WASHINGTON (BP)–“After visiting Israel and the West Bank it is easier to understand that there is no easy resolution to the Middle East conflict,” Billy Kim, president of the Baptist World Alliance, said in a statement issued by the Washington-based organization.
Kim, a Korean pastor, also noted, “I believe that one of the immediate solutions is for Christians to pray that temporarily peace might be achieved. However, I believe that the eternal peace of Jerusalem will only occur when the Messiah returns.”
Kim visited Israel for eight days in late March, meeting with Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert and Simon Peres, the nation’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister. Kim said he prayed with them for the peace of Jerusalem and the entire region. On the West Bank, he met with Bethlehem Mayor Hanna J. Nasser.
Kim also met with various Baptist leaders, including Fuad Haddad, principal of the Nazareth Baptist School and the new president of the Baptist Convention of Israel; Alex Awad, head of the East Jerusalem Baptist Church; and Bishara Awad, president of the Bethlehem Bible College, which he toured.
“My heart goes out to those people who are not only suffering from the conflict but also because of a tremendous shortage of jobs and lack of daily necessities,” Kim said. “As Baptist brothers and sisters around the world, we certainly need to pray for both Christians in Palestine and Israel. Pray that they might come to an agreement in order to enjoy peace and live harmoniously.”
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: KIM & PERES.
