The ICEJ Feast is an example of a broader shift within Christian Zionism toward Pentecostal or charismatic traditions: Many attendees come out of traditions that emphasize present-day miracles, ecstatic worship, and God’s healing powers. The ICEJ also has an international rather than American focus: Parsons, an amiable North Carolinian who has lived in Israel for decades and casually uses Yiddish phrases like “oy oy oy,” proudly noted that Americans made up less than 10 percent of the Feast’s attendees this year.

Israel often stands alone on the international stage, save for the one ally that almost always comes to its rescue: the United States. Conservative Christians in America have long reinforced that partnership. In the future, though, Christians outside the U.S. may prove more organized and influential when it comes to Israel than their American counterparts.

White, American evangelicals have long been some of the most visible leaders in the Christian Zionist movement. In the 1980s, Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority made Israel a Republican policy priority. Decades later, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the Christian Zionist organization led by the Texas pastor John Hagee, is enjoying remarkable access to the Trump administration; Vice President Mike Pence addressed the group in Washington in July. At this year’s ICEJ Feast, a number of attendees expressed admiration for President Trump, who is more supportive of Israel than past administrations, they said. Charles Null, a 66-year-old pastor from Florida, noted that “I actually had hair” when he and his wife started coming to Israel. He wore a Make America Great Again cap.

Yet, there are signs that the ICEJ, founded in 1980, will have a more lasting influence on Israel than its American counterparts, Hummel said. This year’s Feast drew attendees from nearly 100 countries, according to the group, which is “by far the largest reach that any of the big Christian Zionist organizations have,” Hummel said. Other than CUFI, he added, no other group has as much visibility and contact with the Israeli government. And some Christian Zionists in America worry that they haven’t effectively reached young evangelicals with their message. “I don’t think it would be surprising if after Hagee dies, CUFI goes away,” Hummel said.

By contrast, local volunteers in roughly 86 countries coordinate activities and recruit delegations to attend the ICEJ Feast; the organization can legitimately claim that it represents a global, grassroots network. “The Embassy sees the future in the non-American Christian community,” said Hummel. “It’s another reason why the Embassy is a much more appealing partner than Americans.”

ICEJ has expanded in tandem with the rise of global Pentecostal movements. Parsons said the Embassy’s presence has been growing in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, where Pentecostal revivals among the middle class are reshaping the religious landscape. In Brazil, for example, the Catholic Church is quickly losing followers to these lively churches. Dozens of people in this year’s Brazilian delegation traveled 22 hours to get to the Feast, said 33-year-old Alexandre Morales, who was there for the fifth time. “Our baby boy was conceived here, and his name is Israel,” he told me.