War disrupts Holy Land trip for Georgia pastor and other church leaders By HENRY DURAND, The Christian Index Thursday, March 5, 2026 DALLAS, Ga. — What began as a trip to the Holy Land for a group of nearly 30 pastors and their wives turned into something none of the participants had foreseen, as they were forced to make repeated trips to a bomb shelter in Jerusalem before finally being able to evacuate. The onset of the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, and its retaliatory strikes, disrupted their itinerary and forced a rapid exit through Egypt. Josh Price, pastor of Fortified Hills Baptist Church in Dallas, traveled with his wife, Jessica, as part of the group led by former Send Relief President Bryant Wright. After multiple cancellations over several years, the group finally had the green light to go. “Years ago, Bryant Wright had a dream to take a group of pastors and their wives to Israel,” Price said. “Primarily, to enrich their preaching, to let us see those biblical places firsthand, and to deepen our own walks with the Lord.” The trip also served as a practical preview for pastors who may one day lead groups from their own congregations, he said, offering connections with guides and discussions about how to plan and structure future visits. Price said the group began in Tel Aviv before traveling north to Galilee, where they spent several days visiting biblical sites. Each stop was paired with worship and Scripture reading. Their hotel sat near the Sea of Galilee, Price said, and the group took a boat out on the water and held Bible studies tied to the passages associated with each location. They visited the Mount of Beatitudes, Mount Carmel, and other sites that helped participants visualize familiar texts. At Mount Carmel, where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, Price said, “We’re looking at the mountain, and we're reading the part of the text where Elijah says look to the sea, and you'll see the clouds coming. And we looked, and we could see the sea, exactly as they would have seen it.” The Jerusalem portion of the itinerary, however, was cut short. Price said they arrived in the city late and, because it was Shabbat, walked to see the Western Wall before returning to the hotel and planning to visit other sites the next day. “We didn’t see any of the Jerusalem sites, which were scheduled for the last four or five days,” he said. Price said the group began hearing heightened concern the day before the situation escalated. Then, after word spread that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran had taken place, the group’s plans changed, and the atmosphere shifted quickly. The group had an alert app that warned them when incoming missiles were headed toward their area, Price said. “It tells us if there’s a missile coming, an alert sounds, and you have 90 seconds to get downstairs to the shelter,” he said. The hotel’s shelter was designed for such threats. “The hotel has a bomb shelter,” Price said. “It’s three stories underground, concrete all around, and a big door.” Over roughly 30 hours, Price said, the group made about 17 trips to the shelter. During those stretches, they did more than wait. “In the Lord’s kindness, they had a room in it that was conference-style set up,” Price said. “So we camped out in that room, and we held worship services there, in the bomb shelter.” The first time down, he said, the group didn’t know what would happen next. “We didn’t know what was happening. We didn’t know how long it would be,” Price said. “We sang together. There were tears, and there were nerves.” Price said the hotel was relatively empty, leaving their group as a significant portion of those sheltering during the alerts. As the pastors prayed and sang, others nearby noticed. “Yes,” he said when asked whether anyone outside the group joined them. “We had some that stayed.” Price said they got to know a man named Michael, who is of Jewish descent and lives in New York, a lawyer who attended Harvard Law School. Michael stayed near the group as they worshiped. “We got his number,” Price said. “We’ve stayed in contact with him since we’ve been back.” “He was glad that we brought him into our group,” he added. With Tel Aviv’s airport not immediately available and uncertainty about how long the conflict would last, Price said the group evaluated options and looked for a safer path out. Their Israeli guide, Moshe, coordinated multiple contingency plans, Price said — including flights out of different countries — so the group could move quickly when an opening appeared. The group decided to drive south to Eilat, near Israel’s border with Egypt, Price said, a move that meant leaving the shelter and traveling for several hours by bus. A final alert sounded as they prepared to depart, sending them back to the shelter once more. Then they boarded the bus and made the drive without additional warnings, he said. From there, Price said, the group crossed into Egypt, transferred to an Egyptian driver, flew to Cairo, and then traveled on through Istanbul before returning to the United States. Price and his wife arrived safely in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 3, he said. Price said one of the most lasting impacts was the response from home. “We were overwhelmed with the number of people back in the States that cared about us, that were praying for us,” he said, describing messages from churches and friends he hadn’t spoken to in years. He also said the experience pressed spiritual realities in a way few conferences or classrooms can. “We were acutely aware of not being in control,” Price said. “I am not in control of when we leave here," he realized at the time. "I’m not in control of if we leave here.” “We are completely in the hands of the Good Shepherd,” he said. While he admitted that kind of helplessness is not comfortable, Price said it was clarifying. “It’s a good place to be sometimes, to be reminded that He’s got us,” he said. “We can trust Him.” Price also described the unity the group experienced under pressure. “You instantly bond together,” he said. “Your union with Christ is palpable.” Price said that despite the disruption and uncertainty, he values the relationships formed as a result, including continued contact with the man they met in the shelter, the Jewish guide who served them throughout the trip, and the reminder that God can use unpredictable circumstances to open doors for gospel witness.   --- PHOTOS --- File: 20260305-161910-26d-IMG_20260304_215751.jpg Caption: The group of pastors gathers in a bomb shelter beneath their Jerusalem hotel. (Photo/courtesy Josh Price) File: 20260305-161912-eb5-IMG_20260304_215804 copy.jpg Caption: The group's guide, Moshe, looks at an alert on his phone as they gather in a bomb shelter beneath their Jerusalem hotel. (Photo/courtesy Josh Price) File: 20260305-161908-405-IMG_20260304_215755.jpg Caption: The group of pastors boards an Egyptian airliner during their return journey. (Photo/courtesy Josh Price)