Days
10
$4,848
Starting at
per person
Journey Through Israel
with Radiant Church | January 4-13, 2027
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Walk in the footsteps of Jesus across Galilee, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem.
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Explore some of Israel’s most significant biblical and archaeological sites.
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Ascend Masada, float in the Dead Sea, and traverse the Judean Desert.
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Experience Scripture through immersive teaching and historic landscapes.
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Enjoy exclusive experiences, fine cuisine, and beautiful accommodations.
Join Radiant Church for an experience unlike any other as we take you behind the scenes to explore the lands of the Bible in a way that will change your life forever. Walk in the footsteps of Jesus as you explore the places where He and the disciples walked, and experience sites familiar to you from scripture, like Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, and more.
The heart of this journey is to empower you to become the disciple God is calling you to be. By better understanding the world of the Bible, you will better understand the words of the Bible, transforming your ability to study it, do what it teaches, and share it with others.
Our expeditions, led by an experienced team of expertly trained guides, offer the finest travel experiences, providing you the peace of mind that everything down to the smallest detail has been taken care of so you can immerse yourself in the journey, encounter God, and be empowered to better understand the words of the Bible by exploring its world.
Brian & Kristi Pingel accepted the senior pastor position at Radiant Church in 2016 and have served in various pastoral roles for more than 25 years. Brian also served as a college professor at North Central University, where he helped develop young pastors and led programs in Urban and Youth Development. Married since 1991, they have three sons and one grandson.
Trip Itinerary
Day 1: January 4th, 2027
Depart USA. Get ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime!
Day 2: January 5th, 2027
Upon arrival to Ben Gurion Airport with a flight that lands no later than 4:00 PM, our representative will meet you in the arrival hall to assist you with your luggage. You will meet your guide and bus and travel to your hotel along the Mediterranean coast. Dinner and overnight at hotel.
Day 3: January 6th, 2027
Our morning begins at the port city of Caesarea built by Herod the Great (Matt. 2). This was the second largest harbor in the Roman Empire during the first century. At Caesarea, Peter visited the gentile centurion Cornelius (Acts 10), and he and his household became the first gentile followers of Jesus. The Apostle Paul remained under house arrest in Caesarea for two and a half years. Here he stood before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa II (Acts 23-25). From the harbor of Caesarea, Paul sailed to Rome leaving Israel for the last time. While at the site, we will visit the ancient theater with its magnificent view overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We will see Herod the Great’s palace that served as the residence of the Roman officials in the land, like Pontius Pilate. We will remember Pilate’s governorship of Judaea by looking at a replica of a stone inscription mentioning Pilate dedicating a temple to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Our visit takes us through the ancient stadium and harbor and ends looking at the ancient aqueduct of Caesarea that supplied the city with its water. After departing Caesarea, we travel to the boyhood home of Jesus, Nazareth. We visit the Church of the Annunciation, built over the traditional place where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-37). The church is built on top of the ancient village of Nazareth, and we will visit a small museum that shows some of the finds and homes from the village. We then overlook of the Jezreel Valley from Mount Precipice. From this vantage point, we will see the settings for several biblical stories. Dinner and overnight at our hotel on the Sea of Galilee.
Day 4: January 7th, 2027
Today we travel into the Golan Heights and the upper Jordan Valley. Our day begins at the nature reserve of Dan. The ancient city of Dan, which formed the northern boundary of biblical Israel, sits on the Dan Spring, one of the three tributaries of the Jordan River. In addition to walking through the beautiful nature reserve, we will visit the ancient site of Dan seeing its high place (1 Kings 12:29), Israelite gate, and the Middle Bronze Age gate from the time of Abraham (Gen. 14:14). Next, we travel to Banias, ancient Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:13; Mark 8:27). Near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” From Banias, we drive up into the foothills of Mount Hermon (Ps. 133) and into the Golan Heights. At a high overlook on the Israel-Syrian border, we look into Syria towards Damascus. Our day concludes with a visit to a reconstructed ancient Jewish village, Katzrin. Here you will be able to visualize village life in the time of the New Testament. Dinner and overnight on the Sea of Galilee.
