A group of Shepherds students and faculty are preparing to embark on the Israel Initiative trip featuring two weeks of intensive study in the Holy Land. Students from Shepherds’ main campus will be joined by a group traveling from the Laramie, Wyoming teaching site for the two-week excursion. Stateside coursework has been completed by each of the travelers in preparation for a challenging and engaging study tour highlighting the history and geography of the land of the Bible—Old Testament to New Testament.
What is the Israel Initiative?
One of Shepherds Theological Seminary’s commitments is to provide a 2-week study trip to all degree-seeking students at minimal cost. The trip is made possible by the generous contributions of our donors, which allow STS to underwrite most of the travel, lodging, and meal expenses for the trip. This summer trip is the first of two trips that STS is organizing in 2022.
Visiting Israel gives our students much-needed context and allows them to explore the stage on which so much of the drama of God’s “mighty acts” unfolded. Experiencing the land first-hand helps prepare Shepherds seminarians to faithfully and accurately handle the Word of God. Dr. Doug Bookman, who is leading the tour, said, “as a seminary committed to training students in the Word of God, we believe it is crucial to not only educate each student about Israel…but to educate them in Israel!”
Appreciating the Opportunity
The modern state of Israel is the most dramatic and important concentration of Jewish people and culture since AD 70, and that nation is much cherished at STS because of our grammatical-historical hermeneutic and exegesis. We live in a remarkable and very narrow window of history during which the land of Israel is actually accessible, and we want to take advantage of that opportunity to train our students.
Be sure to pray for our students and faculty as they travel and learn!
