Igal Vender was born in Ukraine but emigrated to Israel with his family in 1988. He began using drugs as a child and later switched to heroin and cocaine.
Igal writes: ‘I was an addict and in and out of prison, but empty inside. I came to faith after meeting an old friend who had become a Christian. Now I am a missionary with IMJP (the International Mission to Jewish People) telling Jewish people about Jesus.’ Igal Vender tells his story to Iain Taylor for en.
en: Igal, tell us briefly how you, a Jewish person, came to faith in Christ?
IV: As a Jewish person I had no interest in Christianity at all, I even hated Christ because of what Christians did to Jewish people. But I met a real follower of Jesus in Israel who shared the gospel with me when I was in prison. God convicted me of my sin and need of a Saviour, and I came to faith in 2006.
en: What difference has it made in your life?
IV: A huge difference, because I left my life of crime and God changed my desires so I wanted to serve God instead of anyone or anything else.
en: How is your current work motivated and informed, firstly by your faith, secondly by your own experiences with gangs, drugs, and in prison?
IV: Jesus called us to make disciples, and I think as a Christian this is what we need to do. Because of my experience of drug addiction, crime, prison and homelessness, I have an insider’s view of what this life is like and how only Jesus can make a difference to people trapped in this kind of lifestyle.
en: How dangerous is that work? Can you give us some brief examples?
IV: It was very dangerous when I first started to go onto the streets to reach addicts, because all the drug dealers thought we were stealing their clients and they chased us away. One of our team was always in the car with the engine running just in case we had to escape, which we had to many times! God is gracious and blessed our witness to the extent that we now have good relationships with the drug dealers and share the gospel of Jesus with them too. Sometimes the drug dealers approach us to tell us when addicts are very ill and tell us to take them off the streets to get some help; in fact this happened just this week.
en: Do the people you meet on the streets have a stronger sense of sin than the more ‘respectable’ residents of Tel Aviv? Is that perhaps one reason why they are keen to learn more about Jesus?
IV: First of all, we see all people through God’s eyes and love them all We don’t judge them or the way their lives have ended up. Drug addicts who are Jewish never want to hear about Jesus at first and have no sense of sin; they still think they are the ‘Chosen People’ even when their lives have been destroyed by drugs. I meet them where they are, and we show practical love to them through our regular outreach to feed them. I build trusting relationships with them over the course of time, and when they find out that I am Jewish and believe in Jesus they are shocked, but they cannot deny that Jesus has totally transformed me.
en: What other reasons do they have for contacting you?
IV: They do not like the life that they are living and want to be freed from it. Some of them have tried government programmes to get off drugs and the moment they get back to the streets they call their dealer. Either they or their family members have heard about someone who has been freed from drugs through my ministry, and the addict or their family members call me.
en: Why do think your ministry to those in rehab is proving so successful?
IV: We rely on God who is mighty to save even addicts, and we do not allow transition drugs in our rehab house. We wash, clothe and feed them, give them a comfortable bed and support them with love and prayers. And in those who decide to stay we see the Holy Spirit start to transform their lives. This is God’s work. They are tough people who cannot show any weakness on the streets or they will be destroyed, but when we meet them and they come to our rehab house we smile, show them love, acknowledge and validate their existence and worth.
en: How would you like that ministry to grow/develop over the next few years?
IV: I long for the day when there would be no drugs in the whole world! We have seen people come through our rehab programme who are now serving God in the rehab house as volunteers and having other roles in local Russian-speaking Jewish churches in Israel and I pray for that to grow.
For further information on the work of International Mission to Jewish People or to join the Watchman movement go to www.imjp.org
