Jim Monson

Founder & President

Raised on a farm and trained in music, Jim went on to seminary where he met fellow organist and theology student Polly. Their deeper understanding of the Bible began in 1960 when as newlyweds they engaged the story of the Bible in its land. Passion for the context of Scripture guided Jim's path from study in Switzerland to teaching in Congo, and then to Jerusalem where he taught for 31 years. His fresh approach to studying the Bible through a regional and layered study of geography, texts and life lessons gave rise to his signature course "Physical Settings of the Bible" and the "Israel Study Tour" model that has been adopted by many of his students and in turn, their students, who teach in schools, churches and on countless tours of Israel to this day, including the many programs of Jerusalem University College (formerly Institute of Holyland Studies). In addition to training and mentoring thousands of students, Jim brought to biblical studies many new insights and an array of new concepts such as "Dynamic of the Land," "The Playing Board of Biblical History," "Central Benjamin Plateau," "Battle for Benjamin," "Philistine Alluvial Plain," and the all-important "Land Between" that echoes through the literature and teaching of the academy and the church.