About two years ago I underwent a process of spiritual growth during which I realized that God wanted to become more central in my life and wanted me to come into a deeper place with Him. In my search for God and ways to pursue Him, I came across Neryah. They were a youth group, mostly older than I, who had the passion for God that I was looking for. When I joined the group, I started to "get the bug", realizing just how much God wants to draw near to us, his people, and just how far we've gone from Him.

With God's grace, Neryah has continued strong with now over thirty youths attending. It's been a huge encouragement to see God’s hand on the lives of the young people at Neryah and the way He's modelling and shaping them into His image. As youth, we often get excited about God at conferences but tend to lose that energy when we're back to our weekly routines. Neryah is about breaking that cycle and setting a stepping stone in the middle of our lives from which we can continually focus on God, not only at big conferences.

God is using Neryah to build relationships that are centred on Him. In the body of Messiah in Israel there is a lot of disunity, and the devil often uses this in order to break up relationships. At Neryah, we all come from different congregations, yet seek to build friendships that have Yeshua in the centre, pray for one another, and support each other. This provides a strong foundation for lasting friendships. Neryah also becomes a major part in the lives of those who participate in it for the reason that we encourage as many as possible to hold responsibilities within the group.

We are not looking to be mediocre believers, rather those who are willing to take that extra step in God’s direction and be radical in our faith. This year we have a specific program of discipleship that we trust will lead us all to a deeper place with God and encourage us to continue to run toward the prize that is in place for us!