Pastor Adam Mathews
Adam is originally from Georgia and came to Texas in order to pursue a Masters of Divinity at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been in ministry for over 10 years now and has served in Georgia as a Youth Pastor and speaker at different churches in Georgia, Alabama, and Texas. In his spare time he enjoys the outdoors and athletics. His passions in ministry include preaching, teaching, evangelism, canvassing, and solitary prayer time.
Bro. Adam originally came on staff to serve as the minister to students, later to do administrative work as well, and through a pastoral transition the church called him to be the pastor effective October 1st of 2015.
Pastor Shmuel (Stan) Birnbaum
Shmuel (then Stan) was raised in a typical American Jewish home with a good warm family. He has fond memories of his childhood. After high school, came what he calls the stormy years of his life. Between 1968 -1972, he allowed the waves of rebellion and change to radically alter his thinking and his life. It was not always a pleasant time.
In the fall of 1972, at Rosh Hashanah while in Albany, NY, Shmuel found himself in a desperate state.
He drove his minivan to the local synagogue, but instead of going in, he prayed privately in the back of his vehicle. The God of Israel heard this troubled twenty-year-old Jewish young man.
His eyes somehow spotted a card with an amazing question: “Are you lonely, depressed, in need of salvation?’ Shmuel knew it was for him, and gladly drove that evening to the Christian coffee house listed on the card.
At the meeting he listened, and then took literature to read. The next morning, in the privacy of his “hippie van,” he read something that challenged him to receive his Messiah. With one sincere prayer, his life was eternally changed!
Immediately, the long hair and hippie life style went away. Shmuel began to devote his life to his new found Messiah. He was excited to be a born again Christian.
The next number of years moved along as he joined a fellowship, received a call into ministry, and studied at a Bible School. He married Chaya (then Heather), who was also part of the little church fellowship. In 1983, after serving nine years as an assistant, he became the senior pastor of Capital Christian Church in Troy, New York.
In 1991, the entire family moved to Israel and thus began the greatest challenge of his and their life.
It is now over twenty years later. The “young” middle-aged man is now sixty-five and looks back with amazement at all God has done. His children have all integrated fully into Israeli life. He and Chaya enjoy their home in the Land, their relationship with the people, and the life style in the Middle East.
Best of all, they are privileged to lead and shepherd a growing, loving congregation, the Sea of His Love, Yam Ahavato, in their city.
• Weekly Bible Study
• Weekly youth meeting
• Distribution of food, clothing, and school supplies to the poor (180-250 per month)
Mission:
• To demonstrate the vastness of His love
• To teach the truth of His Word to all who live in His Land
• To bring healing to the broken hearted
• To help the poor and the needy