Nazareth Evangelical College is pleased to offer an integrated course including lectures and field trips on various aspects of the Holy Land, both past and present, seen from an Arab evangelical perspective, including opportunities to interact with local Arab Christians.
Why do a tour with us?
(For a longer answer, go here; for a pdf of our flyer, go here).
A Unique Community in a Unique Land
NEC serves in a unique land.
Historically, Israel has seen the rise and fall of world civilizations; culturally, it is home a host of different communities and ways of life; religiously it is central to the major monotheistic faiths; geographically, it offers a variety of landscapes. Politically, too, it is a site of repeated conflict with different parties vying for the right to determine its future.
NEC serves a unique community that is a distinctive and intrinsic part of this picture.
Intrinsic, as we originate in indigenous cultures with roots in the history of the land. Distinctive, as we commit to a global Christian movement that treasures the lordship of Jesus Christ, the binding authority of Scripture, and the centrality of conversion and discipleship.
In order to facilitate your discovery of our community and our context we have put together a flexible and modular
International Study Program.
In short, participants will have the opportunity to
- experience first hand the different facets of our unique country – geographical, Biblical, historical, political, cultural – through a tour with a professionally trained local Arab evangelical guide along with input from our staff;
- meet and learn from NEC’s local and PhD trained faculty, who are qualified to give lectures on a number of topics related to the context and the community of evangelical Palestinian-Israelis;
- interact with local evangelical Palestinian-Israeli churches, pastors, and laity.
Lectures on our community and context
Provided by local scholars with first-hand experience, possible topics include the following examples
- History – of evangelicals in the region; of Arab Christianity; of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
- Cultural context – Judaism; Islam; Christianity; other minorities (Druze; Baha’í; Circassian)
- Theology – A theology of the land; justice, peace, and reconciliation in Israel-Palestine.
See our lectures page for an overview of possibilities, or contact us for suggestions of your own.
Tour of the country
Books and lectures cannot replace first-hand experience. Our lectures can be integrated into visits to a range of sites and communities throughout the country, sites of …
- Biblical interest – explore the key places of Jesus’ ministry (e.g. Bethlehem; Nazareth, Cana; the Galilee region, Jerusalem), as well as other sites from the Bible (e.g. Megiddo, Jericho Mount Carmel, Ein Gedi; Caesarea, Emmaus).
- Historical interest – whether the history of Judaism (e.g. Qumran, Masada, Zippori), Christianity (e.g. crusader citadels and Byzantine monasteries), and Islam (e.g. castles, mosques, and the Dome of the Rock).
- Cultural interest – visit secular market places, sacred shrines; interact with Druze, Circassians, Ahmaddiye Muslims, Samaritans and other communities.
- Geographical interest – experience the full range of landscapes: desert, snow, beach, waterfall, marsh, steppe, mountain, plain, and more …
- Contemporary significance – sites related to the contemporary history of the region (e.g. Holocaust Museum; Palestinian refugee camps and ruined villages; the Knesset and modern Israel).
Interaction with locals
We want you to get to know the living stones of the church and not just the dead stones of the past. Depending on your date of arrival we can facilitate your interaction with the local evangelical community, such as meetings with church members and participation in worship services as well as opportunities to serve in the local community.
Design your course with us
You can choose the kinds of sites to visit, the kinds of lectures to have, and the degree of interaction with local evangelical churches. Contact course director Dr. Philip Sumpter at info@nazcol.org to discuss a possible partnership with your church, university, or Christian institution.
To help you conceive possibilities, we have put together two example itineraries, a 10-day trip and a 15-day trip:
Example Itineraries
- This 10-day trip combines 10.5 hours of lectures with 7 days of travel. The lectures are a selection from our “Faith in Context” course. The focus of the tour is the classical Biblical sites with a taste of the various landscapes of the country. Please open this pdf for more details.
- This 15-day trip combines 18 hours of lectures with 10 days of travel. The lecture series is our “Faith in Context” course. The tour covers sites of interest to both the Bible but also modern history and the various religious communities that live in the country. Please open this pdf for more details.
Feedback from Participants
~ “This trip was a very comprehensive look at the Middle East’s food, cities, rural life, scenery, culture. I would highly recommend it to anyone. It helps me to understand the Middle East better, as we saw both points of view.”
~ “My Bible studies will never be the same and I have gotten to know Palestinians who I will hold dear in my heart.”
~ “My faith was in dormancy and it has come alive again. I have seen living proof of God’s faithfulness in what could be a hopeless situation.”
~ “Awe-inspiring, education, enriching, fulfilling. My eyes and ears have been opened to the devoted Christians here and I have been motivated by the faithfulness of those we met.”
~ “This trip has given me more knowledge of present day life in Israel. I am so hopeful and inspired by seeing the living God in people around me and perhaps be that person for others, be a peacekeeper. My love for Jesus has been renewed on a daily basis.”
~ “This has been a great experience. We learned so much about what the Church is doing here. The church service was so special. I saw so many beautiful things here. I have learned so much about what the church is doing in Israel. It was so good to see and meet such loving and kind people.”
~ “Seeing the living church and experience the sites where Jesus lived and ministered has added color to my faith and deepened it.”
~ “The experience heightened my faith and my knowledge with respect to the plight of the Christians in the Middle East.”
~ “I came here with very American stereotypes about the Middle East, now my eyes have been opened and my views transformed. This has been a life changing experience.”
For more information, please contact us at info@nazcol.org, or call the college on +972 (0) 4646 4898 between 08:00 a.m. and 13:00 p.m.