Trip Origin & Philosophy
Each year, students have the opportunity to step into the world of the Bible through a guided study trip to Jordan and Israel.
This is not simply a trip, but an extension of the classroom. As students walk the land, read the text, and consider the setting of redemptive history, the Scriptures take on greater clarity and depth. Places once known only by name begin to form a fuller picture, helping students better understand the context of God’s Word.
There is also a simplicity to it. Seeing the terrain, the distances, and the setting of key events brings a kind of understanding that is difficult to gain any other way. What was once abstract becomes concrete.
Good teaching uses helpful tools, and this experience serves in that way. The land itself becomes a kind of visual aid, reinforcing what students have studied and giving weight to the text they are learning to handle carefully.
For many, this becomes one of the most formative aspects of the year, not because it replaces the study of Scripture, but because it supports it.
Opportunity for participation
As space is limited, travelers who are willing and able to pay the full market price for the trip are invited to apply. Participation comes with specific requirements: travelers must be physically fit and healthy enough to keep pace with the group (which involves walking 8–9 miles per day, often over rugged and steep terrain); they must fully embrace the nature of a study trip (as opposed to a standard vacation); and they must watch pre-trip videos and complete several preparatory assignments.
Please note that The WEST Institute also offers a Jordan Study Trip as an add-on to the Israel trip. This add-on requires a separate application. Additional details are provided below.
Israel Trip Dates
Our dates for the Israel Trip vary from year-to-year, However, generally speaking, our trip normally starts within the first two weeks of December and returns mid-late December.
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JORDAN TRIP
In an effort to maximize the time spent in the Middle East, The WEST Institute has endeavored to create an additional experience for its one-year students and other interested parties (as space allows). The Jordan antecedent to the Israel Initiative offers participants access not only to some of the most pristinely unmolested Biblical Archaeological sites anywhere on earth, but also to the teachings and expertise of regional archaeological authority Joel Kramer.
This trip operates as a separate trip from the Israel Initiative and therefore has a separate application and registration process.
Trip Participation
As space is available (and it is limited), travelers who are willing and able to pay the market price for the trip are invited to apply. There are strict demands upon all travelers: many of the sites visited on this particular trip have never been developed or even visited by tourists ever before. Travelers should be prepared for long and physically demanding days, limited conveniences like bathrooms and clean/cold water, and must be physically strong and healthy enough to keep up with the group (which involves walking AT LEAST 7-8 miles/day, and often over rugged and steep terrain); and lastly they must enthusiastically buy into the dynamic of a study trip (as opposed to a standard vacation-type excursion).
Trip Dates
We align our dates to coincide with the standard Israel dates. While the exact trip dates vary from year-to-year, our trip normally spans the last week of November and the first week of December.
Trip Information
The following document provides a basic itinerary and rough outline for our 2025 Jordan/Israel Study Trip. This information should be sufficient for you to determine whether you would like to apply for the 2025 trip.
Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee a spot on the trip. If you are accepted, additional information will be provided to all participants, and further steps will be taken, such as purchasing airfare, collecting flight details, and securing travel insurance.
The Jordan and Israel trips are operated as separate programs. Therefore, you must apply to each trip individually. Please use the button in the above section to apply for the Israel trip and the button below to submit applications for the Jordan trip. Click here for trip information.
What Our Students Are Saying…
"Before this trip, the Biblical timeline and the events I learned about in History class didn't connect to each other. However, after this trip I finally saw how things fit together."
"There are no words for how amazing the trip to Israel was. It literally made the Bible come to life."
WEST Highlights
Study the Bible in 3d
Experience the stage where God has chosen to reveal the truth about Himself and His plan.
Dr. Doug Bookman
This trip is led by Dr. Doug Bookman. His experience with Israel spans over 20 years.
Dr. Doug Bookman
The Israel Trip is Lead by Dr Clayton Shultz who has partnered with expert Dr. Doug Bookman, who have been leading these tours through Israel for over 15 years.
Dr. Bookman has focused much of his teaching career on a renewed emphasis on the life of Christ and the nation of Israel. In 1987, Dr. Bookman joined the Bible Department faculty of The Master's College. While there, he conceived, designed, and implemented the IBEX program, a semester-abroad program in Israel. In 1998, Dr. Bookman joined the Friends of Israel as a national representative. Throughout the years he has taught at various colleges and seminaries, and has served as pastor and interim pastor at local churches. He is now on staff at Shepherds Theological Seminary, and teaches classes in the New Testament and Life of Christ.
Joel Kramer
The Jordan Trip Addendum is led by Joel Kramer - pastor, filmmaker, and archaeologist who lives and studies in the lands of the Bible.
Growing up in the Middle East as the son of an oil company worker, Joel's desire to explore was nurtured on family caravan trips through the Arabian desert.
After starting his family, Joel became the lay pastor of a small protestant church in northern Utah, where he gained a new passion—exploring Scripture. His desire to learn about the context of the Bible led him and his family back to the Middle East, to Jerusalem, where they lived for nearly a decade. While there, he earned an M.A. in Archaeology, excavated extensively in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ai, and explored the rich landscape of Biblical sites. His book, Where God Came Down: The Archaeological Evidence, comes out of their time there.
These days, Joel lives in Amman, Jordan, writing, teaching, and exploring the many Biblical sites in Jordan.
In this age of biblical skepticism, Joel teaches from the perspective that the Bible is trustworthy and reliable, and he uses the profound connection between archaeology and the Bible to present the evidence for its reliability.