[Friday is a Thomas Ross post, so this is Thomas Ross going to Israel, not Kent Brandenburg.]
I have had a desire to visit Israel for some time, to see the land of the Abrahamic covenant, the land of the earthly ministry of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, and the land of the vast majority of the Bible. I am very excited that my wife and I are now scheduled to go (Lord willing, barring the Rapture or other providential hinderances) in January of 2017. We are going with Samson Tours on a tour called a Pastor’s Familiarization Tour that is designed not only to give one a great experience in Israel but also to equip church leaders in order that they might be able to become guides themselves in the future. Many tours of Israel are very expensive; for example, this one with Bob Jones University costs $4,650 per person, and this one with Friends of Israel is $3,850 per person. The tour we are going on costs just $2,200 per person, or, if we acquire our own plane tickets, only $1,200 per person–something we actually can afford, unlike these other tours! (See below how to get there for even less than this!)
The tour we are going on is not limited to independent Baptists, and I would like to have as many like-minded people on it as possible. If you are a like-minded independent Baptist, and you qualify for this tour (i. e., you are a pastor, deacon, or other church leader who could get a letter on your church stationary affirming such), I would love to have you come with us. Indeed, I would rather have genuinely converted people, even if not entirely like minded, to fill up the tour instead of, say, Roman Catholics or Mormons. Space is limited, so if you qualify, why not take advantage of this great price and plan to join us in January, 2017? You can
find out more by clicking on the link here, using the menu for “Tours,” and then clicking on “Group Tours.”
You can sign up for the tour for even less than $1,200 by doing two things. First, use the coupon code MNRE when you sign up, and you will get a discount. (I will also be benefited if you use this code, and will be much obliged). That is a part that anyone can do.
Second, you can try to do what we are trying to do, namely, fund and pay for everything with bonuses from credit cards and banks. We should, Lord willing, be able to pay for our airfare entirely with credit card points from two opening bonuses, and it should not be too difficult to earn more than the $2,400 that is left through various bonuses. My wife and I both opened up the
bank account discussed here to get $500 each worth of points, and were able to fund our opening of the bank account with a credit card ($300 extra per person), for a total of $1,600. There are other banks that will give you hundreds of dollars for opening accounts with them. There are also a number of credit cards that offer $500, $600, $700, or more as an opening bonus. The cost of our plane tickets has thus been provided in God’s providence through two credit card opening bonuses, one of 150,000 points worth $1,500 and the other of 75,000 points worth $750. I discuss how to do this sort of thing in my
article on credit cards here. Of course, you should never, ever carry a high interest rate balance on a credit card, and I would highly recommend reading my article on
credit card dangers before thinking about funding a trip to Israel with credit card points. You should also (obviously) tithe on such bank or credit card opening bonuses.
Third, if you lead a tour with them after going on this tour within the following 2.5 years, they will actually refund you the entire base cost of the tour–this is another way of experiencing the tour for exactly nothing!
Anyway, I hope you can join us in Israel. Next Year in Jerusalem!
TDR
Dear Pastor Brandenburg,
Thanks for writing the clarification that this was my post. Of course, my wife and I would be happy to have you join us, although I understand that may not be possible. You might not get to Israel before the Millennium, although I think you'll visit then for sure. 🙂
Actually, it would probably be a good thing to know the street names and such before the millennium. So, I encourage all Christians to familiarize themselves with Jerusalem in the near future. 🙂
Honestly, for everyone who decides to read these comments. The guide that Thomas is going with unique. And having Eitan as your guide is something that you can't put a dollar value on. I have led three tours of Israel with Eitan as my guide. (To tour Israel, you must have a licensed Israeli guide.) He puts every ounce of his heart and soul into helping you learn about the land of Israel and how the land affects our understanding of Scripture. While I do not know Greek or Hebrew, I believe going to Israel enhances your Bible study like knowing another biblical language. I especially encourage Independent Baptist pastors to go with Thomas on this trip. You will not regret it.
Hello everyone,
I think it would be a great trip going with Thomas and Heather to Israel. It would be a great time, great to see the land, etc. I put that statement at the top because people needed to know it wasn't me going, and I got emails asking about the trip, so I figured that might mean that others were thinking the same thing. I endorse the trip, not because I have been but because I trust Thomas, totally trust Thomas, and with Jeff Voegtlin's endorsement, who has been several times, this should make it even better. I appreciate Thomas letting us know. However, it is him going and not me, not because I wouldn't go, but because I'm not going. Enjoy!
Thank you, Pastor Voegtlin, for letting me know about this tour.
By the way, the bank account opening bonus I mentioned–the Citigold one–is no longer available.