Day 5: January 8th, 2027
Our journey today focuses upon the ministry of Jesus around the Sea of Galilee. Our morning begins at Yardenit, which provides an opportunity for people to be baptized in the Jordan River. Next, we travel to Almagor, which overlooks the Beitsaida Valley where the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee, and where Jesus fed the 5,000 (Luke 9:10-17). We then journey to Chorazin one of the three cities cursed by Jesus (Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13). At this site, we see the ancient homes and Jewish ritual immersion pools, as well as the magnificent basalt synagogue from the fifth century AD. Inside the synagogue is a replica of a Seat of Moses (Matt. 23:2). We travel next to the ancient town of Capernaum where Jesus made his home around the lake (Matt. 4:13). Here he healed the centurion’s servant (Matt. 8:5). In our visit, we will see the modern church built over an ancient church, which was built over a first century home, identified as the home of Peter. The magnificent limestone synagogue of the fourth century AD has been party reconstructed and looms over the site. From Capernaum, we travel to one of the most exciting and important ongoing archaeological excavations in Israel, Magdala. Here we will visit one of the few, excavated, first century synagogues in the land of Israel. Its date coincides with the time of Jesus ministry in the area. We will also see wealthy homes from the village, as well as the first century harbor. From Magdala, we visit the small museum at Kibbutz Ginnosar that houses an ancient boat discovered in the 1980s in the Sea of Galilee. This boat dates to the first century and was a boat used by fisherman on the lake. Our day concludes with an evening boat-ride on the Sea of Galilee. The ancient fishermen fished the lake at night. Riding on the waters of the lake in the evening offers a unique opportunity to connect with Jesus and his disciples on the lake. Dinner and overnight at the hotel on the Sea of Galilee.
Day 6: January 9th, 2027
Today we drive from the Sea of Galilee, the lowest fresh-water lake in the world, through the Jordan River Valley, to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. Our first stop is the desert palace-fortress built by Herod the Great, Masada. During the First Jewish Revolt (AD 66-73), Jewish rebels lived on Masada until they were surrounded by the Tenth Roman Legion. According to the first century Jewish historian Josephus, the rebels chose to commit suicide instead of slavery and death at the hands of the Romans. While visiting the site, we will see the palaces of Herod the Great, his bath houses and store-rooms. We will also see buildings converted by the Jewish rebels for their use, like the synagogue. Evidence of the Roman siege can be seen in the siege ramp and Roman camps that surround Masada. We travel next to the site of Qumran. In caves around the site, the world-famous Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Qumran was the settlement of the community that produced many of the Dead Sea Scrolls. After visiting Qumran, participants have the unique experience of floating in the Dead Sea. Our day ends with an overlook of the Wadi Qilt, the ancient road between Jerusalem and Jericho. This was the setting for Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). On Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem, he used this road as he came from Jericho to Jerusalem (Luke 19:1-11). Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Jerusalem.
