What Are the Strengths of Emmaus?
After my Emmaus Walk, I have started taking regular daily time for devotions and Bible study.
—Layperson from Ohio
God is using Emmaus in our time. When countless adult Christians experience true renewal
and the healing of love, and feel moved to make fresh and informed commitments to Christ and his
church, the Holy Spirit is at work.
Emmaus attempts to strengthen the local church through the empowerment of disciples and the
raising up of fresh leadership in congregations. Emmaus at its best is bringing new life of the Spirit to
the established church by revitalizing and sustaining the Christians within it.
Emmaus maintains important balances to which The Upper Room commits itself. Emmaus unites
"those so long divided—true knowledge and vital piety" (John Wesley). Emmaus holds together the
unity of personal spirituality and Christian action in the world.
Emmaus is dependable. Emmaus leaders strive for consistency in form and quality from event to
event. Team members' faithful adherence to a standard manual prevents the dangers inherent in
experiences centered upon the whims of leaders. Reliance on proven guidelines also allows more laity
and clergy to serve in leadership positions and ensures safe space in which persons can be themselves
with God and one another.
Emmaus includes follow-up aimed at undergirding the ongoing discipleship of the people. At its best,
Emmaus takes people to the mountaintop of God's grace and helps them enter into the valley for the
living of the Fourth Day through covenant groups, for support and accountability.
Emmaus makes partners of laity and clergy, involves both in leadership together, and is based on
confidence in laypersons' willingness and competencies for Christian service.
Emmaus focuses on essentials of the Christian faith. John Wesley's words express the spirit of the
program well. He wrote, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, charity."
Emmaus is ecumenical in the sense that both the three-day experience and the follow-up seek to
foster unity and mutual appreciation among Christians of different denominations who participate in
the program in each community.
Emmaus is fun and full of joy, while at the same time confronting sleepy Christians with the reality
that Jesus meant what he said and did, that God's business is serious business and so are our
commitments, and that God loves us more deeply than we ever knew was possible.
