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Sponsorship

Sponsorship is the most important job in Emmaus. The quality of sponsorship influences the Pilgrim, the health of the Emmaus movement, and the churches being affected by the movement. Good sponsorship is the first act of agape before a walk ever begins; the experience of the Walk for a Pilgrim really begins with how you handle sponsorship. Good sponsorship undergirds the whole weekend with sacrificial love on behalf of each Pilgrim. Sponsors use discernment in recruiting Pilgrims, embody the personal commitment of the community to each Pilgrim, and provide personal acts of agape on the weekend for the Pilgrims.

The aim of a sponsor should not be "to get all my friends to go," to fill up the weekend, to fix people's problems, or to reproduce one's own religious experience in others. Rather, the aim of the sponsor is to bring spiritual revitalization to Christians who will, in turn, bring new life to the work of the church in the congregation, home, workplace and community. The aim of sponsorship is to build up the body of Christ.
 

SELECTING PILGRIMS

Emmaus is for active Christian church members whose own renewal will mean new energy, commitment, and vision in the church and everyday environments, for Christ's sake. That would include:

  • church leaders (pastors and laypersons) who will bring new vision, commitment and understanding back to their congregations;

  • dependable church members who are the quiet backbone of the church;

  • less active members who need their awareness of grace rekindled and their commitment renewed;

  • Christians who want to grow spiritually.

 

Emmaus is right for many people, but not for everyone. Some examples for whom Emmaus may not be appropriate are:

  • non-Christians and persons with no relationship to the church of Jesus Christ

  • persons undergoing an emotional crisis (such as family breakup or severe grief) or who are psychologically unstable;

  • Christians whose theology and/or practice is notably different or incompatible with the traditional theology and practice represented by the Walk to Emmaus;

  • church hoppers;

  • persons who are always looking for a new spiritual high or another experience to help them "arrive."

 

Please note that if your Pilgrim meets any of the conditions above, you will be asked to explain why an exception should be made for them.

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