church, interest and en t hu s i a sm grew proportionately. It soon became apparent that in order to take care of the multi tudinous details connected with such a trip, expert help was needed, par ticularly the help of a travel agency, or professionals in the highly spe cialized field of s c h e d u l i n g such globe-encircling junkets.
Dr. Charles L. Feinberg, Dean of Talbot Theological Seminary and Bible teacher for the Holy Land Tour, confers with Mr. Israel Carmona, repre sentative from Travelmart of Anaheim, California.
Material was collected from vir tually every conceivable source and evaluated on the basis of price, ex tent of services preferred, experi- TAKE YOUR ¡CHURCH TO THE HOLY
ence and background of the agency, quality and type of carrier specified, type of accommodations to be pro vided and the character and business standing of the agency, as well as its Christian interests. (Such care and caution is essential.) Investiga tion led to the selection of the Lands of the Bible Tour, a division of “ Travelmart” of Anaheim, Califor nia to plan and execute the details of the tour. Conferences with agency representative Israel Carmona, an experienced traveler himself,, and a graduate of Biola College, resulted in a personal “ scouting trip” by Car mona to check out details at every point to be visited on the tour. As plans progressed and a widen ing interest became apparent, it was decided that the tour would be even more meaningful and enjoyable if it were possible to secure the services of a qualified expert in the field of Biblical h i s t o r y , geography, and Semitic languages. In conjunction with Lands of the Bible Tours, an invitation was e x t e n d e d to Dr. Charles L. Feinberg, Dean of Talbot Theological Seminary, one of the na tion’s outstanding Bible scholars and a veteran of many such tours. With Dr. Feinberg’s acceptance, another giant step had been taken and the tour’s planners were ready for the next important phases. Publicizing the tour began in the spring of 1964, a year in adyance of the actual departure to allow ade quate time for individuals to plan. With the assurance from the agency that a c c omm o d a t i o n s had been booked and tentative travel reser vations made, a twofold publicity campaign was inaugurated. Because of interest expressed from other areas and other groups, and the added benefits to be derived from a larger group, the tour was expanded. This necessitated an intensive publi city campaign to reach the broader
by Ed Steele
E ACH YEAR thousands of Christians enjoy the enriching experience of visiting lands familiar and beloved to them, through the pages of the Word of God. A sizeable percentage of these Christian travelers enroll in tours sponsored by individuals, col leges or other organizations many of which have no interest in the spirit ual significance of the places to be visited. This year, a group of Christian friends in the First Baptist Church of Downey, accompanied by others from various Western cities, will em bark on a 21-day “made to order” tour which has come about in a very unusual way and promises tb add a spiritual dimension to a delightful and enjoyable vacation experience.
Preliminary planning for the trip actually began in the summer of 1963 when Dr. Milton C. Gould, pas tor of the 1700-member church, tele phoned Ed Steele, the church’s min ister of music, and in the course-of the conversation mentioned that a generous friend had made it possi ble for him and members of his fam ily to take a trip to Palestine and other points in Europe. Casually Dr. Gould remarked that it would be even more enjoyable if several families could take the trip together and en joy the Christian fellowship en route. Further discussion led to the deci sion to investigate the possibilities of setting up such a tour. At the moment it seemed like an unrealiz able goal, but as news of such a ven ture reached other friends in the
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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