Please join us in welcoming our newest Elders, Michail and Melanie Bantseev! They are leaders of a home fellowship near Moose Creek, Ontario, Canada – a small rural community about an hour from Ottawa, Canada. They live on a homestead and have five children: Hanna, age 10; Efraim, age 8; Shmuel, age 5; Rinnah, age 2; and Yaakov, age 5 months.
Michail is originally from London, Ontario, Canada and Melanie is from Milwaukee, WI. They met in 2010 through his brother, who was a missionary in Russia for over 25 years and is now living and serving in Israel with his family. Michail and Melanie were married in 2011. Both came from a Pentecostal background and about 13 years ago began exploring the Hebrew roots of their faith. For six years, Michail was a teaching elder at the Ottawa Messianic Fellowship, which meant driving an hour each way on Shabbat. They felt led to begin a home fellowship in their home in July 2023 and have grown to four families sharing together on Shabbat.
Michail became paralyzed below his shoulders in a major car crash in 1998 and has been a C5 Quadriplegic since then. He was studying to be a Civil Engineering Technologist at the time, but Abba had other plans for his life. He completed his engineering studies in 2008 after his car accident, and graduated from Bible College in 2010, the year he met Melanie.
They have also helped to facilitate the Indigenous Peoples & Israel Gathering that meets every 2 weeks via zoom for a prayer call to bring the Indigenous tribes of Turtle Island [North America] into a closer relationship with Israel.
Their nomination came from Georgina Saunders, a long-time supporter of B’ney Yosef North America. She also introduced them to “Ambassadors of Yeshua” where they spoke in early February.
We are thrilled to welcome Michail and Melanie to the leadership team at B’ney Yosef North America representing the many scattered Israelites and “fellow travelers” in Canada!
