Planting Lutheran Churches in Israel - LCMS International Mission

Eurasia – Israel FORO or Project ID : IL0001-63307

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, through its Office of International Mission (Eurasia region), is actively engaged in supporting confessional Lutheran church planting in Israel. This mission focuses on proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ—the promised Messiah—to Jews, Arabs, and all residents of Israel, in the Hebrew language, while opening the Scriptures to reveal Christ crucified and risen.

At the heart of this effort is Rev. Sahar Sadlovsky Gold, a native Israeli Christian and ordained pastor in the Mission Province of Sweden (Missionsprovinsen i Sverige, MPS), a confessional Lutheran body in fellowship with the International Lutheran Council. Rev. Sadlovsky Gold serves the Hebrew-speaking Lutheran congregation in Jaffa/Tel Aviv. He has a background in evangelistic outreach with Jews for Jesus, holds a BA in Theology and Biblical Studies, and has completed all the classes for a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) through the Lutheran School of Theology in Gothenburg, Sweden (Församlingsfakulteten), in collaboration with Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne and is working on the final thesis. He was ordained on October 20, 2025, and installed as Pastor in Tel Aviv on December 5th, 2025.

Israel presents unique opportunities for gospel proclamation amid a concentrated Jewish population in a democratic society where evangelism is legal, people are open, and no confessional Lutheran presence currently exists, but it is also expensive. Living costs, housing, and ministry expenses exceed what the LCMS can fully cover through standard mission support. Rev. Sadlovsky Gold’s employment with Jews for Jesus concluded in summer of 2026, and an additional financial partnership is essential to sustain his full-time pastoral ministry, family housing, rental of worship space, and mission expansion. Rev. Sadlovsky is joined in ministry by his wife, Maria, a native of Sweden, and their daughters, Thea (8) and Adiel (5).

In addition to providing Word and Sacrament ministry for the Lord’s people at the Israeli Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tel Aviv, Rev. Sadlovsky and others are working to translate essential resources in Hebrew needed for worship, teaching, and pastoral formation, such as liturgical texts (the Divine Service), the Small and Large Catechism, the Augsburg Confession, and the entire Book of Concord.

Divine Service: Mondays at 6 pm – Address: Bar Hoffman Street 15, Tel Avi

A Letter from Rev. Sahar Sadlovsky

My name is Sahar Sadlovsky. I am a native Israeli Jew who was baptized into Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins in 2015. Since then, I have stood wholeheartedly on the foundation of the Book of Concord—often joking that I am a true “Jewtheran.” I carry a deep conviction that Lutheran theology and the pure Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ speak powerfully to Jewish hearts.. For the past few years, I have been a candidate for the Office of the Holy Ministry under the Mission Province of Sweden, with the intention of establishing a confessional, liturgical Lutheran congregation in Israel.

October 18th, my family and I were in Sweden for my ordination to the Office of the Holy Ministry, with the call to serve among my people in Israel. I was both nervous and deeply encouraged, as people from many nations joined to show support for the mission of bringing the Good News back to the people who first brought it to them.

At present, there is no confessional Lutheran presence in Israel. On one side are Evangelical Zionists and Messianic Jews; on the other, liberal and historic Arab-political churches. This leaves a wide gap in the mission field—one we hope to fill with a faithful ministry of Word and Sacrament. Our desire is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to both Jewish and Arab people, trusting that the Lord Himself goes before us and guides us.

In the past, our small group gathered for weekly Vespers on Friday evenings, since Sunday is a regular working day in Israel and Shabbat is the day of rest, but now I am able to offer both Word and Sacraments on Monday evenings at 6 pm.

We would be grateful for your prayers as we continue to build this ministry—translating the Lutheran Confessions into Hebrew, preparing liturgical resources (Divine Service and Daily Office) in Hebrew, teaching catechesis, and developing a website to make our presence known and to support online evangelism. We are thankful that the Office of International Mission (OIM) of the LCMS is supporting and partnering with us.

Looking ahead, we hope to expand our outreach by creating a Lutheran tour ministry. Through this effort, we plan to welcome groups of our Lutheran brothers and sisters from abroad, to show them the land where the stories of God’s Word unfolded—where Christ Himself became flesh, taught, was crucified, buried, rose again, and ascended into heaven. These tours will also include seminars on biblical geography, history, and the Jewish roots of our confessional Lutheran faith. Most importantly, we want visitors not only to see the Land but also to meet the people—to encounter our small Lutheran congregation. We pray that some may be moved to return as volunteers and join us in this ministry.

With gratitude and peace in Christ,

Rev. Sahar Sadlovsky

Support Church Planting in Israel

Checks should be made out to LCMS
Memo line: Eurasia – Israel FORO or Project ID : IL0001-63307
Mail to either of the following:
LCMS Mission Advancement
P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-6861
or
Mission Central
40716 Highway E-16, Mapleton, IA 51034
Contact: FORO-Israel@lcms.org