ABOUT | SERVANTHOOD
Primary Emmaus Objectives:
The Walk to Emmaus movement has three objectives:
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To strengthen our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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To return strong church leaders.
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To spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The first step is to strengthen your relationship with Christ. Re-evaluate your personal priorities. Set aside time for prayer and study. If you are church shopping or visiting, then start by becoming a member of a church body. Consider your commitment of resources to your church – your financial giving, your time spent on in-reach programs and on out-reach missions. Remember the three legs of the stool: Piety, Study and Action. Join or start a Reunion Group, it will help you remain accountable for your personal growth.
The next step is to consider your leadership role within your church. Are you actively serving your church on committees, in the choir, teaching Sunday school, working with the youth program, leading a mission project? The opportunities and needs are limitless. Please keep your church ahead of Emmaus. It is not our goal to become a substitute church or to drain resources from the church. Instead we want to be an encouragement and a source of renewal to the church body.
Thirdly, consider your impact on your environment. Start with your own immediate family. Pray with your spouse and children. Protect your meditation and study time as a high priority. Demonstrate that seeking God’s will is an important part of your personal and family decision process. Consider being more visibly Christian in your work environment. Be kind, fair and honest in your dealings. Politely tell people when their behavior is offensive to you. When people ask you why you are different, openly share your faith with them. Model Christian behavior in the community – on the highway, at sporting events, in the store. Be someone others want to know and be like.
Another way to think about this is that our Fourth Days are a journey – from passive spectator to active participant; from consumer to producer; from the self-actualizing served to the self-sacrificing servant!
Learning through Service with Emmaus:
Now let’s talk about your involvement in the Tidewater Emmaus community. We believe that the Emmaus experience changes almost everyone that goes on a walk. Historically, about one third of those become active in our community. We hope you will be one of them! It starts with participation. Come to our events – Gathering the fourth Friday of every month except when a walk falls on that weekend, Send-off, Candlelight and Closing for each walk, and community training sessions.
On your walk you experienced agape love. That love is expressed through selfless service from members of the community – people like you! There are many areas of service open to you. Your Reunion Group can make agape gifts to distribute on a walk. Sign-up sheets for all of the work areas needed to put on a walk are at every Gathering. The 72-hour prayer vigil and speaker’s prayer vigil are also available for signing at Gathering and send-off. Sign-up sheets for helping with Gathering and in other areas are at Gatherings as well. If you can’t make it to the Gathering, you may contact the board member responsible for a particular work area directly. You are likely to discover that this service is a great source of renewal and joy!
A much more personal way you can provide agape love is to sponsor someone on a walk. This requires about a year-long commitment to that person. It starts with explaining what Emmaus is about and answering their questions. There are booklets available that are wonderful resources to help you through the process. If they are married, you need to meet with them as a couple. You should encourage both of them to go on walks close together. If only one wants to go on the walk, it is your responsibility to get an assurance from both of them that Emmaus will not become a problem in their relationship. You need to get sponsor letters, arrange transportation and provide for any family needs (baby-sitting, pet-sitting, emergency numbers, etc) while they are on the walk. You should plan to attend send-off, candlelight, closing and follow-up. After their walk, you should help them get into a reunion group, bring them to their first gathering and candlelight and provide encouragement and support for their continued spiritual growth.