Detailed scheduled, pricing, and registration coming soon, but for now please save the dates if you are interested in this trip and read the description below.
June 17, 2026 – Arrive in Guayaquil, Ecuador
June 25, 206 – Depart from Guayaquil, Ecuador
God rested after creating the world, pleased with His own handiwork. How might He have spent that very first Sabbath? It's not unreasonable to imagine Him hovering over and gazing upon the raw beauty of the Galapagos Islands.
That's a gentle absurdity, of course. Some of the volcanoes that form the islands are still active, and the archipelago is a mere infant in geological age. Yet in God's unfathomable sense of time, we can visit the incomparable flora and fauna of the Galapagos and hear the narrator of Genesis: "Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was very good!"
Join me next year as we continue our Exploration series, where we travel as a community to learn about the key issues of our time, to discern God’s invitation to take action, and to fellowship with like-hearted sojourners along the way.
The Galapagos Islands will double as a classroom and sanctuary, a backdrop for learning and an invitation to worship. We will discover how these two actions are indeed one and the same in celebration of God’s glory. To learn about science and theology, about biodiversity and conservation, is to respond to God’s command for us to steward His gift of creation.
Exploration: Galapagos Islands will be unlike anything we’ve ever done. We chartered an entire ship from National Geographic Expeditions that was purpose-built for cruising this cluster of islands, and fully equipped for getting up-close and personal with the famous creatures that populate this heavenly gem on earth. On land and sea, we will be guided by the ship’s Ecuadoran naturalists to observe and appreciate the ecosystem’s teeming marine life.
To place our Galapagos adventure into the broader story of our Christian faith and the trade-offs we face in exercising “dominion”over the Earth, we will enlist the expertise of Peter Harris, co-founder of A Rocha, a global family of conservation organizations working together to live out God’s calling to care for creation. He has demonstrated a life-long commitment to environmental stewardship and faith-based conservation, inspiring a global movement that emphasizes the importance of creation care.
We have only 26 cabins and 48 beds available on this ship – elegant and comfortable, but limited in capacity to minimize our collective footprint – so spots are sure to be snapped up quickly. Please direct your questions about the logistics of the trip to Karl or Julie Johnson at (919) 381-5722 or julie@firstcenturyvoyages.com.
Criteria to join our community events
- Follow Jesus as Lord and Savior.
- Give at least $200,000 a year to Christian causes. Though the number isn't a rigid threshold, it represents a proxy for the types of people who are asking and wrestling with the same questions around wise stewardship, giving well, avoiding pitfalls, raising the next generation, allocating resources, defining a family legacy, etc. People come to The Gathering to pursue relationships with peers who are exploring similar issues with a measure of humility, vulnerability, and trust.
Get the Invitation
Get the Invitation
Immigration in Texas, Mexico, Honduras
From January 12 to 17, 2025, we will cross the border from America to Mexico to Honduras, tracing the reverse journey of millions of migrants. We will meet and interact with an incredible breadth of people whose paths intersect at the border, from American law enforcement agents who patrol the Chihuahuan Desert near El Paso, to the Honduran church leaders trying to create a hopeful future in rural towns.
Herschend family in Atlanta
This trip was designed for those building a scalable business, or hope to welcome your children into your family enterprise or philanthropy. It was an opportunity to hear insights from the Herschends, and discuss and process with fellow travelers who hold similar dreams.
