Our Response to the Targeted Israel Ad Campaign
We live in interesting times. You may have seen recent reports mentioning several Arizona churches being “bought out by the Israeli government”. Living Streams was mentioned in this list. We did a deep dive to figure out where this came from and discovered the source is a digital advertising campaign run by an organization called Show Faith By Works LLC.
According to federal documents, this advertising firm is planning a campaign using geofencing advertising technology (setting digital boundaries around church properties) to send targeted ads to mobile devices, even possibly during gathering times. This document listed multiple churches in Arizona, as well as other churches across the Southwest region of the United States, as potential locations to target. The document also includes plans to supply churches with advertising materials. The expressed goal of the advertising campaign is to “combat low American Evangelical Christian approval of the Nation of Israel”.
These documents, filed with the U.S. Department of Justice, required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act, are available to view here.
Here is what we want to make clear to you:
Our church has no involvement in this campaign
We did not request, approve, or participate in any advertising being run by Show Faith By Works LLC or any affiliated organizations. We do not know why or how our church was included on their list.We have no relationship with this company or its staff
Our church has never partnered with or received communication, funding, or services from Show Faith By Works LLC. We are not associated with their messaging, their goals, or their advertising in any way and have no plans to work with a company of this nature in the future.Geofencing is a common marketing tactic
Like most online advertising, “geofencing” uses publicly available location and digital data to deliver ads to mobile devices within certain areas. Unfortunately, churches and other public places can be included in such campaigns without permission or awareness.
Here are some practices we can participate in:
Digital privacy practices
Technology companies use location data and browsing activity to tailor ads to individuals. You can limit this tracking by adjusting your phone’s privacy and ad settings (turning off location-based ads, resetting ad IDs, or restricting app permissions).
iPhone users: Apple Advertising & Privacy
Android/Google users: Google My Ad Center
Meta/Facebook/Instagram users: Meta Accounts Center - Ad Preferences & PrivacyPractice discernment
As Christ followers, we need to be wise and discern the information that we engage with online. There’s a lot of noise in the world - especially digitally. Not every message that finds its way to your screen deserves your attention and we encourage you to slow down, pray, and ask God for discernment when it comes to the digital media we consume.
To be clear, no information from our church database, systems, or Wi-Fi has been accessed, shared, or provided by Living Streams Church in connection with this campaign or the company attached.
Our focus remains on displaying God’s glory, building courageous people, and engaging in society’s pain. We believe that faith is not a marketing segment to be manipulated, but a sacred relationship between people and God. We take our congregation’s privacy, safety, and spiritual formation very seriously, and we want to ensure that Living Streams Church is ultimately influenced by these two things: God’s Spirit and God’s Word.
We are consistently praying for peace in Israel and for peace in Palestine. We pray for righteousness and justice to be brought about by the leaders, and we pray for the vulnerable who are affected by all fighting and hate to be covered and upheld by the merciful arms of Christ. We also pray for the church, the Christians in both Israel and Palestine, to be bold and courageous, full of grace and truth, to be protected and to be great protectors of those around them. And as we pray all these things, we know that the only real way to heaven’s lasting peace is through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
If you have any questions, please reach out by emailing us.
Blessings,
Living Streams Church
