“Is it safe to visit the Holy Land?”
It is the question we are asked more than any other — and it deserves a straight answer rather than a sales pitch.
Our travel partner ETS — The Leader in Faith-Based Travel has released an update drawn directly from their partners and guides on the ground. Their read: conditions continue to improve, and major airlines have resumed or restarted service to Israel. In a short video, ETS President & CEO James Ridgway, Salma Musleh, and several of their veteran Holy Land guides share what they are seeing firsthand, what guests can expect, and why they remain hopeful about welcoming pilgrims back.
We pass it along because you deserve to weigh this decision with real information in hand rather than speculation. ETS continues to monitor conditions closely, with traveler safety as the deciding factor, and we will keep forwarding what we learn.
Watch the Update“Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way?”
Luke 24:32
The two on the Emmaus road did not recognize Him by the scenery. They had walked that stretch of ground their whole lives. What opened their eyes was Christ Himself, opening the Scriptures to them as they went.
That is worth remembering in a season when we talk a great deal about places. A hillside in Galilee holds no grace the Lord has not already made available in your sanctuary on a Sunday morning. Scripture is no more true there than it is here. But the Lord has a long habit of meeting His people on roads, and there is something about standing where the words were first spoken that makes them very hard to set back down. The transformation is never in the miles. It is His to give, wherever He chooses.
Holy Land Classic · 2027
If your congregation has been praying about the Holy Land, 2027 is the window worth looking at. A church pilgrimage takes twelve to eighteen months to build well — casting the vision, teaching toward it, letting families plan and save — which puts the groups forming now on the ground in 2027.
The Classic is our most-traveled itinerary for first-time groups: Galilee, Nazareth, the Jordan River, Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, the Garden Tomb. It is built to be taught, not merely toured — your group leader preaches the ground while we carry everything else.
See Itineraries & DatesNavigating the Early Church Cruise
With guest speaker Dr. Brent Strawn · June 13, 2027 · Mediterranean · from $5,998
Teaching at sea, with the harbors Paul wrote to as your shore days.
Holy Land & Jordan
2027 departures · Israel and Jordan · from $4,398
Adds Petra, Mount Nebo, and the wilderness years to the Classic route.
Women of the Bible Tour
September 6, 2027 · Holy Land · from $4,398
Built for a women's ministry ready to travel together.
Your church should not have to become a travel agency.
Partnering with us costs your church nothing. We carry the planning, the vendor coordination, the registrations, the payment tracking, and the questions from families — so your group leader can stay where he belongs: teaching and shepherding your people, before, during, and after the journey.
When your group reaches a qualifying size, your group leader travels free, and a portion of the proceeds returns to your church. We will walk you through the particulars in person.
Book a Free Pastoral Consultation- Nearer-term departures for 2026 are still open, including Christmas in the Holy Land on December 2. Reach out if a family in your congregation is asking about traveling this year.
Grateful to serve alongside you,
Brad Kirkham
Co-Founder, Eternal Pilgrimages Alliance
Cruise Planners — Faith-Based Travel