Dear Friends,

Becky and I invite you to join us for a first-ever RUN Ministries journey through Turkey, March 2-12, 2026. This unique-to-RUN tailored trip enables us to have our “soles on the soil” together with you for a spiritual adventure through what is now called Türkiye, tracing the footsteps of the early Church and exploring the land of the Seven Churches of Revelation. In addition, RUN is in the throes of establishing a ‘base’ in Türkiye. So we invite you, our most engaged patrons from our RUN family, to come with us and our dear friends, David and Elizabeth Sparks, founders of Footstep Ministries, to Türkiye. Together, we are curating a trip that combines ancient history, vibrant culture, rich theology, heartfelt worship, and local ministry as He enables.

Türkiye has been much on our minds the past year, and Eric was just there recently, helping open doors for RUN to be in the region. With this new development, we thought it was a perfect time to ask if you wanted to come along, walking the roads that connected some of the earliest Christian communities—places where John wrote his seven letters, where Paul preached, and where believers first gathered in the name of Jesus. We’d love for you to be there!

This trip will take us from Izmir (ancient Smyrna) to Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Ephesus—all sites named in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation. At each stop, we will reflect on the messages Jesus gave to those churches and consider how they speak to us today. With the expertise of David and Elizabeth providing deep insight and spiritual grounding, we’ll explore these letters not just as historical texts but as invitations to renewal, faithfulness, and wholehearted devotion.

Along the way, we’ll visit Pamukkale’s stunning terraces, then end our journey in Istanbul, the historic crossroads of East and West. We’ll enjoy breathtaking sites such as the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace there, and even cruise the Bosphorus together.

But more than the sites, the spiritual journey excites us most—the chance to grow deeper in faith, worship together in sacred spaces, and enjoy rich conversations over Turkish meals and coffee. Our prayer is that this trip will awaken a fresh passion in each of us, drawing us closer to Christ and to one another.

We understand that international travel comes with essential questions, especially around safety and logistics. With decades of experience leading biblical adventures, Footstep Ministries will oversee all land and in-country travel arrangements, accommodations, and site access with the highest level of care and professionalism. If, for any reason, the trip must be canceled by Footstep Ministries, all funds received will be fully refunded.

Whether you’ve traveled with us before or this would be your first journey, we believe this experience will be deeply meaningful and spiritually formative. We will incorporate RUN’s passion for “praying onsite with insight” through "prayer walking" along the way.

This trip is ‘invitation only’ as we sense He has a specific group of us who will link arms together to embark on this adventure. If you sense the Lord inviting you to follow Him to Turkiye with us, we’d be thrilled! Please let us know by May 30, if possible. If you have questions or need more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at RUN or to our friends at Footstep Ministries directly.

We can’t wait to discover the beauty, mystery, and message of Türkiye together—with open Bibles, open hearts, and the joy of shared community. We're delighted at the prospect of walking Türkiye with you, studying the seven churches and exploring Revelation, and together helping fuel the establishment of a new RUN base from Türkiye.

It's about the Gospel,

Eric and Becky