A Trip to Israel is an investment not just for the Pastor traveling, but the whole congregation.

We at Ruth Israel Initiative have noticed some universal benefits for Christians who visit the Holy Land.

• A whole new appreciation for Scripture. The Word of God comes alive for the rest of your life once you've stood in those places you've read about. We like to say, " The Bible goes from black and white to living technicolor in Israel!"
• Being in Israel provides a cultural context and a geographical understanding that can only be gained through putting your feet on the ground where Jesus walked and taught.
• God's timeline of history comes into order like never before when you're looking at and naming layers of civilization's ruins and showing the layers when Abraham roamed the land or when David ruled as king or Romans conquered the land.
• Those people you learn with and journey on your pilgrimage with become deep friends because of your shared experience.
• The prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jesus that are being fulfilled in our day are not just words on a page to be studied, they are fruits and vegetables on a plate and wine in your glass to be enjoyed.
• The Israelites of the Bible are recognizable as the modern Israelis of today, both in Israel and at the kiosk selling Dead Sea products at your local mall. These are the women and men God calls His "chosen people." 
• The Bible is no longer a book of stories, but becomes the redemption history and testimony of a People's relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who made us all!
• The new understanding of history brings fresh light and revelation to Christians' place in God's redemption story as we are Grafted in.
• and easily the great food, good times, and permanent memories of your first time in the Land of Israel which as part of the grafted-in Commonwealth of Israel is also yours by rights of inheritance of the Covenant with Abraham. (don't worry, we can unpack that statement for you on the ground!)

For pastors who are traveling with the Vineyard Women's group of pastors, there are so many more benefits to be gained on the ground and brought home.

• Because we will be traveling with national-level Vineyard mentors and in mentor-pairs, there is a whole other level of mentoring and being mentored in the same sandals-on-the-ground fashion that Jesus used to teach his disciples.
• This learning and possible paradigm shift could easily be considered a valuable "continuing education" course. And our Messianic Israeli guide is not just tri-lingual, but also Cambridge University trained in her craft.
• Those new solid friendships mentioned above are not just new holy friendships, but peers who are gaining the same new insights, asking questions and once home are lifelong resources to call upon, forged in the sands of Israel. 
• Everybody gets to play. Each woman will chose (before we leave) one of our stops during the journey to share 5-10 minutes with the whole group. Whether offering a spiritual direction group exercise inside the cistern where Jesus was held prisoner at Caiaphas' house or leading communion at the Garden Tomb, these are meaningful moments you'll tell your great grandchildren about. 
• The mentoring that will be going on is much more than you can receive in a speaker-in-front and around-tables experience at even a week long conference. This experience is journeying together 24/7 for 10 or 13 days. That is up to 39 meals, 13 evenings, hundreds of excursions and new experiences to process, to ask questions, to build relationship, and to hang out as Vineyard Women pastors together.
• If you choose to bring a woman you are mentoring as a roommate (& we recommend you to!), she will receive access to build relationships outside of the local Vineyard context with senior-level mentors, an opportunity of a lifetime for her to learn and build capacity to pass on the mentoring experience and wisdom to a next generation of leaders herself. 
• This past year and all its challenges to pivot, pivot, and pivot again has drained most pastors of all their margins, caused adrenal fatigue, and robbed creativity and vision for moving forward. This pilgrimage is something filled with hope to look forward to, to build capacity for, to get back in shape for (there's a lot of walking with hills!). It is something to plan. Jesus cared for Himself by taking some time away to be with the Father. Even though there will be 20 others on this trip, it is a time of rest for your soul to begin breathing again the goodness of God.

A final benefit for pastors is that this trip, though designed exclusively for Vineyard's female pastors, it can also serve as a preliminary peek at the Land in a "look-see" trip as we call it in Vineyard Missions. A time to find inspiration for planning a similar trip for leadership development for your local congregational leaders. (Groups sizes range from 6-25 people).

Costs

The land-portion of this trip will run $3897. Added expenses such as flight, tips, lunches & coffee breaks, the "Residential Experience" and insurance (if you choose to add that) will vary based on your departure city. Usually plan on 1200-1500 for the flight. Tips ($150ish), lunches ($10-$15/day), Residential Experience add-on is $390 for 3 extra days in Jerusalem, and emergency insurance usually runs a couple dollars per day.