In 1995, while Gleb Sambursky was praying with his mother and a friend on the Golan Heights in northern Israel, the Lord gave him a deep understanding of Ezekiel chapter 37 — the vision of the dry bones of the house of Israel and the resurrecting power of the Holy Spirit. Soon after this, in his family's home in a suburb of Haifa, the Messianic congregation Living Israel was born. It began to develop, grow, and plant new congregations in different cities of Israel.
Gleb Sambursky and his family — the beginning of a movement
In 2005, a powerful ministry of rehabilitation for drug addicts and alcoholics began. Standing at its origins together with Gleb was his close friend Volodya Kryuchkov. This branch of the ministry began to grow rapidly. A great number of people who had been perishing on the streets because of addictions came to faith and experienced radical transformation. Over time, they themselves became ministers. Today, many of the pastors and congregational leaders in Israel are people with difficult pasts — former drug addicts, alcoholics, and people from criminal backgrounds — whose lives the Lord has restored.
Zie de Living Israel beweging in actie
For those who completed rehabilitation, a school of mission and congregational life was opened. Its main purpose was to help people become strong in the faith and learn to serve others. This movement quickly spread beyond Israel: emissaries trained by the school went out across the world. They opened rehabilitation centers, and on the basis of these centers, churches were planted in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Russia.
At the same time, the social ministry within Israel continued to develop. Charity cafés for the homeless were opened in Tel Aviv and Haifa, where people in need receive free hot meals every day. This gave a powerful impulse to the entire ministry of mercy. Many former addicts dedicated themselves to caring for the most vulnerable members of society — those in need of a manifestation of God's love. This also included the active development of ministry to Holocaust survivors.
Over time, the vision expanded to include the central region of Israel. In 2015, two families of ministers from the north of the country moved to the Greater Tel Aviv area in order to prepare the ground for new congregations. A year later, in 2016, Gleb and his family also moved from the north to the center of the country in order to take part in the planting of new churches.
Over ten years of ministry in the central region, more than 400 people have come to faith. Strong congregations and home groups have been established in ten cities of this area, and the process of planting new congregations in the center of the country continues to develop rapidly.
Today, the Messianic ministry Living Israel, which began as a small prayer group in the north, has grown into a large international network. It now includes 25 congregations throughout Israel, unites more than 1,000 believers, and is actively developing rehabilitation centers and churches in six countries outside Israel.