Year in Review:
A Year of Witness, Care, & Hope

Throughout 2025–2026, Celebrate Messiah has continued to pursue its mission of “Bringing the Message to the Original Messengers,” sharing the hope, love, and salvation of Yeshua the Messiah with Jewish people across Australia in both word and deed. From congregational life and personal evangelism, to food hampers, discipleship, and hospitality through ZulaRoo Surf House, the year has shown again that the Lord is at work through every part of this ministry.

Celebrate Messiah has seen the fruit of personal witness in remarkable ways. Earlier this year, Karen, the administrator of Celebrate Messiah, received an unexpected phone call from Israel. The caller, an Orthodox Jewish man searching for truth, wanted prayer and had questions about Yeshua. Through ongoing conversations, he came to faith, was connected into fellowship, and was later baptised. His response was marked by joy, hunger to learn, and amazement at what he was discovering in the Scriptures. At one point, he repeatedly asked, “Why are the rabbis hiding these things from us?” Even amid opposition from family and the strain of life in Israel during wartime, he continues to grow in faith, attend a Messianic congregation, and live with new peace and freedom in Messiah.

Tikkun Olam

Through Tikkun Olam, practical support has opened doors for ongoing relationships and quiet but profound ministry.

During the High Holidays, hamper donations were received with deep gratitude by community partners, with one organisation writing, “Your generous food donations make a meaningful difference,” and thanking Celebrate Messiah for the “care you consistently show.” At the personal level, these acts of compassion have also created space for spiritual conversations. One recent hamper recipient shared that she was a secret believer in Yeshua, though pressure from the Orthodox community had kept her at a distance. Another long-term hamper recipient, Alex, has gradually become more open over time and recently initiated his first question about Jesus and the Messiah.

These are reminders that faithful care often prepares the soil for deeper gospel conversations.

Messianic Congregations

At the congregational level, Celebrate Messiah’s local fellowships have continued to serve as places of discipleship.

Over the past 12 months, the ministry of Beit HaMashiach in Melbourne has seen a season of growth, fruitfulness, and spiritual openness despite challenging times. Six Jewish people have come to faith in Yeshua as the Messiah and followed the Lord in water immersion, along with nineteen Gentile believers—an encouraging work of God in our congregation and outreach. Our Shabbat services remain strong, with average in-person attendance of 195 and around 959 joining online each week, extending our reach beyond the local community. Congregational life has been vibrant, marked by meaningful lifecycle events and well-attended Bible study and special interest groups. In particular, our New Believers’ Bible study has been a place of powerful transformation, with many sharing testimonies of changed lives. In these uncertain times, we are seeing increased spiritual openness, reminding us that even through hardship, God is drawing people to Himself and revealing His redemptive purposes. We have been especially thankful to have been joined by so many new Jewish young adults seeking Yeshua and His gospel!

In Sydney, the aftermath of the Bondi attack led to new opportunities for Beit Shalom to support the wider Jewish community and deepen existing relationships. The congregation reported that these efforts “strengthened” ties with both religious and non-religious Jewish communities. In one case, a traumatised family began attending Beit Shalom after Orthodox Jewish contacts, aware of their faith in Yeshua, directed them there for care and community.

In Canberra at our Hineh Yeshua Congregation, God is opening doors. Over the last few months, the Lord has opened several meaningful opportunities for us to connect with the Jewish community. At a Yom HaZikaron event, we had the privilege of speaking with the Ambassador of Israel and his Deputy. Encouragingly, the Ambassador expressed interest in visiting our congregation, even knowing that we believe Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah. We are praying that the Lord will open that door, along with many others.

This kind of bridge-building reflects the unique role of Messianic congregations in offering both Jewish continuity and the hope of the gospel.

ZulaRoo Surf House

That same combination of hospitality and witness has been powerfully on display at ZulaRoo Surf House. Since opening, ZulaRoo has welcomed more than 400 guests, and this most recent summer was among its busiest and most fruitful seasons, with nearly 150 guests hosted after the SOLU team’s December visit. Families, backpackers, couples, Orthodox travellers, ex-Haredi guests, and Israelis based in Melbourne all passed through its doors.

