Israel Friendship Retreat with Pastor Joel Hess and Grace Community Church

February 6 - February 18, 2027, 10 nights and 11 days in the Promised Land

with Joel Hess

⬇️ Scroll to the bottom for the full itinerary!

Israel is a bucket list trip. What believer wouldn’t want to walk where Jesus walked?

A trip to Israel is like a year in Bible college. Visiting Israel like stepping into the pages of your Bible.

But there’s even a better reason to travel to Israel.

Millions of Christians have visited the Holy Land, yet many Israelis have not met a follower of Jesus, like you.

Why? Because most are trapped in a tour bus and holed up in a hotel, out of reach  of everyday people.

You are invited to an Israel Friendship Retreat. 

It’s a retreat because this is designed to encounter God in Israel. 

It’s friendship because the best travel is seeing places and people too.

Each day you will have quality time to hike, learn, and pray at places where Bible heroes walked.

Plus every day you will be invited to help Isareli organizations making a difference in the lives of people.

You will even worship with Jews and Arabs who are followers of Jesus!

You could be the first evangelical Christian a Jewish person has met.

Our tour company, Philip's House, will introduce us to Israeli believers, Jews, and Arabs. Our licensed tour guide will give us time for personal reflection at Bible sites. 

Israel's leading tour company, Sar-El Tours, partners with Philip’s House to provide the safest and best in travel, accommodation, professional tour guides, and opportunities to help. Sar-El has kept 1.25 million international travelers safe over 31 years.

Let’s meet Jesus in the Promised Land.

Joel Hess

Philip’s House tours are about ENCOUNTER. Get sand in your shoes that the disciples shook from their sandals.

ACTIVE: Explore the paths Jesus walked. Scan the mountains on the horizon that his eyes saw.

REFLECTIVE: You are encouraged to take a paper Bible along. You will have time to reflect on a passage written about the spot where you stand. 

RELATIONAL: Meet Jews and Israeli-Arabs. Some are secular, some are religious, and a few are believers in Jesus. Israelis you meet will cause Bible personalities of history to spring to life in your imagination.

PHILIP’S HOUSE hosts ACTIVE tours of ISRAEL for INFLUENCERS from all nations to make Israeli FRIENDS and return home to a life of huge INFLUENCE.

This Israel retreat price includes medical travel insurance, land tour, tour guide, breakfast, dinner, tips, and your return flights.

Choose what works for you:

Pay in full today $4,999

OR

Make monthly payments $5,099 ($500 deposit and equal monthly repayments)

A trip to Israel is an investment into your relationship with the Lord that pays dividends for the rest of your life.

Depart from your USA departure airport to connect with an international flight to Israel.  (Airlines, flights, times, hotels, and sites are subject to change without notice.) 

Flights are booked through Philip’s House. Please contact flights@philipshouse.com.

Before you board your flight to Israel, you may be met by an airline official for a security check. You will be asked questions. The goal of this interview is to determine if you are a safe person to fly. Be grateful that these questions keep Israel travel safe.

Note that all international travelers from visa-exempt countries to Israel must have a valid ETA-IL (Electronic Travel Authorization) before departing for Israel. A small fee may apply. Visit the State of Israel visa website here https://israel-entry.piba.gov.il/

Welcome to the Promised Land. You have arrived at Ben Gurion Airport, located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. 

• When you arrive in Israel, you may hear the passengers around you applaud the pilot for bringing them safely to the homeland.

• When you exit the aircraft, you will eventually come to a long series of moving walkways. At the end of those moving walkways, you will see scanning machines on the left and right side of the hallway.

• Step in line, insert your passport, look into the camera, and a little blue and white ticket will be spit out from the machine. keep this little piece of paper very secure. It is your entry pass into Israel. You will need it throughout your trip.

• It’s always a good idea to snap a picture of it on your phone to keep it handy.

• From there, follow the crowds through a series of walkways. Eventually, you will come into a grand entryway with beautiful Jerusalem stone surrounding you.

• At the bottom of the walkway turn right to proceed through immigration.

• Once you have collected your bags and exited customs, a Philip’s House representative will be standing ready to welcome you to Israel.

• Keep an eye out for someone with a Philip’s House shirt holding a sign that says Philip’s House.

You will spend the night at the Golden Crown Hotel in the town where Jesus spent his childhood

Experience Nazareth Village, an open-air museum that reconstructs and reenacts village life in the Galilee in the time of Jesus.

Orientation Event with Saleem: Jews & Arabs "The One New Man"

Volunteer Event: Home of Jesus the King Church

Reflect over the Sea of Galilee across the road from the Hometown of Jesus at Ohalo Manor.

Walk through Capernaum, the hometown of Jesus. See the synagogue where he worshipped and the ruins of the house of Peter's mother-in-law where the disabled man was lowered through the roof.

Explore the Sea of Galilee with a boat cruise on the water where Jesus walked.

Take a serene walk on the sea of Galilee where Jesus and his disciples walked constantly

Hike down the slope of the Mount of Beatitudes and step into the grotto , a cave at the base of which tradition suggests Jesus may have often prayed and perhaps pondered the words of the Sermon on the Mount.

Take quality time to read out loud portions of the Sermon on the Mount and let Jesus' words speak anew.

Learn how to connect with Jews with a personal talk with Jeff Morgan

Return to your Beautiful Ohalo Manor Hotel.

Journey to Caesarea Philippi and touch the red bedrock where Peter stood, see the literal Gates of Hell, and the spiritual significance of announcing on this spot the church--the "called out ones."

Hike the rapids of Banias Falls, which inspired King David to write Psalm 42, and later, Jesus would walk on his way up to Mount Hermon, the place of the Transfiguration.

