At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Israel Kebede found himself unexpectedly locked down in Istanbul, Turkey. He had travelled from Ethiopia to attend a nine-day Christian conference, but when flights were cancelled and hotels began shutting their doors, he suddenly had nowhere to go. In a city of 16 million people, thousands were dying daily, fear gripped the streets, and Israel faced the prospect of being stranded.
Then God intervened.
In a small Ethiopian café in Istanbul, Israel met a Turkish businessman who would change his life. Though a Muslim, this man opened his home, provided food, and gave Israel a place to live for three months. During that time, Israel shared his faith, and the businessman came to Christ—remarkably, he turned out to be well-connected in Turkey, even a friend of the nation’s president. Through him, doors opened for Israel to minister among Africans in Istanbul, to partner with missionaries, and even to plant a new church despite strict restrictions against evangelism. What began as a forced detour became a divine appointment.
What began as a forced detour became a divine appointment.
Israel says, ‘I planned for nine days, but God planned for ninety-nine.’
That extraordinary chapter was not the beginning of his journey, but the fruit of decades of preparation.
Roots in Communist Ethiopia
Israel was born and raised in Ethiopia during the brutal Derg regime, a communist government that persecuted Christians harshly. His father was among the first evangelists of the Full Gospel Church in Ethiopia, and was often imprisoned for his faith. Twice a week, soldiers took him to a cell, yet he never denied Christ.
Growing up in that environment marked Israel deeply. ‘Christianity was not a religion for us—it was survival, a lifestyle of courage,’ he recalls. Even when churches were closed, believers gathered secretly in his family’s home. At 13, Israel made his personal decision to follow Jesus, inspired by his father’s conviction that faith must be chosen. At 15, he was baptized.
As a teenager, he threw himself into ministry, participating in Sunday school, the choir, the worship team, and later, student fellowships. Through university years, while studying accounting, he also led a Christian student movement. His heart increasingly burned for missions.
A Call to Missions
For centuries, Africa had received missionaries from Europe and North America. Israel grew up admiring their sacrifice, but also asking hard questions: ‘If the gospel is flourishing in Africa, what about Europe? Is the church still alive where these missionaries came from?’
That question prompted him to pursue theological training. He studied the Bible and theology in Ethiopia and later pursued graduate studies in Nairobi, Kenya, with a focus on missions. Exposure to other African students broadened his vision, and he began to believe that Africans, too, could be missionaries to the world.
From Ethiopia to the Netherlands
After teaching in a Bible college, Israel’s missionary dream seemed out of reach. Churches in Ethiopia had little vision for sending missionaries abroad. Some leaders even discouraged him, urging him to serve only in rural Ethiopia.
But God opened an unexpected door through a group of Dutch Christian businessmen working in agriculture in Ethiopia. They invited him into their fellowship, provided him with opportunities to learn the Dutch language and culture and eventually connected him with churches in the Netherlands.
God can use Africans to bring revival where the gospel once seemed lost.
When Israel first travelled to the Netherlands in 2016, many church leaders were stunned: an African missionary coming to Europe was almost unheard of. Yet his testimony moved them to tears. Churches were closing, Christianity was declining, and they saw in him a timely answer to prayer. Soon, he was ministering in Rotterdam with Leef Church, especially as Syrian refugees flooded Europe during the civil war.
Israel helped plant churches for Syrians, Iranians, and Iraqis. He trained leaders, built communities, and watched as displaced people came to know Christ. Over time, even Syrian believers returned home and began new churches in their war-torn nation. For Israel, this was confirmation: God can use Africans to bring revival where the gospel once seemed lost.
Ministry in Turkey During COVID
His later ministry in Turkey was built on these experiences. Stranded during lockdown, Israel found himself discipling new believers, supporting African migrants, and equipping underground churches. Like the apostle Paul, he even supported himself with tentmaking—through a small business license, he ran a cargo company while ministering.
His time in Turkey proved that missionaries don’t need perfect resources or large organizations behind them. They need faith, courage, and obedience. ‘God never calls the equipped,’ he says. ‘He equips the called.’
Current Work in the United States
In 2023, God opened another door, this time to the United States. Invited to speak at a children’s ministry conference, Israel shared his experiences and soon after received a scholarship to study at Dallas Theological Seminary. While pursuing studies, he recognized a new mission field: the children of African immigrants in America.
Many first-generation Africans labour hard to build new lives in the U.S., but their children often feel caught between cultures—neither fully American nor fully African. Israel sees in them the potential to become missionaries to the West and beyond. He now invests in equipping these second-generation youth, believing they could be God’s instruments to bring revival to America, Europe, and beyond.
A Challenge to Africa
Israel’s journey—from a persecuted childhood in Ethiopia, to church planting in the Netherlands, to lockdown missions in Turkey, and now ministry in the United States of America—sends a powerful message to African believers: the time has come for Africa to send missionaries to the nations.
For too long, Africa has been seen only as a mission field. But today, God is raising Africans to be a mission force. The gospel that once came to us is now ours to carry back to the world. We do not need wealth, agencies, or special status. Israel’s story proves that faith, perseverance, and obedience are enough.
the time has come for Africa to send missionaries to the nations.
Recently, Israel attended the Africa Missions Conference 2025, held in Nairobi, Kenya under the theme Harnessing the African Missions Movement for Global Impact. The gathering brought together over 600 strategic ministry leaders from 40 countries across the continent to shape and direct Africa’s growing role in global missions. For Israel, it was yet another reminder that Africa’s moment has come—a time for collaboration, courage, and calling as Africans take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
‘God guided my steps even when I had no plan,’ he says. ‘He opened doors through ordinary encounters, from a café conversation in Istanbul to businessmen in Ethiopia. The same God can do it for you.’