Pastors' Feedback

"As a pastor, I have found that En-Gedi provides one of the best ongoing educational and equipping tools I can find today, which are immediately usable in my own teaching ministry. It offers not only academic excellence and reliability in its research but has greatly enriched my ability to verbally paint for our church family the powerful and life transforming word pictures found throughout the Word of God that can only be seen and understood through the study of the Hebrew language, history and most importantly, culture. Many lives and families have been touched through this ministry."

Rev. Mike Faris, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Zeeland, MI

"En-Gedi has truly been a fresh spring of living water to my pastoral ministry and to my own soul. It is an "oasis" of blessing in the midst of the vast wilderness of resources glutting the Christian marketplace today. I draw from En-Gedi's extensive resources for preaching, teaching, and for worship leading, especially for those special occasional services where you want material to make them come alive for church members. En-Gedi follows the wonderful pedagogy of Jesus, and Rabbinic tradition, by making Scripture come to life through pictures, stories, geography, archeology, and social and historical data. I believe God has used this resource organization to opened by eyes and breath new life into my study of His Word, and brought it alive for my hearers as well. The more "Aha!" expressions I see on people's faces, and the more "Wow, I never knew that"s, the more I say "Thank You Lord, for En-Gedi Resource Center!"

Rev. Paul Burmeister, Pastor, First Reformed Church, Allendale, MI

"En-Gedi has become one of my favorite tools for study as a disciple of Christ and as a discipler of followers of Christ. As a busy pastor, I have frequently turned to the En-Gedi site for personal refreshment and meditation. I have also found it extremely valuable as a teaching resource for Bible Studies, messages, as well as my own personal understanding of the culture and geography of Biblical Israel. I have benefited greatly from the theological reflection offered through the breakfast meetings, the commentaries offered through the articles, as well as the meditative sites provided through the links. I have also been encouraged by the personal presence of the board of En-Gedi who have been readily available to answer questions and direct me to helpful resources. Truly, En-Gedi has been a special gift for pastors in our community."

Rev. Henry Lengkeek, Senior Pastor, Haven Christian Reformed Church, Zeeland, MI

"The En-Gedi Resource Center has been an invaluable aid to my ministry. They have put me in touch with some of the finest scholars in the Jewish Roots movement who have shed tremendous light upon my understanding of our Lord, Jesus, and His culture. Through one seminar that En-Gedi sponsored, I was inspired to study God's Word much more than I ever was in seminary.

Rev. Patrick Riley Cameron, Pastor, Twin Lake United Methodist Church, Muskegon, MI

"Although I live 1-1/2 hours away from Holland, Michigan, I have eagerly participated in some of the conferences En-Gedi has sponsored. The En-Gedi Resource Center does a great job of bringing renowned speakers from Israel and around the country, as well utilizing local pastors & teachers, to bring out the cultural flavor of the Bible. They encourage and assist pastors and churches in understanding the Jewish background of Scripture, incredibly important if we are to understand the roots of our Christian faith. As a pastor, I can say that the things I've learned over the past few years about the Jewish roots of Christianity has revolutionized my preaching and teaching. En-Gedi has been an important part of my education."

Rev. Edward C. Visser, Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, Big Rapids, MI

"For the first 10 years of my ministry I worked in West Africa. Africans among whom I worked frequently complained that missionaries hadn't understood or respected the culture in which their life and faith were rooted. I saw how misunderstandings frequently arose because something that was said or done was not understood against the background of the culture and world view of the Bassa people. En-Gedi is enabling me to show the same respect for the Biblical text. Those who read the Bible with only contemporary, western eyes are likely to hear the same protest from the Biblical writers as I heard from my African brothers and sisters: "You don't understand us because you haven't taken the time to learn our culture." ... En-Gedi provides insights which bring the cultural and world-view commentary to a passage or biblical custom that is absent in most commentaries."

