A Spiritual Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

For many Christians, it is a lifelong dream — a spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Imagine walking where Jesus walked, seeing where He was born and grew up. Picture yourself sailing across the Sea of Galilee or wandering along a street in Capernaum, where Jesus spent much of His ministry. Visualize yourself standing on the Mount of Olives with its panoramic view of Jerusalem or tracing the steps that Jesus trod on His way to Calvary.

A trip to the Holy Land is not just another sightseeing tour. It is a life-changing experience in which the Bible’s words take on new meaning. It is a highlight of a lifetime. That is why for centuries, Christians have made the journey to Israel as an act of faith. That is why it is called a spiritual pilgrimage.

Add to that the opportunity to learn what God is doing in the land of the Bible today. Anticipate what it would be like to sit with Southern Baptist representatives as they share about what God is doing among Jews and Arabs in Israel. See yourself walking through the Baptist Village outside Tel Aviv, where Baptists have worked for more than 50 years, or the gates of Jerusalem House, a Baptist ministry that has served as a historic bridge between Arabs and Jews for decades.

Stand among the Arab children at Nazareth Baptist School as they learn in one of the best schools in Israel. Listen to young people studying for ministry at Bethlehem Bible College. Rejoice with Messianic Jews as they tell about their faith in Jesus as the Christ.

Add all this together and it makes for a trip of a lifetime, an unsurpassed missions experience, a life-changing spiritual event, a dream come true. And it is available to you as a reader of The Alabama Baptist.

March 16–25, 2012, I will have the privilege of leading another Holy Land Spiritual Pilgrimage Tour. The itinerary has been worked out in cooperation with Baptist representatives in Israel to provide the best possible experience. In Jerusalem, for example, participants will explore the old City of David, which lies outside today’s walls of Jerusalem. They will stand on steps where Jesus stood as they climb the Southern Steps of Temple Mount. They will visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and worship together near the Garden Tomb.

Also on the agenda are the recently discovered Herodium, the palace and tomb of Herod the Great, and one of the oldest inhabited sites yet discovered — the ruins of ancient Jericho.

As tour leader, it will be my privilege to work with our Christian guide to teach biblical information about each site and its importance in the life and ministry of our Lord and the New Testament church.

Since my first trip to Israel in 1973 and in all my trips there since, both as tour leader and a guest of the Israeli government, I have never met a Christian who did not have his or her faith strengthened and renewed by visiting the holy sites related to Jesus’ ministry in that land. That is why I am not at all hesitant to describe the tour as a life-changing event.

The other part of the pilgrimage will be learning what God is doing in Israel today. To simply look backward is to miss the opportunity to connect what God did through Jesus 2,000 years ago to what He is doing today in the same small land.

Today Baptist representatives work with both Jews and Arabs. The Messianic movement is growing. Work among Arab believers is headed primarily through the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel, an organization that recently celebrated 100 years of Baptist witness in that land. Pilgrimage participants will learn how God is working through both groups.

Another important part of the trip will be learning from and encouraging believers in the West Bank. Sometimes it is forgotten that Bethlehem is considered a historically Christian city.

Today one finds thriving evangelical churches there and a training center for believers working across the Arab world. But times are hard.

Baptist representatives will guide us as we learn about the mighty acts of God among these people and how Christians in the West can better pray for them.

The March dates should provide mild weather, and because it will be near the end of the rainy season, pilgrimage participants may get to see Israel’s unique beauty when the desert is in bloom.

Also the dates coincide with spring break for many of Alabama’s school systems. That means teachers and other school personnel can take advantage of this opportunity.

I hope you can be a part of this tour. You will travel with fellow Baptists, so the group should be compatible and fun to travel with. That has certainly been the experience of similar tours in the past.

The cost is competitive and because of the unique itinerary involving Baptist representatives in Israel, it is unlike any other tour available.

For more information, write to Holy Land Tour, 3310 Independence Drive, Birmingham, AL 35209; e-mail HolyLand@TheAlabamaBaptist.org; or call 1-800-803-5201, Ext. 103.