In the footsteps of Jesus
What is it like to walk in the footsteps of Jesus? Direction features writer Chris Rolfe found out on her first trip to the Holy Land, visiting sites in Galilee that brought Jesus’s ministry to life
As a first-time visitor to Israel, I admit I was nervous about the trip. “Is it safe?” was the first thing anyone asked when I mentioned I was going. Daily news reports and media portrayal of the Israel-Gaza conflict did little to allay my fears.
But the five-day tour I took part in last November turned out to be a faith-enriching experience that nurtured a love for the Holy Land among everyone in our group.
We were a party of Christian media and leaders from various denominations, invited by the Israel Ministry of Tourism in the UK to experience the land where Jesus lived, walked and talked.
Some, like me, were first timers. Others visit the Holy Land regularly to refresh their faith and stand by Israel and its people.
Tourism was decimated in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and our visit was part of a wider bid to rebuild confidence and inspire renewed faith-based tourism among Christian travellers. Our tour took us to Galilee and Jerusalem – not only through the physical landscape but the spiritual one too. It was led by believing guides who shared facts and scriptural reflections and made space for devotional times at the various locations.
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