Revival is in peak season. Why not get out and look around?
It has often been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. While this is true enough, for anyone desperate to understand transforming revival, an experience is worth ten thousand pictures. This is because, in the ultimate sense, genuine revival is not something one apprehends intellectually. Rather, it is something that is felt. It is about Presence.
To facilitate this experience, the Sentinel Group offers regular exposure tours to a variety of historical and present-day transformation sites. Known as FIRE Tours (or Firsthand Inquiry into Revival Experience), these expeditions provide participants with an up-close-and-personal encounter with the transforming handiwork of God.
From the early 2000s, we have had the privilege of hosting hundreds of participants in locations such as Brazil, Appalachia, the Fiji Islands, Scotland, Germany, Uganda, and New England. Our fellow journeyers have included mayors, businessmen, educators, prayer leaders, journalists, police chiefs, and ministry directors.
Although a few were doubtless drawn by curiosity, the vast majority joined us out of a genuine hunger for revival in their own communities. In seasons of pessimism and fear, people need to know we can have hope for a better tomorrow.
Consider what God has done…
Ecclesiastes 7:13 NIV
The Sentinel Group offers two types of exposure tours — historical and contemporary.
The first of these, called Revival Heritage Tours, offers participants an opportunity to connect with powerful moves of God in earlier times. Great examples of places where this has happened include Cane Ridge, Kentucky; County Antrim, Northern Ireland; Möttlingen, Germany; and the Scottish Hebrides.
FIRE Tours, or Firsthand Inquiry into Revival Experience, represent the second type of exposure opportunity offered by The Sentinel Group. These tours include destinations where the movement of God’s spirit has taken place more recently — a huge advantage for those desiring to interact with local saints whose experience is still fresh. Many of these locations have been featured in our Transformations documentaries.
Anyone interested in going on a FIRE Tour can either phone or email the Sentinel Group to obtain a simple application form. In addition to filling out this form, applicants are required to obtain a reference from their pastor or spiritual leader. Once this paperwork is submitted, participants are put on a wait list until enough interest has been registered to make the tour viable. Once that threshold is reached, the ministry will issue a confirmation document so final plans can be made.
Possibly – if the request is made on behalf of a large enough group, involves an authentically transformed community we are familiar with, and is submitted well in advance. The Sentinel Group does not make private arrangements for individuals and small groups.
Often, but not always. Sometimes circumstances at a particular destination make it difficult or impossible to run tours through in succession. This being said, every effort will be made to accommodate interested parties — either by scheduling another tour to the original destination at the earliest possible date, or by suggesting an alternative destination.
Yes, but only if interest is registered well in advance. We cannot exceed the twenty-five person limit on tour size, and we will not allow groups within a tour to break off to do their own thing. If a group desires to take an exclusive tour and has enough people to make such a proposition viable, special arrangements can generally be made.
Tentative dates are provided up front, but tours are not confirmed until a minimum participant threshold has been reached. If this threshold is not met 90 days prior to departure, the tour is either postponed or canceled.
Tour fees typically cover everything other than transportation to and from the location, snacks, gifts, and spending money. The main variable is accommodation choice, with private rooms costing more, and shared rooms costing less.
Costs vary according to tour location and length, with a typical price range being between $1,200 and $4,000 per person. These figures include travel, and there are price breaks for couples and families who share rooms.
Each FIRE Tour includes at least one guide and one logistics officer. The former will set up and interpret the various tour activities, while the latter will assist participants with practical matters relating to transportation, lodging, and meals.
Tours are generally capped at twenty-five participants in order to preserve a more intimate feel, and to give individuals the opportunity to interact meaningfully with local believers. A tour limit also allows us to avoid disrupting daily routines in small communities.
FIRE Tours typically last between five and ten days, including travel time. Specific length is determined by a community’s location, the density of stories in the area, and potential excursions.
Every FIRE Tour is different, but the general format includes briefings and testimonies from community leaders, revival catalysts, and individuals uniquely impacted by God’s power. They also feature visits to places where miracles and transformation have occurred. At most stops, participants will have an opportunity to ask locals about the process and principles underlying the awakening – sometimes even taking meals with them. Finally, tours will often include enjoyable cultural experiences and evening afterglow sessions with tour hosts and/or team leaders.
Informative – Inspirational – Life Changing!
Scheduled during the peak of New England’s spectacular fall colors, this 9-night, 8-day tour will both educate and inspire. History will come alive—but not just American history—the history of God’s reviving work in this nation. We have failed to tell the amazing stories of God’s transforming grace that revealed His glory and shaped a nation. The stories will come alive in their historic locations. This intimate tour (limited to 11 participants) will hear from expert guides and is structured to inspire and challenge our own walk with God. The tour begins at Park Street Church, Boston, still at its original site and still preaching the Gospel, winds its way through Massachusetts, upstate New York, and the I-78 corridor in New Jersey before ending in New York City, worshiping at the Brooklyn Gospel Tabernacle. Careful attention has been given to make this tour the experience of a lifetime.
Information coming soon