Day 7: January 10th, 2027
Our morning in Jerusalem begins with a visit to the Israel Museum. Here we will see a scale-model of Jerusalem on the eve of its destruction in AD 70. We will visit the Shrine of the Book, which houses some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including some of the oldest copies of the Old Testament. Our tour of the museum concludes with a walk through the archeological wing to visit the two galleries dedicated to Israel in the Old and New Testament periods. We will see original artifacts found in sites we visited, as well as other artifacts that make the Bible come alive. Today for lunch we journey to the Mahaneh Yehudah market of Jerusalem where we will have opportunity to sample many cuisines. After lunch, Next, we travel to the City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem, the city David conquered and made his capital. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 8: January 11th, 2027
Today our morning begins at Nebi Samwil. Incorrectly identified as the tomb of the prophet Samuel, from this his hill we will see the northern neighborhoods of Jerusalem. We will also look over the tribal territory of Benjamin, where two-thirds of the Old Testament took place. Our vantage point offers us a view of the modern Arab village of el-Jib, biblical Gibeon (Josh. 10). While defending Gibeon against five Amorite kings, Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still. We then journey through the Shephelah (Deut. 1:7), an area of rolling hills between Israel’s hill country and the Mediterranean coast. We enter the Elah Valley, the site of the famous confrontation between David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17). Here we will open the biblical story and see the landscape recorded in the Bible come alive before our eyes. Our next stop is the hometown of David, Bethlehem. In Bethlehem, we remember the birth of Jesus and visit the Church of Nativity, the oldest church in the Holy Land, built over the traditional site of Jesus’ birth. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Jerusalem.
Day 9: January 12th, 2027
Our morning begins with a beautiful view of the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. We walk down the mountain following the modern path used by pilgrims on Palm Sunday visiting the church of Dominus Flevit, which remembers Jesus’ weeping over the city as he rode into it, and the traditional location of the Garden of Gethsemane. We cross the Kidron Valley into the Old City and visit St. Anne’s Church built over top of the Pools of Bethesda (John 5) where Jesus healed the lame man. We will take the opportunity to sing in the beautiful Crusader church on the site. Our journey continues at Jaffa Gate where in the first century Herod’s palace stood. Here the story of Jesus begins (Matt. 2) with the visit of the wisemen to Herod, and here his story ended because at Herod’s palace Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate (Mark 15:16). From Jaffa Gate, we walk into the Jewish Quarter and visit the Herodian Quarter, a series of priestly homes from the first century. We then walk along the Byzantine Cardo and see the walls of Jerusalem from the eighth century BC and the first century BC. Passing the Gennath Gate, we follow the historic route Jesus traveled from Pilate to his place of execution at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Our day ends along the southern wall of the Temple Mount. On the first century street, we see the shops and markets around the Temple, a possible location for the money changers (Luke 19:45-48). We then proceed to the southern entrances of the Temple where we walk the steps ancient pilgrims took to ascend to the Temple. Our program ends stopping at the Western Wall, the most sacred site for Jews. After a farewell dinner at Satya, we depart Jerusalem for Ben Gurion Airport around midnight where you will return to your home country refreshed, challenged, and renewed in your faith.
Day 10: January 13th, 2027
Return to USA.
Accommodations
Located high on the bluffs of Netanya’s southern shoreline, overlooking the sparkling Mediterranean Sea, Vert Lagoon Netanya is the ultimate blend of elegance, luxury and lifestyle. Vert Lagoon’s beautifully appointed guest rooms feature private sea view balconies, luxurious guest bathrooms, blackout curtains, free WiFi access, flatscreen TVs and other thoughtful touches designed to make you more comfortable during your stay. Onsite amenities include a beautiful infinity pool, an elaborate spa complex with a sauna, steam room and genuine Turkish bath, a state of the art fitness center, amazing restaurants, and so much more.
At the foot of the Golan with a wonderful view of the Sea of Galilee, the Ramot Resort Hotel offers a variety of luxurious and well-equipped guest rooms, surrounded by extensive meadows and breathtaking views. Some of the amenities offered include a heated outdoor swimming pool, spa, a variety of restaurants, activities and hiking trails, a synagogue, a fitness center, and free WiFi.
Located in the heart of Jerusalem and within walking distance of the Old City, the Dan Panorama offers spacious and elegant guest rooms featuring all the comforts of home. At the Dan Panorama Jerusalem you will enjoy a beautiful rooftop pool and sun terrace, state of the art fitness center, business center with free Wi-Fi, and restaurant onsite.
