Scott Phillips is with Passages, a ministry that brings older students to Israel to reverse a trend that is likely being influenced by a corrupt culture and by left-wing politics, which view Israel as an enemy of peace.
“There's been several surveys put out over the last, I'd say, five to seven years,” Phillips tells American Family News, “that show the downward trend for support for Israel.”
He notes adult Evangelicals support Israel anywhere 75% to 80% but that number is much lower for younger evangelicals, anywhere from 30% to 50%.
“A lot of them will look at some of the values that their parents had,” Phillip advises. “Maybe it's the life issue. Maybe it's the marriage issue. Maybe it's whatever sort of social issue there might be out there. And sometimes what we've seen is Israel can be sort of looped into those same kinds of issues.”
Passages starts by strengthening their Christian faith, introducing them to modern Israel and beginning leadership development. Then they take them on a nine-day trip to the Holy Land and, upon return, train them to become a pro-Israel leader among their peers.
“What better opportunity for young people to be rooted and grounded in their faith, to go to the place where it was written,” he says of that journey. “To see, to hear, to touch, to feel the very roots of their faith.”
