Paul Calvert spoke with Daniel Kolenda, President and CEO of Christ for all Nations, about his views on Israel, how he got the job, taking over from Reinhard Bonnke, and his passion to reach people with the gospel.

Daniel: Yes, it's very important, because this is where the work that I do started. Jesus told his disciples to come to this city that I am in right now, Jerusalem. He said wait for the promise of the Father. He said when you are filled with the Holy Spirit you will receive power and you will be witnesses. So the coming of the Holy Spirit was intimately connected with evangelism and with the witness of Jesus Christ through the gospel. He said "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem," and then Judea and then Samaria and then the uttermost parts of the earth. So I see this as sort of a home base, it's ground zero for evangelism.

Paul: And what is your message for Israel?

Daniel: When I come to a place like this, I think people expect that I will modify my approach and suddenly become some sort of Bible prophecy teacher, but that is just not the way it is. I have one message and that message is good for the Jew and the Gentile and that is Jesus Christ crucified, risen again and coming soon.

My message is "repent and believe the gospel." The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek and so I don't change it for the Jew. I don't change it for the Israeli, instead I bring it to them as the original recipients of the gospel and it has the same power to save, deliver and heal here as it has anywhere else.

Just a few nights ago we prayed for the sick here in Jerusalem. People always told me that it's very difficult. Somebody told me that it doesn't work here in Jerusalem, actually a minister told me that; the miracles don't work here. We saw in one meeting praying for the sick, it took about four minutes and there were 30 to 40 miracles and so it absolutely works here.

My message in short to summarise, it's the same.

Paul: Are you meeting both Arab and Jewish believers?

Daniel: We are not meeting any individual ethnic group by design, we are just meeting whoever we meet. We have met both Jews and Arabs, Gentiles and Christians Armenians. It's just sort of a spontaneous Holy Spirit adventure.

Paul: Over the years Israel has suffered from terrorism and we are seeing terror on the streets of the UK. What would you say to someone who asks "where is God in this?"

Daniel: The world is a very difficult place. In fact the way that the Bible begins, by telling us the story of the fall of man, the scriptures never present some sort of a utopian vision of the way the world is. So you might look at it and say this doesn't match scripture, but it is exactly what is described; the world is a fallen evil place and that is why Jesus came and why Jesus died.

Terrorism is simply another manifestation of the malevolence within the human heart that seeks to build its own kingdoms and save itself. So where is God in this? Jesus came and died to save us from these things. That's why we preach the gospel and why we go and do what we do.

Paul: The political situation here is very complex, but is it important for Jewish and Arab believers to be unified?

Daniel: It is important for believers to first identify as believers, and then whatever other identity comes second.

I'm an American, but I don't identify first and foremost as an American. I am white, but I don't identify first and foremost as white. I am Western, but I don't identify first and foremost as Western. My primary identity is as a Christian. I'm a believer in Jesus, so I have more in common with an Arab believer, or a Jewish believer, or a Chinese believer, than I have with a white American non-believer. My first identity is in Christ.