Steve Sanderson, The Nazareth Trust’s International Director, recently travelled to the United States to meet with supporters and promote the work of the Trust.

I recently had the privilege of meeting with a range of Nazareth Trust (NPI) supporter groups, courtesy of the Nazareth Project Inc, in Illinois and Pennsylvania. While fundraising remains a necessary and welcome part of these interactions, the deeper takeaway from this journey was the enduring value of relationship, informed prayer, and shared understanding. Throughout this trip, I was reminded that standing alongside Christians in Nazareth carries a significance that goes far beyond financial giving. The Nazareth Trust is a living witness in a complex part of the world and as Christians, we stand together to bear witness no matter where we live.

Wheaton College, in particular, stands out as a hub of influence. As one of the leading evangelical colleges in the US, it has shaped generations of Christian leaders. The College’s history of sending HNGR (Human Needs and Global Resources) volunteers to Nazareth is a powerful legacy, and there is genuine interest in renewing these connections. When meeting medics in Wheaton who had themselves served in Nazareth, it was a reminder that the Nazareth experience is formative. One medic referred to her escapes to Nazareth as a ‘haven’ in what was otherwise a difficult and confusing experience of the Holy Land.

The strong Anabaptist heritage of central Pennsylvania emphasizes lived faith. Live faithfully, live simply, live wholeheartedly and live in community. There are natural overtures with the Christian community in Nazareth and a growing affinity between both places. During one church visit in Lancaster, I was reminded that we are ‘armed with vulnerability’. Arab Christians living in Israel might indeed be vulnerable; this is indisputable. However, Nazarene Christians have been given a ministry of healing, hope and reconciliation; a goal far bigger than their minority status should ordinarily afford. But it was from the margins that God chose to work. After all, Nazareth is the very embodiment of this principle. Meeting with precious friends in the US affirmed that the most valuable investment is relational. Friendship, prayer, and a shared understanding ultimately cultivate the encouragement, advocacy, and prayer that sustains the witness of the Nazareth Trust.

We represent more than a series of services to people in Nazareth; instead, together, we are a community of people who passionately share in God’s mission of healing and hope.

Thank you for walking beside us on this journey as part of the community that makes up The Nazareth Trust.