About Us

Our Story

Born and raised in Ethiopia, Kokeb and his wife Menalu attended school, met and married in the Northern Part of Ethiopia Gondar, which is the home of THE BETA ISRAEL community.

During the communist uprising in Ethiopia, Kokeb and Menalu fled the country, making a difficult and perilous journey through the desert of Sudan. They encountered many hardships, even fearing for their lives, but God protected and delivered them.

They lived in Sudan for 6 years, during which their first child Ruhama was born in 1990.  Kokeb served as an Elder in a congregation of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees in Khartoum, the Capital of Sudan.  He taught bible school, led prayer groups, and tried to encourage those living in less-than-ideal conditions.

In 1993, doors were opened for them to enter Egypt where conditions improved slightly.  In the capital of Egypt, Cairo, Kokeb served there as leader and elder in the Maranatha Refuge Ethiopian Church.  It was there that their second child, Ebenezer, was born in 1993.

Finally, after seven years without a permanent home, they made aliyah (immigration to Israel) where their youngest child, Tsiona, was born in 1996.

While in Israel, Rabbi Kokeb served as Senior Pastor of six Ethiopian Messianic Jewish Congregations in Israel.  He served there faithfully until the Lord called him to further his education in Canada.  So he moved his family to Canada and was eventually ordained as a pastor at the Open Bible Faith Fellowship of Canada.

In 2001, it was time to move again.  This time it was Philadelphia where he was called by the Messianic Jewish community to plant an Ethiopian Messianic congregation in the Greater Philadelphia area.

He started a new fellowship of believers, Congregation Burning Bush of Greater Philadelphia, where Ethiopian Jews and Christians could worship together.  There he served for almost 10 years and finally ordained two young pastors and passed the congregation on to them. 

Kokeb and his family once again relocated to the state of Colorado where they planted Agape Evangelical Church for both Ethiopians and Americans.  Agape is now located in the municipality of Aurora and is holding services in two languages, Amharic and English. 

Rabbi Kokeb is known by many messianic congregations and synagogues as a motivated speaker and revivalist.

During his ministry, many have been healed from various infirmities and delivered from demonic operations by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

He is frequently invited to congregations throughout the United States and abroad to spread the message of what God is doing among the Ethiopian Jews in Africa, as well as in Israel.  He has a passion for revival, healing and deliverance, and teaching the Jewish roots of the Christian faith.

In 2010, Kokeb wrote a book “Journey Beyond Imagination” which chronicles the journey of the Gedamu family.   He has authored two books on marriage in Amharic (a Semitic language in Ethiopia), and the book “After the Honey Moon” has been translated into English as well.  His other writings include books on the subjects of why we pray for Jerusalem and the names of God.

Rabbi Kokeb and Pastor Menalu travel extensively all over the world to oversee operations on local and international levels.  

They maintain offices in both the US and Ethiopia. They sponsor an annual trip to Ethiopia and encourages everyone to come see, first-hand, the humanitarian work for the Beta Yisraelites who are neglected by the Israeli government because of their faith In Yeshua!

In 2015, the Lord called the Gedamus back to the land of Israel.

In Jerusalem they started Amud HaEsh (Pillar of Fire) Ethiopian Messianic Congregation whose primary mission is to reach out to the second Ethiopian generation.  Many of the young Beta Yisraelites fall by the wayside overcome by hopelessness due to lack of skills and education, compounded by negative self-image.

Kokeb & Menalu are working hard in the Holy Land to equip the Ethiopian Jews, as well as to walk into all that God intends for them.

Your prayers and support make a big difference in the restoration of the Ethiopian Jews.  Shalom and blessings!