BEMA Messenger #52

BEMA Israel 2024 (Full Contact)

We’ve been patiently waiting to start talking about BEMA Israel 2024. The time has finally arrived. We are just one year away from the next full-contact trip to Israel. The trip is currently scheduled for August 31 – September 14 (subject to finalization).

The full-contact trip is a physically strenuous experience; please make sure you are physically able to engage in this trip. We will hike 7–12 miles a day in very hot temperatures. We will change elevation of around 2000 feet every day on foot.

In order to enable people to be fully prepared and informed about their decision and all the questions that arise, we made an orientation video for you to watch.

We expect registration to fill up quickly and move to a waitlist, so be ready. Registration will be announced first right here on the Messenger, opening in November. Be ready to secure your spot! A full FAQ list for registration questions is available on our website.

What’s Happening Around the Globe?

Sarah’s Story

This is Sarah.

We first heard from Sarah when she wrote asking to put a new BEMA group on the map; it was a tenuous time as she stepped into a new role as interim pastor for their church just three weeks after her dad had passed away from Covid.

The day after her father passed, another church member also lost a five-week battle with Covid. She and her husband took the holidays to grieve and then returned to chaos in the church. Leadership was beginning to panic about the survival of the church in the midst of the pandemic and the death and the uncertainty. This is when they asked her to serve.

Pulling the church together would require some spaces created with a certain level of intention. A BEMA group was one of those spaces. They sent out preparation homework and created discussion material. It was one of a few places where people were able to grow roots and learn how to trust God in those moments. Sarah loved watching the lights come on for others—some right away, and others after months of not being so sure about all “the Jewish stuff.”

Sarah and her husband learned in this season that they were more than capable as leaders for this time, but their role would not be permanent, so they looked for new pastors. Ten months into their interim role, they joyously hired a husband-wife team who, in Sarah’s words, “are probably bigger BEMA nerds than me!” They had run a BEMA discussion group out of a restaurant before they came to the church.

Sarah is grateful for the way God was able to use BEMA as a resource and a tool to give stability and direction to their church in a trying season.

DATES OF INTEREST

Marty, Brent, or Brian may be coming to your neck of the woods. Use the contact buttons at the bottom of this email and see if there is some time you can meet up with them or attend an event. If more information is available, we will include some of that below. Full details on the BEMA website.

Many details are forthcoming as Marty returns from sabbatical and finalizes these events. Please check the BEMA website for the most up-to-date information.

SEPTEMBER 15–17: Marty speaking at a men’s retreat in the Washington, DC area

SEPTEMBER 26–29: ICM Executive Team retreat in Orlando, FL

OCTOBER 3–12: Brent in Sweden, Estonia, and Finland

OCTOBER 23: Live Q&A at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET (platform TBD)

OCTOBER 27–31: Marty with Campus Christian Fellowship at Truman State University

NOVEMBER 1–2: Marty in Oklahoma City

NOVEMBER 3–5: Marty at First Presbyterian Church in San Angelo, TX

NOVEMBER 6: Marty in Waco, TX

NOVEMBER 7–9: Marty in the DFW area

NOVEMBER 10: Marty in Lubbock, TX

NOVEMBER 11–12: Marty in Amarillo, TX

NOVEMBER 16–18: Brian (and maybe Marty and Brent) at ICOM

NOVEMBER 19: Marty preaching in Canadian, TX

NOVEMBER 30: Live Q&A at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET (platform TBD)

DECEMBER 13: Live Q&A at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET (platform TBD)

DECEMBER 16–28: Solomons in Idaho/Montana seeing family for the holidays

Updates and additional details will be posted as they arrive at bemadiscipleship.com/news.