An Israeli soldier who survived combat in Gaza shared his story before a crowd of Christians and Jews at Impact Live Church in Cherry Hill on Monday, Oct. 5.

Yahonatan Asayag, a "lone soldier" who serves in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) without family in Israel, was the featured speaker at an interfaith evening service. The event capped a full day of activities during Flags of Fellowship Week, an annual campaign organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) that honors victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks.

The day started with volunteers placing thousands of Israeli flags on the grounds of the Katz JCC, at local churches and synagogues across Cherry Hill, the Jewish Community Voice reported. An interfaith luncheon followed, drawing local clergy and representatives from IFCJ and the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey.

The evening service drew members of Impact Live, Congregation Beth El and others to pray, sing and reflect.

Impact Live Church sits in the former building of Congregation Beth El, which moved to Voorhees in 2009. That shared history has fueled a partnership between Pastor Ray Barnard, the church's founder and senior pastor, and Rabbi Aaron Krupnick, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth El.

Barnard told the crowd their bond started when Beth El hosted a Juneteenth event that drew him and his wife, Pastor Tracey Barnard, to the synagogue. A 2025 interfaith civil rights trip to Selma, Alabama, deepened the relationship.

"That journey really changed my life, to be quite frank," Barnard said. "Since then, the rabbi and I have been on this journey of really trying to do something different … instead of walls and divisions being the things that divide us, we said, 'Hey, why don't we build a bridge here?'"

Krupnick told the crowd that their great-great-grandparents' generation would have called walking into a Christian house of worship and feeling "100% comfortable, safe, and protected" a bridge too far. "And yet here we are," he said.

Asayag then shared his account of fighting in Gaza, where a Hamas attack shattered his leg and forced him to relearn how to walk. He spoke about his close friendship with a Christian IDF soldier he trained alongside and said the support of both Jewish and Christian communities sustained him during combat.

The Flags of Fellowship campaign has grown sharply since its 2024 launch. More than 4,375 churches and organizations participated this year, up from 220 in the first year, according to IFCJ. The campaign expanded to 12 countries beyond the United States and Canada, Israel Hayom reported. Each participating site placed 1,200 Israeli flags to memorialize the 1,200 victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

Impact Live Church's Flags of Fellowship Week events continued through Oct. 7.