We are an American couple who served as
teachers/ministers in Japan for 25 years, working with Osaka Christian
Mission, and also Osaka Bible Seminary. Our name—Mings—derives from the
Scottish name Menzies, which in Scotland is pronounced like “Mengies” or
“Minges.” (There are several possible spellings of the name.)
In 1987 we felt
that God was calling us to go to Israel for
ministry. We had already been there twice for
study at the Institute of Holy Land Studies
(1979, 1983-4) and in 1985, I received the M.A.
degree in Judeo-Christian Studies. In 1987 we
returned and took up residence at Tantur
Theological Institute, on the outskirts of
Jerusalem, where I spent two years researching
the Eastern Church. Still, all of this seemed no
more than a preparation for what we were really
intended to do.
In 1990 we received
an invitation to join the Center for the Study
of Early Christianity. We accepted this call and
I taught for the Center for approximately 7
years, while Coral worked as Office
Administrator. CSEC is now known as the
University of the Holy Land (UHL). In 1995, I
was asked to serve on the Board of CFI
(Christian Friends of Israel). As of this
writing, I am no longer on the CFI Board, but I
am still writing one of their publications, the Israel News Digest. Coral volunteers
with CFI (Christian Friends of Israel) as their
Editor of Publications. She also edits two other
ministry's publications.
Later I joined the
teaching faculty of ICB (Israel College of the
Bible). The courses I have taught at the Bible
College include: History of Jewish-ChristianRelations, Early Church History, Eastern
Christianity, and Historical Jesus
Studies.
I also serve on the
Board of King of Kings Community Jerusalem
(formerly KOKA), and Ner Ya'acov (a ministry to
Holocaust Survivors). Coral has joined the
Board of Netzer Israel (Root of Israel) - a
ministry to all those in need in Israel, whether
they are Holocaust Survivors, terrorist attack
victims, or just the poor. More information and
links will be available on this website.
We are faith-workers supported by Churches of
Christ/Christian Churches, and individuals. If
you would like to contact us for a speaking
engagement, use our 'Contact'
page, or call (home phone/forwarding
agent)
719-528-1295. Contributions to the
ministry may be sent to our forwarding agent:
Joan Flaherty, P.O.
Box 7333, Colorado Springs, CO 80933
For now,
checks should be made out to Lonnie or Coral
Mings. Thank you! You can make donations to this ministry by clicking
here:
Lonnie and Coral Mings