Dr. Mark Strauss

Professor of New Testament, Bethel Seminary

Greetings Potential Travelers!
I’d like to invite you to join me on a special eleven day “Footsteps of the Apostles” tour—discounted for pastors. A remarkable percentage of the New Testament has its context in the Roman province of Asia, modern day western Turkey. The apostles Paul, John, and Peter all spent significant time ministering in this area. Join us as we visit many exciting biblical sites, including the magnificent ruins of Ephesus, Paul’s home base for three years as he planted churches throughout Asia Minor (Acts 19:01), and where John ministered in his later years. We’ll see all seven churches of the Revelation, including Laodicea, site of the “lukewarm” church. We’ll spend time at Miletus, where Paul gave his stirring message on leadership to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20), and Colossae, where the letter to the Colossians was sent. We’ll visit Perga in Pamphylia, Paul’s launching point for his first missionary advance into Galatia. You’ll never read the New Testament the same after having “feet on the ground” at the sites of the first great missionary expansion of the gospel.

Mark L. Strauss (Ph.D., Aberdeen) is University Professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary San Diego, where he has served since 1993. He is the author/coauthor of 15 books and many articles, and editor/co-editor of over 40 volumes. His works include commentaries on Mark’s Gospel in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Series (2014) and Expositors Bible Commentary, vol. 9 (2010); Jesus Behaving Badly (InterVarsity, 2015); How to Read the Bible in Changing Times (Baker, 2011); Four Portraits, One Jesus (Zondervan, 2007) and The Davidic Messiah in Luke-Acts (Sheffield Press, 1996). He serves as Vice Chair of the Committee on Bible Translation for the New International Version and as an associate editor for the NIV Study Bible. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Institute for Biblical Research and the Evangelical Theological Society.

Rich Ferreira

General Manager, GTI Tours

After graduating with his Masters from Talbot Theological Seminary, Rich and his wife Becky began working full-time for Hume Ministries in 2001. Rich’s passions are discipleship and teaching God’s word in a way that brings it alive in today’s world. In his spare time, Rich enjoys leading Biblical Study Tours (50 trips and counting), motorcycle riding, snowboarding, and spending time with his wife, daughters Ellie and Carmel, and his two sons Jaron and Ronen. In 2016 Rich and his family moved from California to Michigan to join the GTI Tours staff full-time, where he serves as General Manager.