About the STS Israel Iniative
Shepherds Theological Seminary is committed to the idea that all degree seeking students visit the Holy Land and our Israel Initiative is a commitment born of two realities. First, we believe that this trip is of crucial value to students who are preparing to faithfully and accurately handle the Word of God. 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. A good teacher seeks to incorporate visual aids for the students, and there is no better visual aid then seeing in person the land where the bulk of biblical history took place. For STS students, Israel becomes their giant blackboard, their real-life power-point, and the pages of Scripture come alive in front of them.
Second, it is worth mention that we live in that remarkable and very narrow window of history during which the land of Israel – a land which was functionally closed from AD 70-1967 – is actually accessible. The Apostle Paul testified to a special love for the people of Israel , and his desire was that all believers would have an affection for Israel as well (Rom 9:1-5; 11:28-36). 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.
Given all of that, the seminary has raised (and continues to raise) the funds necessary to provide a full two-week study trip for its students every year.
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