King of Kings Jerusalem Forges Ahead With New Senior Pastor
Since 1988, under the direction of Pastor Wayne Hilsden and his wife, Ann, King of Kings Community Jerusalem has become one of the largest and more widely recognized Messianic Jewish congregations in Israel.
In September, Hilsden stepped down as senior pastor of KKCJ to pursue other callings, including his role of leading the Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries. Enter Chad Holland, who, with his family, made Aliyah to Israel from Memphis, Tennessee, in 2014. Holland took over immediately for Hilsden.
In ministry since 1997, Holland had been serving as senior leader of the Brit Hadasha Synagogue in Memphis. He and his wife, Rebecca, and their three children now live in Mevasseret Tzion, where the children attend Hebrew-speaking school. Rebecca serves as social media and children’s director for King of Kings.
Kehila News Israel recently sat down for an interview with Holland:
KNI: How did you come to be a part of King of Kings?
CH: I first met Wayne Hilsden, co-founder of King of Kings, on a visit to Israel in 2011. I had been invited to meet him and other leaders in Jerusalem. Wayne and I had a good connection at this meeting, and we kept in touch by email and phone.
Wayne had family in Tennessee and he would stop by to attend our services and have lunch or dinner with us when visiting. By this time our Aliyah paperwork was complete and we knew we would be moving to Israel. I was leading the Brit Hadasha synagogue in Memphis and we were waiting on God’s timing to come over.
When it was time for us to move here we were asked to join the pastoral team. We were glad to join such a team and we hit the ground running! I was then invited to take the role of senior pastor.
KNI: How has it been to take the role of Wayne who founded and has led King of Kings for such a long time?
CH: That is a good question! Wayne is such an impressive guy on many levels. He has a wonderful marriage and family. He has a pastor’s heart. He has a visionary nature, and the Lord has worked through him in a powerfully profound way in the King of Kings community for 32 years.
At the same time, I want to acknowledge the quality pastoral team that has worked closely with Wayne (and me) in complete unity. Pastor Veikko Nuoraho and his wife Ulla oversee discipleship classes, the Manna Kitchen and the distribution center among many other things; Pastor Kurt Vetterling and his wife Maggie work with young adults, administration and small groups amongst other things. Oded and Sandy Shoshani lead the Hebrew speaking King of Kings congregation. Because of the unity and integrity of Wayne and these leaders, the transition process has been pleasant and we anticipate that it will continue smoothly.
KNI: What are your goals or hopes for the future of the King of Kings community?
CH: I do want to continue the work of planting new congregations and to develop our Manna Kitchen, serving food to the poor.
Two other community-building efforts are especially close to my heart, that I was able to be a catalyst for. One is our setting up of community groups around the city, and the other is the launching of the Israel Academy of Ministry (IAM).
KNI: What are the community groups?
CH: The project began in January 2015 and we now have 14 healthy small groups for our people to meet in across Jerusalem. Most of the meetings are in people’s homes although some take place at the King of Kings facilities. We have a deep conviction that the early disciples were engaged in local temple or synagogue life, house-to-house fellowship, serving the poor and breaking bread together.
The leaders of the groups are all trained in pastoral care. Each group has a leader and an assistant. Our vision for the groups is five-fold:
- Study and discuss the Scriptures together
- Worship together
- Pray together
- Create intentional times of fellowship
- Plan serving community building efforts and outreach activities
We do hope to increase the number of groups as well.
We want to help train leaders in the practical side of ministry with a hands-on approach on essential aspects of ministry. We want to partner with other seminaries and Bible colleges. We will be offering intensive week-long courses, led by top experts in specific subjects, every other month. We will be hosting the courses at our own facility at King of Kings, but will also work with senior leaders one on one as well as go out to other campuses to help with mentoring and discipleship.
KNI: A closing thought?
CH: I had been drawn to the King of Kings mission statement. It says: King of Kings Community is called to be a compelling, Messiah-centered, Spirit-empowered, disciple-making community that reveals the true face of Yeshua (Jesus) to Israel and to the nations.
I am excited to be a part of the fulfillment of such a special vision. As the Lord opens new avenues of ministering to the needs of people and opens new opportunities to build His Kingdom, we are excited to walk through those doors together as a leadership team and community.
Karen Faulkner made Aliyah to Israel in 2006, having lived and worked in Italy and England before that. Since 2009, she has been working as a freelance writer and editor in the English language.
For the original article, visit kehilanews.com.
