We aim to renew Christian disciples and strengthen local churches
The Walk To Emmaus Community
We are Grace Emmaus of Silicon Valley, one of hundreds of Emmaus communities around the world. Emmaus begins as a three-day, highly structured weekend, then moves on into small groups with a community that supports each other to create leaders for God’s churches. It takes a New Testament-look at Christianity as a lifestyle. Its mission: Renewing Christian Disciples, Strengthening Local Churches.
The program is designed to strengthen and renew the faith of Christian people and through them, their families, congregations, and the world. The Gospel of St. Luke relates the story of the risen Christ appearing to two who were walking along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
Our Purpose
The objective of Emmaus is to inspire, challenge, and equip the local church members for Christian action in their homes, churches, communities and places of work. Emmaus lifts up a way for our grace-filled lives to be lived and shared with others.
Following a three-day experience, participants are joined in small groups to support each other in their ongoing walk with Christ. Through a 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 home, church, and community.
Walk To Emmaus is an ecumenical retreat. The program invites and involves the participation of Christians of many denominations, and seeks to reinforce the whole Christian community. This is one of the great strengths and joys of the Emmaus movement. The Walk to Emmaus is designed to communicate with confidence and depth the essentials of the Christian life, while accentuating those features that Christians have traditionally held in common. We are one of hundreds of Walk To Emmaus communities around the world, all supporting local churches by building faith in Christians.
Emmaus Changes Lives
This first video, below, is from International Emmaus and it describes what Emmaus is all about.
This next video was created by one of our sister Emmaus communities in Texas, and it gives a personal witness to the excellence of Walk to Emmaus.
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Who Can Attend?
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
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What Happens?
On an Emmaus Weekend, you will enjoy three days of singing, learning, laughing, worshiping, reflecting, praying and participating in small groups with discussions around fifteen talks. 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. You’ll also discover how grace is real in your life, how you live a life of grace, and how you bring that grace to others.
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Ongoing Support
After the weekend, you continue to worship at your own church.
To nurture discipleship, the Emmaus movement offers optional small groups that reflect and encourage one another in accountable discipleship. We also have optional Emmaus community gatherings of fellowship and worship which support future Emmaus weekends for others to grow.
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Our History
Grace Emmaus of Silicon Valley was formed in 2005 as an off-shoot of River Walk of Antioch, California. Since then Grace Emmaus of Silicon Valley now serves four areas, 300 miles in size:
The original San Jose/Gilroy “South Bay” area;
The “East Bay” of San Francisco centered around Antioch, after we absorbed River Walk into Grace Emmaus of Silicon Valley;
The Central Valley of California, including Lodi, Stockton, and Sacramento because we’ve begun partnering with the Walk To Emmaus of Northern California;
Nevada near Reno, Sparks and Fallon, which was also participating in the Emmaus of Northern California.
FAQs
What is the Walk to Emmaus?
The Walk to Emmaus is an adaptation of the Roman Catholic Cursillo de Cristianidad (pronounced cur-SEE-o) which means “little course in Christianity” and originated in Spain in 1949. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Episcopalians and Lutherans, along with several nondenominational groups, such as Tres Dias, began to offer Cursillo. In 1978, the General Board of Discipleship’s “Upper Room” of the United Methodist Church established an agreement with the Roman Catholic Church, adapted the program for a Protestant audience, and changed the name of the program to The Upper Room Walk to Emmaus.
Why do men and women have separate weekends?
The Emmaus experience is designed for individuals to focus on their own personal walk with Christ. It is a weekend where distractions are removed to create an environment that allows a person to more fully listen to what God is revealing to them. Things like newspapers, clocks, phones, pagers, televisions, radios, and yes, even partners, are all removed so that a person can devote their full attention to the Walk experience.
The Walk is not a ministry for couples to reconnect with each other. Its purpose is to develop strong Christian leaders. Couples are encouraged to attend the same set of weekends because they can then share their experiences with one another. Most often the Walk experience itself strengthens a couples relationship with each other and with Christ.
What should a participant expect over the weekend?
As an ecumenical program, participants are presented with worship, discussion, and 15 talks over the course of three days. Additional activities are also planned for reflection and fellowship.
The Walk to Emmaus is a tightly designed event that is conducted with discipline according to the Upper Room manual. This ensures a proven format that is consistent from weekend to weekend wherever Emmaus is offered across hundreds of communities in the U.S. and world.
The Walk typically begins on a Thursday evening and ends on a Sunday afternoon. Men and women attend separate weekends. Husbands and wives are strongly encouraged to attend the same set of Walks as this is a profound spiritual event that can benefit from a shared experience by both people.
What is the cost?
There is no cost to a first-time participant. All costs are paid for by the volunteers who attend and work the Walk. Currently the total cost of the Walk is $125 per worker for the total weekend. Only a $35.00 deposit is required to be paid by the Sponsor of someone new.
What happens after the weekend?
This is not a club. The days following your 3-day walk are referred to as your ‘4th Days’. Those who attend a Walk to Emmaus are encouraged consider forming an accountability/reunion group with 2+ people to meet regularly, and support your faith. You pick your own group and people to walk together as you face the challenges and blessings of a life lived in grace.
What does a participant need to bring when attending a weekend walk?
Normal weekend stuff: flashlight, jacket or sweater, only comfortable clothes, towel & washcloth, toiletries, prescription medication if required, bible.
Please do not bring any electronic devices such as cell phones, watches, computers, tablets, etc. All time keeping and communication will be provided by the weekend directors. Your sponsor will have all emergency contact information and will be able to get messages to you during the Walk if important.
Why does a first-time participant need a sponsor?
Each person attending the Walk to Emmaus must have a sponsor who has already attended the Walk. The sponsor does several things: assists you with the application, makes sure you are prepared for the weekend, assists you with transportation, and makes a commitment to assist with any needs that you may have during the weekend, so that you are free to fully experience the Walk. We can help a person find a sponsor, so contact us.
What is a Gathering?
A Gathering is made up of individuals in a local area who have attended the Walk. A Gathering is a subset of the larger Emmaus community. They meet as a small group for fellowship, singing, Communion, prayer, and encouragement. They also participate in supporting future Emmaus Walks by sponsoring pilgrims, serving on a Walk team, and prayer.
Luke 24:13-29
Now that same day two of them were walking to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