More than a place to stay, ZulaRoo has become a place where Israeli travellers can encounter authentic community, thoughtful conversations, and the lived reality of faith in Yeshua. Shabbat dinners, Scripture discussions, Discovery Bible Studies, and personal testimonies have all helped create an environment where guests can listen, ask questions, and sometimes receive a New Testament or other resources for further exploration.

Our host family, the Boltons, described this season as one marked by “the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness,” seen through the steady stream of visitors, the service of volunteers, and the many spiritual conversations that followed.

Host Israelis

We now have over 100 hosts in our Host Israelis network across Australia, and it has been another active year. Over the past 12 months, Australian hosts have opened their hearts and homes to Israeli travellers 326 times — more than any other country in the Host Israelis network, including the USA and New Zealand.

Many of these guests are recently released soldiers, some carrying the emotional wounds and trauma of life in a country at war. Most are around 25 years old, though we continue to welcome a wide range of travellers, including singles, groups of friends, couples, and, encouragingly, more families again.

Summer remains the busiest season, particularly in southern Australia, while hosts in central, northern, and western states tend to welcome more guests during the cooler months.

The Messianic Training Centre

Celebrate Messiah’s ministry this year has also included deepening believers in the Scriptures through the Messianic Training Centre.

Sharon Dingjan’s Biblical Hebrew course has grown into a thriving online learning community, with 72 students gathering weekly to begin the long journey toward fluent reading of the Hebrew Bible. Far from being merely academic, the course has helped students encounter the living Word of God in fresh ways. Sharon reports that many have shared how the “mystery” of Hebrew has become approachable, and how their faith has been strengthened through learning. In one particularly moving session, students were brought to tears as they saw how a single Hebrew feature highlighted “the emphatic nature of the grace of God.”

This ministry is forming believers who are better equipped to understand the Hebrew Scriptures, speak meaningfully about God and Israel, and grow in their walk with the Lord.

Celebrate Messiah Youth

As a smaller but meaningful initiative, Celebrate Messiah launched a Youth Bible Study in July 2025 for high school students across our national network. Meeting fortnightly online via Google Meet, the group brings together young people from Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, and Perth.

In 2025, the group studied 1 John, which proved especially timely as students were processing difficult conversations taking place in their schools around public hostility toward Christians around the Charlie Kirk assassination. Together, they reflected on questions such as: How do we show love to our enemies when we feel misunderstood or opposed? Now in 2026, the group is working through the book of Acts, giving students the opportunity to explore what it means to be part of a Messianic community made up of Jews and Gentiles united in Messiah.

We are encouraged to see genuine spiritual growth among the youth through this study. It has become a valuable way to connect the next generation of Messianic believers scattered across Australia, especially those who do not have a Messianic congregation in their local area.

Conclusion

Taken together, these stories form a compelling picture of Celebrate Messiah’s work over the past year: Jewish people receiving practical care, spiritual seekers finding truth, congregations becoming places of healing and belonging, Israeli travellers encountering genuine hospitality, and believers being equipped more deeply in God’s Word. Each initiative reflects the same heartbeat: to make Yeshua known among the Jewish people and to demonstrate His love in tangible ways.

As the ministry looks toward the close of the financial year, the need remains real. Food hampers must still be provided, outreach and discipleship must continue, congregations must be strengthened, and ZulaRoo still carries significant ongoing costs, including the need to pay down the property debt. When you support the ministry of Celebrate Messiah, you help make work like this possible. Your partnership creates opportunities for hospitality, genuine relationships, prayerful conversations, and the sharing of Messiah’s love with Israelis visiting our shores.

Your partnership enables us to:

• Train leaders for long-term gospel impact through speaking and our Messianic Training Centre.
• Strengthen our gospel witness among Jewish communities through our outreach programs like Tikkun Olam and our Messianic congregations.
• Provide a safe place for Israelis to stay in Australia through our Host Israelis and ZulaRoo initiatives.

If you would like to give to our ministry or one of its initiatives, go to celebratemessiah.com.au. God is using this ministry, and every gift helps sustain that work for the year ahead!