Help support our friends in Israel in their time of need.
Israel Study Tour with The Well Community Church
February 14-25, 2016
Subscription options are no longer available for this tour.
Refreshed and rejuvenated
This trip has been absolutely incredible so far. After enjoying Residency so much, especially Old Testament, seeing the places we talked about makes everything different. Today, we hiked Mt. Arbel as well as checked out Chorazin, Capernaum, Mt. of Beatitudes, and Taghbar. But hiking Arbel was definitely my favorite. Every hike has been a highlight for me, not only do to the fun I have during the hike but the reward of finishing the hike and seeing the point of the site makes everything worth it. Arbel is the tallest mountain around the Galilee, about 900 feet in elevation, and for that reason remains the only standing piece of land and rock that would logically be the mountain when Jesus talked about escaping to the mountainside. We took time to pray up there, to have a moment of silence to ask God what he wanted to show us in our lives that needs working on.
Mount Arbel
Mount Arbel (Hebrew: הר ארבל, Har Arbel) is a mountain in The Lower Galilee near Tiberias in Israel, with high cliffs, views of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, trails to a cave-fortress, and ruins of an ancient synagogue. Mt. Arbel sits across from Mount Nitai; their cliffs were created as a result of the Jordan Rift Valley and the geological faults that produced the valleys.
Taking time to do that was refreshing, and made me immediately refer back to the small waterfall at Ein Gedi, which has thus far been my favorite part of the trip. Is my life refreshing like those living waters? When I am with someone, do they feel energized and refreshed by my interaction with them like Jesus would have been refreshed and rejuvenated by his time away? Questions like these have helped me grow and process, and so I latch onto things like that when we are studying those.
But the other sights were awesome too. Seeing an “insola” at Chorazin made biblical community come alive. Personally reading John 6:32-40 in the exact synagogue where Jesus taught in Capernaum made me feel humbled and amazed at the reality that our Savior walked the roads that we are walking, was seeing the same Sea that we are living on the shore of. I can see what he saw, taste what he tasted, and understand what he meant That is what is helping me understand and learn more about who he is and how perfect of an example he was for us to attempt to imitate.
I love this trip, but I am missing a few people. Praying for continued zeal for the trip, desire to see Christ in everything, patience, and wisdom in making decisions and commitments that I will carry back home to make parts of my daily life.
—Sean Borgstadt
Chorazin
The synagogue at Chorazin is a typical “Galilean” style synagogue. These synagogues are characterized by 1) a basilical shape with three hallways separated by two rows of pillars; 2) three doorways and the central one is the largest; 3) benches around the interior walls; 4) a stylobate to support the weight of the arches.
Capernaum
Jesus made Capernaum his home during the years of his ministry: “Leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum” (Matt 4:13).
Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen living in the village. Matthew the tax collector also dwelt here.
Capernaum is one of the three cities cursed by Jesus for its lack of faith.
Upcoming Signature Tours
With 30 years of experience creating trips for other ministries, we've prepared our own signature study tours featuring some of our favorite itineraries and compelling teachers! If you've never been on a GTI Study Tour, take a moment to learn more about what you can expect.