About Rabbi Gedamu
Rabbi Kokeb is known by many messianic congregations and synagogues as a motivated speaker and revivalist.Speaker and Revivalist
Rabbi Kokeb Gedamu
Being 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 YESRAEL 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 refugee’s 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 last 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. In 2000, 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. He served for almost 10 years and finally ordained two young pastors and passed the congregation on to them. Kokeb then moved to Denver, Colorado with his family to plant another congregation for Ethiopians. Kokeb Gedamu is an ordained Rabbi of the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS) where he served as Regional Director for Africa.
Kokeb has also served as the director on the board of operations for Tikvah/Hope, a humanitarian aid project of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA). Rabbi Kokeb is known by many messianic congregation and synagogues as a motivated speaker and revivalist. During his ministry, many have been healed from different sickness and delivered from demonic operations by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Kokeb 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.
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 and Pastor Menalu travel extensively all over the world to oversee operations on local and international levels. He maintains offices in both the US and Ethiopia. Kokeb sponsors an annual trip to Ethiopia and encourages everyone to come see first-hand the humanitarian work for the Beta Yesrealites whom 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. They now live in Jerusalem and have 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 Yesraelites 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 Jewish. Shalom and visit us in Yerushalim!
Kokeb Gedamu is an ordained Rabbi of the IAMCS (International Alliance of Messianic Congregations And Synagogues). Congregation Burning Bush is also a member congregation of the IAMCS. He serves the IAMCS as their Regional Director for Africa. He also is the Director of the Board of Operation Tikvah (a humanitarian aid project) of the MJAA (Messianic Jewish Alliance of America). He also speaks in different congregations and churches in the United States to spread the message of what Yeshua is doing among the Ethiopian Jewish people in Ethiopia and Israel. He has a passion for revival, healing and deliverance, marriage, and teaching on the Jewish roots of faith in Yeshua / Jesus.