Israel Has Denied Renewal of Baptist Visas

UPDATED 9:50 A.M.- Michael was kind enough to update me on this situation.  Here is part of the email he received from Anne & Herbby Geer .

First of all, Anne and I would like to thank you all for your quick responses and your fervent prayers. We are in a battle.  And yet we are keenly aware of the multitudes of prayer warriors upholding us to the Father in prayer.

Today, we received the official letter saying that our visa has been refused, with no reason given.  The lawyer will begin work on the case Monday morning. It is our hope and prayer that this will be cleared up quickly and quietly. 

Persecution Blog reader Michael Bates who writes over at Batesline sent me an email about some things that have happened with some friends of his who were denied the renewal of their visas in Israel.  This is from Mike's blog...

Herbby and Anne Geer, representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention in Israel, have been denied visa renewals, an unprecedented act by the Interior Ministry:

This past week, we have been told by the Ministry of Interior, here in Israel, that they will not renew our A3 visa, and they have requested that we leave the country. They have refused to give a reason, namely, they don't have a legal one. Never in the history of the Southern Baptists has a visa been denied. We are here because of a historical right (Baptists were in Israel pre-1948), and also because of the Law of Status Quo (Israel and the US have an agreement which allows the exchange of Religious persons between the two countries).

Such a move by the Ministry of Interior would be precedent setting, one we can't allow to happen. It could impact the whole Christian community within Israel.

On Sunday, the Lawyer for the Southern Baptists and our business manager will approach the offices responsible for the decision to deny our visa.

We ask you to pray on this day: pray that the Lord would reverse the decision.

I received this message from Phil and Heidi Litle, friends from college who are also in Israel on Southern Baptist visas, working with the Christian community in Haifa.

Please remember them in your prayers.  Personally, I just think this is amazing.