They came to Jerusalem expecting a faith-filled journey through ancient streets and sacred sites.
Instead, they ended up sprinting for bomb shelters with minutes to spare — just hours before they were supposed to head back to the United States.
A group of about 40 members of Calvary Chapel Summerville in South Carolina said their return trip turned into a terrifying ordeal when the conflict involving Iran escalated suddenly, disrupting travel and forcing them into repeated shelter runs in Jerusalem. Local outlet Live 5 News (WCSC) reported the group was roughly three hours from boarding when alarms sounded and the situation shifted instantly.
“We were going through security and that’s when the war broke out,” Pastor Vic Carroll told WCSC, describing the moment the sirens hit and officials began moving people fast. “The alarms went off… they ushered us all to the bomb shelters.”
and it didn’t stop at one sprint to safety
According to reporting cited by WCSC, the group sought shelter more than 30 times in a single day — not once, not twice, but over and over, as warning sirens kept cutting through the city.
Pastor Carroll said the most chilling part was how little time they had.
“You’ve only got a few minutes to get there once the alarm goes off,” he said, describing how they sometimes heard and felt blasts before they even made it fully inside. He also described hearing explosions overhead that he believed were interceptors engaging incoming threats — an experience he called “completely surreal” and “unbelievable.”
Back in South Carolina, church leaders watching from afar said the fear was real — and immediate.
Assistant Pastor Charles Timmerman told WCSC it was “obviously very nerve-racking” knowing members of their congregation were in a danger zone. But he said their response quickly became spiritual as well as practical.
stranded, rerouted, and suddenly facing a financial cliff
With flights disrupted and plans blown apart, the group had to pivot on the fly — extending hotel stays, reworking travel arrangements, and paying unexpected costs that can stack up fast when an international exit gets complicated.
A GoFundMe was launched to cover what the church described as a major financial “barrier,” with the fundraising target set at $100,000 — roughly about $2,500 per person, according to the reporting. The fundraiser hit its goal by Sunday, March 8.
the bigger picture: a fast-moving conflict with real american stakes
The church group’s terrifying close call unfolded as the U.S. military operation connected to the conflict was publicly described by U.S. Central Command as “Operation Epic Fury,” launched February 28, 2026.
The same week, the stakes for Americans also became painfully clear: PEOPLE reported that President Donald Trump attended a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base for U.S. service members killed in a retaliatory strike connected to the widening conflict.
For the Calvary Chapel travelers, though, the war wasn’t a headline — it was the sound of alarms, the pressure of minutes, and the reality of trying to get out safely while the situation around them kept changing.
As of March 2, everyone in the church group was reported safe, but still trying to navigate what comes next with flights, timing, and security all in flux.
