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Sponsorship: The Most Important Job of All
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Why do we |
Good Sponsorship Is Vital to Emmaus1 While most church related functions take a "ya'll come!" approach to participation, Emmaus relies on a method which is more consistent with the message of The Walk sponsorship. The personal character of sponsorship underlines the personal care and commitment of God to each pilgrim. The fact that the Emmaus experience is passed on from person to person reflects the relational nature of God and the manner in which God reaches out to people through people. Sponsorship is integral to some of the unique features and strengths of the Emmaus experience—a discerning approach to recruitment, personal agape and prayer for the pilgrims, sponsors' presence at candlelights, closings, and follow-up. Sponsorship is an important reason why Emmaus Walks are rarely canceled for lack of participants. Emmaus pilgrims want to share the gift of those three days with others. God's gift of grace continues to be passed on through the Emmaus movement weekend after weekend. Sponsors help make Emmaus an act of sacrificial love from beginning to end—something more than the usual retreat or religious education function. Good sponsorship is vital to the Emmaus movement in every community. For this reason, every Fourth Day Community is faced with the ongoing challenge of educating pilgrims on the role and importance of good sponsorship. Day Four: The Pilgrim's Continued Journey, by Robert Woods and Marie Livingston Roy, provides an excellent chapter on sponsorship, which should be discussed in every community. 1-From The Upper Room Handbook on Emmaus, 1989 Edition, p. 20-23
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Sponsorship: The Most Important Job of All Sponsorship is taken for granted in most communities; it is assumed everyone knows the how and why of sponsorship. Unfortunately, sponsorship is usually not even discussed except in reference to the number of candidates, signed up for a Walk or a conflict over an issue like the husband/wife rule. And yet, sponsorship is the most important job in Emmaus. It is more than "signing people up." The importance of an Emmaus community being educated about the importance of good sponsorship cannot be overemphasized. The quality of sponsorship influences the pilgrim, the health of the Emmaus movement, and the church being affected by the movement. First, 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 we handle sponsorship. Second, good sponsorship under-girds 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. These acts of agape include prayer, agape letters, presence at candlelight and closing, and follow-up. Third, good sponsorship is the foundation for a healthy, effective Emmaus movement that is fulfilling its true purpose—the development of Christian leaders and the renewal of the church in ministry. Bob Woods writes in Day Four: The Pilgrim's Continued Journey: The strength of any Emmaus Community is a direct result of that community's recruiting practices. If the community is committed to recruiting strong church leaders for the purpose of strengthening the local church, then the community will be a strong vital force in the renewal movement (p. 51).
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