Rev. Mark A Sheffers, Trained Interim Pastor at Community Christian Reformed Church, Lambertville, MI

"We have been incredibly blessed by the ministry of En-Gedi...we will sometimes be reading things in our personal devotions that we have questions about & in His timing, God sends us a letter or article from En-Gedi and it sheds a whole new light on His word for us. We have grown incredibly from studying the Word in the context of where it was originally written, and we pray others can grow as we have!"

Revs. Mike & Erin Beckerink, Pastors at Clymer Hill Reformed Church, Clymer Hill, NY

"The En-Gedi Center has been a very helpful organization to me as a pastor. The director's materials, the breakfasts, the information available on the website have all been useful both for personal study and for sermon preparation. I strongly encourage the support of En-Gedi as a vital resource for pastors."

Rev. Larry Doornbos, Senior Pastor, EverGreen Ministries, Hudsonville, MI

"The Old Testament is invaluable in helping Christians understand their roots and the origin of God's redeeming plans. En-Gedi is committed to helping believers understand those roots. The speakers, the commentaries, the essays are not only informational but also very inspiring. I am grateful for and excited about your ministry."

Rev. Ecko De Vries, Pastor, Alger Park Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI

"I want to personally express my appreciation for what the ministry of En-Gedi has meant to me and the ministries I share. I regularly access your web site for information in preaching and teaching. I have printed out and distributed your schedule for reading through the Bible in a year and have used the weekly commentaries. As you know, our classis (a group of 29 churches in Western Michigan) is in the process of moving through a "Year of the Lord's Favor" which En-Gedi has helped resource. And in particular, I want to thank you for the fine presentation you made to that group on April 27th. As a pastor devoted to the ministry of the Word, I have found your resourcing invaluable. Thanks for a job well done."

Rev. Jonathan Brownson, Minister of Congregational Life, Hamilton Reformed Church, Hamilton, MI

"As a pastor who is called to preach the Gospel, I am always looking for ways to challenge my congregation with present day applications taken from the ancient text. The En-Gedi staff has been an excellent resource in assisting our congregation to hear, as well as touch, taste, and see the Good News in some of the same ways Old Testament Israel and the New Testament Church did. I am thankful for En-Gedi, and I would recommend them to anyone who is looking to deepen their knowledge of God's Word."

Rev. Todd Zuidema, Pastor of Mayfair Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI

"En-Gedi's ministry has been and continues to be an immense blessing in drawing the church and us as pastors back to the Jewish roots of our Christian faith. Its Resource Center (website) has personally been a great informational source for my preaching and teaching within the church. I use it often. Please keep up the good work!"

Rev. Ed Tamminga, Pastor, Second Christian Reformed Church, Grand Haven, MI

"Each week, the congregation I serve sends me to God’s Word to bring back a message from Him. Their hope and expectation is that the message I bring bridges their understanding of scripture and the incredible message of God’s deep and never ending love. I do not believe it is possible to construct thisbridge without at least exploring the Jewish roots which stand behind God’s Word and His love for a chosen people. Each week, En-Gedi provides an incredible assistance in this exploration and construction."

Rev. Jonathan Elgersma, Senior Pastor, Faith Reformed Church, Zeeland, MI

"I have very much enjoyed attending the minister breakfasts put on by the En Gedi Resource Center. The speakers that have been brought in always find a way to make the Scriptures come alive, and to help ministers such as myself get a better grasp upon the overarching flow of the Old and New Testaments. That is why I always make a point of attending these monthly breakfasts. I have also enjoyed the rich and devotional emails sent out by Dr. Lois Tverberg. More than once they have helped to spur my thinking on how to approach a certain text that I am preaching on for a particular Sunday. But what I enjoy most about the Bible Study emails is how they show Christ throughout the Scriptures. Jesus is not only found in the New Testament; He's throughout the whole Bible. And the work of En Gedi is yet another resource to help make this truth fresh."

Rev. Tyler Wagenmaker, Beaverdam Christian Reformed Church, Hudsonville, MI