About Emmaus
The Walk to Emmaus is an experience of Christian spiritual renewal and formation, developing mature disciples over a three-day weekend. It is an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ in a new way as God’s grace and love is revealed through other believers.
The Walk to Emmaus experience begins with prayerful discernment and an invitation from a Sponsor. The Sponsor and Applicant fill out an application, submitting to the Elizabethtown Area Emmaus Registrar. The Emmaus leaders prayerfully consider each Applicant and in God’s time, that person is invited to attend a three-day Walk to Emmaus.
Following the three-day experience, new members of the Community are encouraged to join small groups that will provide support to their ongoing walk with Christ.
Through the formational process of accountable discipleship in small groups and participation in the Emmaus Community, each participant’s individual gifts and servant-leadership skills are developed for use in the local church and its’ mission. Participants are encouraged to find ways to live out their individual call to discipleship in their homes, church, and community.
The objective of Emmaus is to inspire, challenge and equip local church members for Christian action in their homes, churches, communities and workplaces. Emmaus lifts up a way for our grace-filled lives to be lived and shared with others.
Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?
Luke 24:32
The Elizabethtown Community
The Elizabethtown Area Emmaus Community hosted its first Walk to Emmaus in March 1984 and continues to this day. Currently offering Walks in March and October with a men’s walk followed by a women’s walk. This 72-hour experience begins long before the walks ever begin.
A team is selected from the Emmaus Community to work together months in advance to ensure that each men’s and women’s walk is a biblically informative and a spiritual experience for all those attending.
It is the mission of the Elizabethtown Emmaus Community to empower leaders to be the hands and feet of Christ.
About the Weekend
Who Should Go to Emmaus
Emmaus is open to members of any Christian denomination. Emmaus is for the development of Christian leaders who:
- Are members of a local church
- Have a desire to strengthen their spiritual lives
- May have unanswered questions about their faith
- Understand that being a Christian involves responsibility
- Are willing to dedicate their everyday lives to God in an ongoing manner
What happens on the Emmaus Weekend?
The weekend is centered around fifteen specific talks about Discipleship given by laity and clergy. Enhanced by worship, reflection and prayer, (as well as three meals a day), there is also participation in small groups and opportunities for artistic expression. These talks present the theme of God’s grace, how that grace comes alive in the Christian community and how it is expressed in the world. Understanding is learned about how grace is real in daily life, how to live a life of grace and how to extend that grace to others.
There is daily opportunity to participate in the celebration of Holy Communion and to understand more fully the body of Christ. God’s grace is experienced through the prayers and acts of anonymous service offered by the Emmaus Community. Pilgrims leave having experienced Christian love in action that will equip them for new levels of grace-filled service and leadership.
Other 4th Day Movements
Chrysalis is 3-Day experience of renewal, learning and sharing for high school students (Grades 9-12) in an atmosphere of a Christian community. Chrysalis takes place twice a year, normally in Spring and Fall.
This event is meant to help students and young adults grow in their walk with the Lord while building community with others. Everyone experiences it differently. It is not intended to help solve deep-seated problems, but is designed to help young adults work towards a Christian way of life with community support.