Thaddeus of Edessa festival, and heard the preachings of John the Baptist (St. John the Forerunner). After being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, he remained in Palestine. He later met and became a follower of Jesus. He was chosen to be one of the seventy disciples, whom Jesus sent in pairs to preach in the cities and places. After Pentecost and the ascension of Jesus, Thaddeus started preaching the gospel in Mesopotamia, Syria and Persia. Thaddaeus ordained priests in Edessa, converted many to Christianity and built up the church there. He also went to Beirut to preach and founded
Association of Baptist Churches in Israel Association of Baptist Churches in Israel The Association of Baptist Churches in Israel (ABCI) is a Baptist association of churches in Israel. Shukri Musa, the maternal grandfather of Edward Said, who was baptized by George Truett at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, was the first known modern Baptist to enter Israel (then the British Mandate of Palestine). He arrived in 1911, with the support of the "Illinois Baptist State Association", and began in Zefat, where he baptized his first convert. He later founded a church in Nazareth. The Southern Baptist Convention sent missionaries in 1923. A congregation was