How All This Came to Be
Earlier in my life I made the decision to learn as much as I could about the geography of the life of Jesus. After all, Crossland is my real family name. It tells you what I do for a living, because I take people to the Land of the Cross.
To fulfill this calling I first wrote The Merged Gospels, which became my field manual for studying all of the holy sites on location.
I’ve spent many years in the Holy Land, studying and filming the sites that were referenced in the Gospels. Even the roads that Jesus walked on to get from one place to the next are the same roads that I traveled to retrace His steps.
The early days of the Octagon Project, operating out of a storage rental facility.
I also give live tours. Today The Octagon Tour is the world’s only Holy Land tour dedicated exclusively to the life of Christ. Every year we take pilgrims through the Holy Land on live tours, because there is nothing like being there!
This book is a walking guide through literally every site in the Holy Land that is referred to in the four Gospels (plus a lot more, as you will see). If you spend some time with this book prior to traveling with us you will develop a greater understanding of the places that you will soon visit. Afterward, it will also serve to refresh your memory when you return home.
Israel is a land of many fascinating discoveries. But discovery is not so much about learning as it is about understanding the significance of each location. Simply put, everything that we learn in life has very little meaning if all we are able to take away from our experience is knowledge.
Discovery should not just increase what you know. It should change who you are.
Hopefully, you will soon realize that we have not designed our ministry to be just a sightseeing tour. It’s a pilgrimage into the heart of Christ. We trust that you will grasp not only the true meaning of these very special places, but that they will have a real and lasting impact on your life.
Gary Crossland