top of page
PXL_20241117_065941720_edited_edited.png

 InterVarsity Vision Trip 

Holy Land Trip

for Staff & Spouses

June 2025

 What Is It? 

This Holy Land vision trip for InterVarsity staff and spouses aims to deepen connections to local staff and ministries for future student and faculty opportunities.

​

The June 5-16, 2025 program is limited to 25 participants. InterVarsity is working with the Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East (NEME) and their regional network of local leaders, churches, and organizations to welcome our team.

​

Join us to experience both sides of the wall - Israel and Palestine - and to consider how InterVarsity can be involved in the region.

 Our Priorities 

  • Understand the political situation​​​
​​
  • ​Engage across-cultural engagement and build relationships with local student ministry leaders​. We’ll use NEME’s course to learn and prepare.
​​
  • Share in spiritual formation and contemplation rooted in Mark’s Gospel
​
  • Experience Biblical history and archeology
Graphic layout of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Screenshot of NEME curriculum page
Cover of NEME curriculum manual
Screenshot from NEME curriculum, title slide
Screenshot from NEME curriculum, market in Jerusalem old city
Screenshot of the NEME curriculum, female host with a graphic layout of Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Join the Team, Get Training in Peacemaking Ministry

This team has a unique opportunity to dive deeply into the history, culture, and theology of the Holy Land as part of our trip preparation in March and April. Our guides from the Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East will walk us through their brand new course, Ascent to Jerusalem: Pilgrimage, Politics, and Peacemaking in the Middle East.

​

Ascent to Jerusalem includes 8 video lessons to see on your own or with your small group. Each lesson is 20 to 40 minutes of teaching including original images and film from throughout the Holy Land. Plus, the curriculum now includes an extra lesson about the Gaza war.

PXL_20221024_095604638_edited.jpg

 The Itinerary 

Given the dynamic situation in Israel and Palestine, this tentative itinerary will remain flexible. Even on the ground, we will remain responsive to the situation and open to new opportunities as they arrise.
Day 1


Day 2


Day 3


Day 4


Day 5


Day 6

Arrival in Israel | Get settled and welcome dinner with the team. Have a final briefing and trip overview. Take an evening walk in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem | Meet with local Christian community. Sample Jerusalem area archeological sites. See Shabbat observance at the Western Wall

Jerusalem political realities | Meet Christian leaders in the threatened Armenian quarter. Visit East Jerusalem neighborhoods. Share dinner with a Palestinian family whose home was demolished

Jewish Community | Worship with the Jerusalem church. Meet with Israeli peace activists. Tour Yad Vashem.

Muslim Community | Meet with an imam at Al Aqsa mosque. Visit Palestinian refugees at Aida Camp. Visit the Church of the Nativity and the Old City.

Bethlehem and Hebron | Visit Bethlehem Bible College. Tour Hebron's old city. Stop at Nassar family farm. Join a sunset dinner overlooking the threatened Al Makhrour Valley.

Day 7


Day 8


Day 9


Day 10


Day 11


Day 12

Overlooking Gaza | Meet survivors of October 7 attack. Connect with Rabbis for Human Rights. Visit the site of Nova Music Festival. Pray together overlooking Gaza.

Journey North | Stop in Ramallah to learn about the Palestinian Authority. Pray at Jacob's Well. Visit Nablus' ancient soap factory. Learn about settler attacks around Nablus.

Sea of Galilee | Pray and worship on a morning boat ride. Explore Capernaum, site of Jesus' ministry. Visit Magdala, ancient synagogue Jesus would have visited.

To Nazareth | Sample  the best Kunafa in Nazareth's old city. Meet with Palestinian citizen's of Israel - learn their history and challenges. Visit the Church of the Annunciation. 

Nazareth's Christians | Worship with Nazareth's Christian community. Meet with IFES leaders. Visit Cana.

Mediterranean Coast | Explore Jaffa and Tel Aviv. Debrief and pray around a final meal together.

 Our Guides

PXL_20241113_113018467_edited.jpg
PXL_20241113_092158664_edited.jpg

Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East

The Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East (NEME) is a collective of pastors, students, scholars and everyday Christians working together as followers of Jesus toward justice and peace, seeking holistic approaches to conflict in the Middle East, and encouraging the church toward deeper engagement with Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the region. 

​

NEME's work with American Evangelicals is paralleled by an extensive community of friends in the Middle East on both sides of the wall: Local religious leaders, organizations, guides, families, churches, and ministries.

 FAQs 

How much will this experience cost?

​This trip is $3,300 per person, which covers on-ground transportation, meals, economy lodging (pilgrim houses, convents, etc.), guides, honoraria for speakers, and entrance fees. Participants will also need to cover the cost of flights, personal travel and health insurance, personal expenses, and tips and gratuities. A $500 deposit will be due in early March. Staff may cover the trip's cost from a budget (talk with your director), additional fundraising, or personally.

Who is this trip for?
​This trip is for InterVarsity staff, spouses, and volunteers who are hungry to learn more about Israel and Palestine, build relationships with local campus ministries, and dream about the possibility of bringing students on similar trips in the future. The trip this year is not for students.
Is this the right time to travel to the land?
​Although the decision to go or not go belongs to each person, our partners at NEME have been welcoming groups to the land before and after October 7. Their friends in the land are eager to receive visitors--in fact, it means a lot to them when groups push past feelings of discomfort, make the effort, and show up at times like this.
How are risks being evaluated?
​Although safety conditions do change over time, the situation in the particular regions we plan to visit are generally stable. NEME and its partners continually monitor developments and will make changes to the itinerary when safety becomes an issue. The trip will be comprehensively reevaluated in late February before flights are purchased and conditions will continuously be monitored throughout the trip. This trip has the approval of InterVarsity's Overseas Crisis Management Team (OCMT). 
How will the team prepare for this experience?
As a group new to each other and/or the Middle East, we want to make the most of the experience by spending time together online from March through May ahead of the trip and diving into a course of pre-trip learning. Early weeks we’ll get to know each other, connect with our NEME trip guides (Ben Norquist and Mercy Aiken), and dive into a course of pre-trip learning. As May commitments allow, we will continue to pray together for mercy in the Holy Land. By investing this time together, we will be better prepared to make the most of our precious time in the land.
bottom of page