What is the Walk to Emmaus?

The short answer is "A life changing experience."

The Walk to Emmaus begins with 72 hours of spiritual renewal in a fun, loving environment. The name comes from Luke 24:13-35 where the risen Jesus joins two men walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. After the weekend of your walk you continue to learn, grow, and walk with Jesus. Learn more.

Why Go?

A Lighthouse member says it best: "Not only will you grow closer to Him and know Him in ways you never expected, but you will grow closer to all people around you in your everyday life. He is waiting - just for you."

More about the Walk to Emmaus

The Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders. The program's approach seriously considers the model of Christ's servanthood and encourages Christ's disciples to act in ways appropriate to being "a servant of all."

The Walk to Emmaus experience begins with a 72-hour short course in Christianity, comprised of fifteen talks by lay and clergy on the themes of God's grace, disciplines of Christian discipleship, and what it means to be the church. The course is wrapped in prayer and meditation, special times of worship and daily celebration of Holy Communion. The "Emmaus community," made up of those who have attended an Emmaus weekend, support the 72-hour experience with a prayer vigil, by preparing and serving meals, and other acts of love and self-giving. The Emmaus Walk typically begins Thursday evening and concludes Sunday evening. Men and women attend separate weekends.

During and after the three days, Emmaus leaders encourage participants to meet regularly in small groups. The members of the small groups challenge and support one another in faithful living. Participants seek to Christianize their environments of family, job, and community through the ministry of their congregations. The three-day Emmaus experience and follow-up groups strengthen and renew Christian people as disciples of Jesus Christ and as active members of the body of Christ in mission to the world.

The Upper Room, a ministry unit of the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, sponsors the Walk to Emmaus and offers it through local Emmaus groups around the world. Although connected through The Upper Room to The United Methodist Church, The Walk to Emmaus is ecumenical.

Excerpted with permission from What Is Emmaus? by Stephen D. Bryant. Copyright © 1995 by The Upper Room.

For additional information on the Walk to Emmaus go to: www.gbgm-umc.org/ctcwte/index.html

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