’s Fridge”. This pantry is named in honor of Hersh Goldberg‐Polin, the Israeli American who was injured near the Nova festival in Israel and eventually killed in captivity. Hersh was hiding in a bomb shelter near the festival with many others. He, along with his friend, Aner, was throwing grenades back out of the shelter, heroically saving lives. At the ceremony, his mom, Rachel, spoke emotionally about her son. We were glad to see how Hersh’s tragic death has sparked many good things, including this new food pantry. We were also reminded of the evil in the world, and how antisemitism and Jew-hatred are inexplicably on the rise in America and around the world. Hersh and so many others that day were attacked, captured, and killed for only one reason – because they were Jewish.