Visit a kibbutz community on Israel's north border and build relationships with local Israelis. Hear from a local tour guide about life in Israel's north.

Return to your Ohalo Manor for evening reflection and dinner.

Climb up Mount Arbel where Jesus often climbed and prayed. For those less adventurous, take the bus and welcome the group at the top.

In 2009, during a hotel construction, workers discovered the remains of a first-century synagogue and the ancient city of Magdala, home of Mary Magdelene. The retreat site features a church with a massive picture window overlooking the lake and an unforgettable painting of the woman touching the fringe (tzitzit) of Jesus' prayer shawl (tallit). Father Eamon Kelly will be your tour guide.

Volunteer: Tiberias Beautiful Land Initiative & Meet Pastor Morning Star Fellowship

Step into the Jordan River to experience baptism at the Yardenit Baptismal site.

Return to your Beautiful Ohalo Manor Hotel for evening reflection and dinner.

Today drive south to Jerusalem.

Stop along the route at Tel Shiloh or Ancient Shiloh, Israel’s religious heart before Jerusalem. The Tabernacle stood here for 369 years. With engaging technology, you can almost see Samuel and David walking by and smell the incense burning on the altar.

Ariel National Leadership Training Center JH Israel

Drive to the seaside city of Ashdod to join the Beit Hallel Congregation for their Shabbat Service with Pastor Israel Pochtar. This congregation has started 7 other churches in biblical Judah and does remarkable humanitarian work with refugees coming to Israel on Aliyah.

Experience a Shabbat Dinner

On the slopes of Mount Scopus with breathtaking views of Jerusalem and the Judean Hills, the Dan Jerusalem Hotel offers gourmet restaurants, generous public spaces for conversation, plus an indoor and outdoor pool.

Visit the Garden Tomb and its realistic depiction of a first-century grave and experience communion as never before.

Take in Jerusalem at the Mount of Olives Rehavam Overlook, then follow the triumphal route of Jesus down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Step into the olive groves of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed before his arrest and surrendered to the Father's will.

Spend quality prayer time in the private garden near the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer.

Enter Jerusalem through the Lion's Gate, the spot where tradition teaches that Stephen was stoned.

St. Anne’s Church in Jerusalem is a stunning 12th-century Crusader church famed for its acoustics, located beside the biblical Pools of Bethesda where Jesus healed the paralytic (John 5:1-9).

Step into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built around the Golgotha Hill where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. Today, seven church denominations oversee the building, showing its significance to believers.

Step into the Upper Room where Jesus hosted the first communion and visit the Tomb of David on the lower floor.

Return to spend the night and enjoy dinner at the Dan Jerusalem Hotel.

Ascend to the Temple Mount, a massive platform constructed by King Herod, where once the Temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel stood. On the Foundation Stone, Abraham offered Isaac, David stopped the plague with his intercession, Solomon prayed at the dedication and fire fell, the Babylonians and Romans demolished, and Jesus taught. One day, he will return through the Eastern Gate.

Pray at the Western Wall and touch the stones that made the disciples marvel.

Insert yourself into the story of modern Israel at the Friends of Zion Museum. Some report that this is one of the most powerful places they have visited in the land.

Volunteer: Hatikvah Project

Return to rest and restore at the Dan Jerusalem Hotel.

Enter into the Jerusalem that Abraham and David knew in the excavations of The City of David. Take in the sweeping outlook of Jerusalem and a movie that reviews the story of the destruction and rebuilding of Jerusalem over many centuries. Next, walk through the ruins of David’s palace, past walls Abraham saw, the city Solomon and the prophets knew.

Walk the pilgrims way the ancient 2,000 year old stepped street where Jewish pilgrims once ascended from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount during the Second Temple period.

For the adventurous, choose Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Bring a flashlight, and shoes and clothes that can get wet. The water will come up to your knees. This is the watercourse chiseled out during the days of Senacharib’s threat to Jerusalem. For those who want to keep dry, take the dry Canaanite-era tunnel.

See the Pool of Siloam where Jesus sent the blind man to wash his eyes to be cleansed.

Volunteer Project: Be’ad Chaim

Bring Hope, Healing & Life to Women & Unborn Babies in Israel with Be'ad Chaim

Return to rest and restore at the Dan Jeruslaem Hotel.

See the desert monastery of Qumran, located near the Dead Sea. Here, the Dead Sea Scrolls were prepared and later discovered. John the Baptist was familiar with this place.

Ein Gedi, a beautiful desert oasis near the Dead Sea, is where King David hid from Saul, the ibex deer helped him to write Psalm 42, while he hid in the cave under the waterfall.

Take in your first view of the Dead Sea and take a swim and try to sink if you want something fun! 

Volunteer Project: Dead Sea Guardians Or SOLU Ma’ale Adumim

Return to the Dan Jerusalem Hotel for dinner and rest.

Ponder God’s plan for Israel at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.

Volunteer Project: Olim Distribution Day Beit Hallel

Cap off your journey with a Debrief Dinner in a local restaurant. Ponder with your traveling team what impact you had on Israel , "How was your trip to Israel?" How will you stir others to ask for more and bless the people of Israel? Wnat was the impact you had on Israel?

After dinner, you will travel by motor coach to Ben Gurion Airport and home. You need to arrive at the airport 3 hours before your departure time for immigration processing. Expect to leave the hotel about 4 hours before your departure time.

You now have social media friends in Israel. A part of yourself is left in the Holy Land. You want to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and go back one day soon.

Your flight departs just after midnight.

You now have social media friends in Israel. A part of yourself is left in the Holy Land. 

You want to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and go back one day soon.

Leave Friends in Israel and Go home to greater influence. 

Thanks to the time zone, you will arrive home on the same day!