For Pastors
See the Bible in a New Way
The Bible is filled with real places—mountains, valleys, roads, villages, cities, and landscapes that shaped the stories we teach every week.
There is something powerful about standing in those places.
Walking the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Looking across the Jezreel Valley from Mount Carmel. Standing among the ruins of Capernaum. Seeing the remains of ancient Shiloh. Tracing Hezekiah’s Tunnel through the City of David.
Biblical geography helps us see how the places, terrain, and historical setting of Scripture shape the stories we teach.
The Land doesn’t replace Scripture. It helps us see Scripture more clearly.
For pastors and Bible teachers, experiencing the land firsthand can add depth and richness to teaching that is difficult to gain from books, photographs, and maps alone.
That’s why we created God’s Story Through the Land.
A Biblical Study Tour, Not Just a Tour
Our goal is not simply to take people to Israel and show them interesting places.
We want to help people understand the biblical story through the land in which it happened.
Our biblical study tours combine:
Biblical Geography
Understanding how God used mountains, valleys, roads, water sources, and natural boundaries to frame the biblical story.
Biblical History
Connecting the events of Scripture with the people, kingdoms, empires, and historical circumstances surrounding them.
Archaeology
Exploring what has been uncovered beneath the ground - and considering how archaeology helps us understand the world of the Bible.
Scripture
Reading the biblical texts in the places where its stories unfolded.
The result is a journey that is part classroom, part field study, and part pilgrimage.
Why This Matters for Pastors
As pastors, we spend our lives helping people understand Scripture. We study the text. We read commentaries. We look at maps. We teach the stories.
But there is a difference between knowing where something happened and standing there.
When you’ve stood overlooking the Jezreel Valley, walked through the ruins of a first-century synagogue, or looked over Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, the geography of Scripture becomes more than a picture in a study Bible.
These experiences don’t change what Scripture says. They can change how vividly we see what Scripture says.
And that can become a gift we bring home to our churches.
For pastors and Bible teachers, that deeper understanding can become a valuable resource for preaching, teaching, and helping others see the biblical world more clearly.
Come Experience the Land
If you’ve ever thought about experiencing Israel but haven’t known how to make that happen, I would love for you to consider joining one of our Holy Land study tours.
These trips are designed for people who want more than a sightseeing vacation. We take time to learn, ask questions, read Scripture, look at maps, examine archaeological sites, and consider how the Land illuminates the biblical story.
You don’t need to be a biblical geography expert.
You don’t need to know archaeology.
You simply need a desire to see the Land and understand the Bible in its setting.
Helping Pastors Go
We know that an Israel study tour is a significant financial commitment.
For some pastors and Bible teachers, the desire to go is there, but the resources aren’t.
That’s why part of the vision of God’s Story Through the Land is to provide scholarship assistance for pastors and Bible teachers who would benefit from experiencing the Land but would have difficulty covering the cost themselves.
There are two ways we can help make that possible.
Bring a Group
When ten people from your church or group participate in one of our study tours, we will provide a complimentary place for an eleventh person. That person could be a pastor, Christian educator, ministry leader, or someone else who might not otherwise be able to go.
Provide a Scholarship
If God has given you the desire to help pastors experience Israel by contributing to a scholarship, you can be part of that ministry.
Your gift can help put a pastor on the ground in Israel - walking the roads, studying the places, opening the Scriptures, and eventually bringing that experience back to a congregation.