Pricing & Registration
Pricing is based on group size and room selection. All prices are per person based on double shared room occupancy or single private room occupancy, unless otherwise noted, and do not include airfare. All prices are quoted in U.S. dollars. Note: should the group drop below the minimum required number of participants, prices may be subject to change.
Occupancy | Price Per Person |
|---|---|
Double Shared Room | $4,848 |
Single Private Room | $6,028 |
Flight Recommendations
Check back soon for recommended flight options to/from Tel Aviv.
What's Included:
✓ 8 nights in 5-star accommodations
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1 night at Vert Lagoon Hotel (5-Star)
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3 nights at Ramot Resort Hotel (5-Star)
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3 nights at Dan Panorama Hotel (5-Star)
✓ Daily Israeli-style breakfast & dinner
✓ Group farewell dinnner at Satya Restaurant (Jan 12th)
✓ Deluxe air-conditioned bus with WiFi & driver
✓ Local English-speaking guide
✓ Biblical Expeditions Instructor Tracy Paino
✓ All site entrances and activities per itinerary
✓ BE private trip concierge
✓ All tips and gratuities (hotel, guides, driver, etc)
✓ Unlimited water bottles daily on the bus
✓ Individual headsets throughout the journey
✓ (1) Group SMILE service upon arrival to and departure from Ben Gurion Airport
✓ Late checkout at midnight on January 12th
✓ Biblical Expeditions trip participant box
✓ 12-month BibleX Ask Ezra app subscription
What's Not Included:
✘ International airfare to/from Tel Aviv
✘ Travel or overseas medical insurance
✘ Lunches or snacks not previously mentioned
✘ Personal expenses (souvenirs, snacks, laundry, etc.)
✘ Optional activities outside the scheduled itinerary
✘ Anything not explicitly listed in "What's Included"
Important Note:
As of January 1, 2025, all U.S. citizens are required to apply for an ETA-IL (Electronic Travel Authorization for Israel) to enter Israel. Please note that this application must be approved prior to your flight to Israel.
You can complete your application at the official government website by clicking HERE.
We recommend submitting your application at least 30 days before departure to allow time for processing.
Trip Instructor
Tracy Paino has Fifteen years in pastoral ministry, over twenty years in higher education, a two year stint as a national ministry representative for a missions organization that helps meet the physical and spiritual needs of children in poverty-stricken areas of the world. One of his many passions is to challenge people to go deeper in their faith, to make the Bible come alive, and to serve as a teaching guide for trips to the land of the Bible. He enjoys opening up new paths of insight into the Bible and the Christian faith using the context of biblical history, language, culture, and spirituality. High School students, College students, pastors, church leaders, and people from all walks of life benefit from his unique style of combining these elements with a pastoral approach while using the geographical and archeological realities of the biblical setting. His educational background includes a B.A. from Evangel University (Springfield, MO) in Biblical Studies, a Masters of Divinity from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, a Doctor of Ministry from Bethel University (St. Paul, MN), and post-doctoral work in Biblical Languages, Biblical Geography, and Ancient Judaism.
Travel & Medical Insurance
We want you to feel fully prepared and confident for your journey. To simplify your planning, we now offer Travel and Overseas Medical Insurance through our trusted partner, Faye. This service is offered in-house by our licensed agent to support your peace of mind and protection as you travel.
Get a personalized quote in minutes — no research or emails required.
The Fine Print
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A non-refundable deposit of $500 per person is required at registration.
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Final payment is due 100 days before departure.
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If you cancel more than 100 days before the trip, you will receive a refund of all payments except the $500 deposit.
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If you cancel 50–99 days before departure, 50% of the trip cost is non-refundable.
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If you cancel 49 days or fewer before departure, 100% of the trip cost is non-refundable.
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To protect your trip investment and ensure you are covered for unexpected medical needs or travel interruptions, travel insurance and overseas medical coverage are required for all travelers. We will send you a complimentary quote for convenience, but you are not required to purchase from our recommended provider.
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Please see our full Terms & Conditions for more details.