To some, Israel is a country; to others, it is the Holy Land – a land blessed by God, a land where Jesus walked. Jesus’ ministry took place throughout the entire area. Recently, Pastor John Thomas of First Methodist Church in Mineola went on a pilgrimage to Israel.

“I feel like I have never known Jesus more personally than I did this week in the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem,” Thomas said. 

Pilgrims from around the world make their way to Israel each year; in 2025, about 1.3 million tourists traveled to Israel. Although tourism slowed drastically during the war, 2 million to 3 million visitors are expected in 2026.

Thomas said he learned a lot on the trip.

“I was frankly humbled that God put a lot of thought, detail and inspiration in Christians long after Jesus resurrected from the dead,” Thomas said. 

Thomas said he highly recommends that everyone visit the Holy Land to be able to associate a place with Jesus, and to draw closer to Christ.

Thomas’ trip wasn’t all roses and butterflies, however. The conflict in the Middle East began during his stay.

“Never have I felt more peace and less fear than when the conflict started on Saturday,” Thomas said. 

According to Thomas, the Israel Defense Forces were very professional. He also mentioned that people at the hotel were celebrating Shabbat and were peaceful and pleasant, even when they had to shelter a few times. While in Germany waiting for their flight, he said most people in the waiting area were Israeli citizens.

“They didn’t feel fear; they felt joy to be going home,” Thomas said.

He said their mindset showed incredible resilience that helped him tremendously. Even when he was in Bethlehem, he saw people walking on the streets, eating lunch and conducting business as usual.

“Today, I saw on Twitter a wedding happening in a bomb shelter,” Thomas said.

Steadfast is the word he used when talking about the culture of the Holy Land.

Thomas acknowledges that one sermon or post can’t begin to cover all he saw. The trip and experience were more than Thomas could have imagined. He will be sharing more observations from the trip in many sermons to come.

“I will be sharing a teaching on Communion this Sunday that we learned while at Galilee,” Thomas said. 

Thomas said that he is grateful to be home, but is praying fervently to go back soon, and is also praying for peace for their hosts in Israel and the Middle East.