Israeli Backpackers

What is the defining moment in your life? For many Israelis, it is their travels after the army.

Traveling is a rite of passage for young Israelis. After their years of mandatory military service, they are looking for a change of pace. Every year, around 50,000 Israelis between the ages of 20-24 spend months traveling the world. These post-army travels are a defining moment for most Israelis.

For many, it’s not just about seeing new places and trying new foods. They are looking for something. Whether they call it “enlightenment,” “peace,” “spirituality,” or something else, it all boils down to the same thing. They know there is something more out there. It is a rare time of life when, devoid of responsibilities and cultural pressure, they are seeking truth!

This is the perfect time for them to hear the gospel! Jewish people are an “unreached” people group when it concerns the gospel. This is even more true in Israel where only a fraction of one percent of native-born Israelis are believers in Jesus – about 1 in 400*! It’s possible for an Israeli to live their entire life and never meet a single believer in Jesus, much less hear the gospel!

1 in 400!

For this reason, it is essential that we as believers reach out to Israeli backpackers. Their contact with us while traveling may be the only time in their life they hear the gospel.

Life in Messiah is active in reaching Israeli backpackers through our guesthouse in Argentina. As Israelis hike the area, they are invited to stay at the guesthouse, rock climb, hike, join in a shabbat meal, and observe the lives of our believing staff and volunteers. These experiences inevitably lead to conversations of faith in which our staff share the gospel, and often a New Testament in Hebrew.

Watch to hear the story of Jen, a young Israeli backpacker whose travels led her to believe in Messiah.

  • “What do I have to do to be saved?” was the stunning question from Jen.

    She had come to us a few days prior. Our guest house on the edge of the Andes mountains in Argentina draws many young Israelis like Jen. After they finish their mandatory military service in Israel, many of them set out, traveling the world, hoping to find themselves. Jen was no different. Except in one major way. Most of the Israeli guests arrive with little or no knowledge of Jesus and the New Testament. Jen, however, had read some of the New Testament and had a genuine yearning to know more.

    Throughout her stay, Jen peppered our volunteers with faith-related questions. Now, well into the night, with mugs of tea in hand, Jen was asking that question of questions “What do I have to do to be saved?” There is only one way to answer this question! Our volunteers excitedly shared with her that she should look to God for forgiveness and accept Jesus as her Messiah. Jen immediately began to pour out her heart to God in a prayer of repentance. She was born again!

    There are many other young Israelis in a similar situation to Jen. They travel the world trying to find out who they are as individuals. Most have never heard the truth of the gospel and the new life it offers us. They are in desperate need of this truth! Our staff in Argentina, and around the world, work tirelessly to be a lighthouse, a beacon of hope offering the truth of Messiah to these precious people.

Would you pray, and ask God what part He would have you play in sharing the gospel with these young Israelis who are so desperately seeking truth?

One immediate way you can get involved is by donating to Life in Messiah today. Your gift will further the spread of the gospel among Israelis.

Please prayerfully consider this opportunity to partner with us in taking the gospel to lost Israelis!