When The Light Goes On

Emmaus Ministries.

In the eyes of the world at large we are very small. In the eyes of the world we are very foolish.

You want to do what?

Equip the body of Christ with the Word of God.

You moved from how far away to be here in Florida?

From North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, and Colorado.

Why would you do that? Why would you leave family and friends, homes and financial stability to run a school whose average attendance has been nine people every year? Why would you "risk it all"?

Allow me to explain...

There are moments when I truly feel alive. It's not skydiving or driving really fast or bull riding that makes me feel this way

(none of which I have any desire to do)

. For me, the times when I truly "feel alive" are when I open up my Bible, look into tired eyes, and watch the Holy Spirit turn the lights on inside the people facing me.

Those moments make me want to cry and laugh and throw my hands in the air!

But instead I watch quietly in humble awe of what I see the Lord doing.

My

words are not what turn those lights on, it's

God's

Word coming alive for the very first time that switches on the light.

Over the past few months we've been teaching Inductive Bible Seminars at different churches in the Orlando area. Last night I wrapped up a study on Titus and at the end I asked the people there how Inductive Bible Study had changed their view of Scripture or their relationship with the Lord or even their view of themselves. One lady, around 80 years old, told me that she'd always read her Bible, but the last few months have been the first time she's ever studied it and understood what she's reading. She continued to tell me that she now feels able to study it on her own. She knows where to start and how to do it.

That's a big deal. Have I told you how those moments make me feel?

Several of the rest of the group echoed the exact same thing. The more I think about it, the more my heart fills up to overflowing.

Ministry is not always fun. It's not always exciting or interesting or easy. Sometimes you wonder if it's all worth it, if the world is maybe, just maybe, right in thinking that we're crazy. But when I look into eyes with lights coming on, and I hear someone tell me they know how to study Scripture and grow in their relationship with the Lord, that's when I know that it really is all worth it. When I think of previous students, remember their stories, and look at where they are now because of a solid understanding of Scripture and a grown relationship with the Lord, that's when I know it's all worth it.

The world may think of success in terms of numbers, low-risk, and security. But with the Gospel those indicators are not always a good measure of success. The Gospel is about relationship with God. It's a call to pick up our cross, to walk as Jesus walked, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The good news of Jesus is that we are created and loved by an all-powerful God who wants to be in relationship with us, to remove the sin that separates us from him. And it starts with picking up your Bible and getting to know who this God really is.

Small or large, this is the heart of Emmaus Ministries. And I whole-heartedly believe that it's worth it.

God bless,

Ellen

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Peace on Earth

Tonight, like many other people, I attended a Christmas Eve service. The lights were bright and cheerful, the carols were familiar and friendly. People smiled and hugged each other, and for one brief hour we came together to be reminded of what Christmas is all about.

Peace. Peace on earth. Peace among men. Pure and simple: peace.

Within all that the preacher said about Christmas tonight, that one word carried the most weight for me.

The world is at war: Isis, racism, starvation - pick any topic you like. You can think through the state of Nepal or Haiti or the unending debate over Syrian refugees. World peace is not in view. It's not reality. And the more I see of the human heart, the more firmly I hold to the belief that humanity will not be the provider of world peace. Because while I sing at Church, with no fear for my life, others are suffering and dying for the Gospel. While I enjoy a homemade meal and go to bed safely in a warm house, others go to bed hungry, doing their best to stay warm and alive.

But this post is not to guilt myself or others, it is simply to present reality. Why? Because I look around at the faces in Church and I know that while starvation is not an issue, everyone in that room carries a burden. There are battles that every human being faces. I know the struggles my family and friends face. I know the heartache and long-suffering of the woman smiling at me as I enter Church. I know that there are people in that room who hide their anxiety with a smile and their depression with laughter. I know there are those who over-perform so that they won't let on just how insecure they feel. And I know that some can't be there because their battles confine them to their homes.

We're all at war with something or someone.

But then...Jesus.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

- Luke 2:11-14 -

With the birth of a baby, the perfect Son of God, the impossible was accomplished. Peace was given, good will was granted toward men. Peace between us and God. Peace between believers.

No more striving, no more unrighteous anger or hurt or jealousy. No more greed or lust or bitterness. Here on earth we taste it, but one day we will fully possess the peace we all long for. In Jesus we find what humanity has been searching for from the moment Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. In Jesus we find hope for what is to come, and peace in the midst of what is. And all because he loved us beyond anything we can imagine, and chose to come to earth as a tiny little baby to live and to die for us.

So as 2015 comes to an end I offer you peace. And in 2016 when the world decides to crumble over and over and over again, remember that peace is found in the midst of Harod slaughtering Jewish baby boys. Peace is found even though you may be living in exile. Peace is found in a manger, with the lowest of low shepherds looking on, and a teenage mother wondering at what God has done.

And one day peace will be made complete at the return of our victorious Savior Jesus. He is our peace and comfort, and in him we place our hope.

Merry Christmas all, and to all a good night!

Ellen

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Fall Ministry Update

CLICK HERE to check out our fall ministry update!

http://www.emmausbibleministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Fall-2015.pdf

A new place to call home

Florida. So new. So beautiful. So different. Three families and one single woman: the sum total of staff working with Emmaus Ministries. All of us one big family. And like one big family we laugh, we cry, we bicker, get sick, and laugh again. And it’s been good for us to remind ourselves, and each other, of why we’re here. We didn’t move here because we had to. We didn’t join this ministry because we had nothing else to do.

We’re all here because we feel called. We love Emmaus Ministries. We love our goal, “To equip the body of Christ with the Word of God.” We love our own experiences as students in the Emmaus School of Biblical Studies. We love each and every student that comes through our doors. We love watching the lights go on, and giving people the tools they need to study and understand their Bibles. We love watching them grow and fall more in love with the God who saved them. Ultimately we’re here because we love the Lord, we love His Word, and we want others to feel the same.
And this is where the Lord has called each and every one of us.

It has been far from easy, and yet so extremely wonderful. We have been welcomed in a way we never could have hoped for by people who want and believe in what we do: teach the Bible. Our hearts can hurt when we think about the friends and family we’ve left behind, but to have found such wonderful new friends has been a comfort only God could have given us.

We have all found housing, the kids have started school, and we’ve finished our first official week of work with Emmaus Ministries! The kids miss their old homes, but they’re quickly finding things that they love about Florida, and slowly making new friends.

As staff we’ve been re-grouping and have been making decisions about what this year will look like. We will be running a Bible study, speaking to groups and churches, running seminars, and getting ready for when we re-launch the 10-month school next fall. This year will be a year for growth both as individuals as well as teachers. This year will give us time to recruit students, form new partnerships, and get our facilities ready for next fall.

Next week we will meet with the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. His desire is to care for us and send us people from within the Episcopal Church to learn their Bibles. He believes that what we’re doing is greatly needed within the Church as a whole and he has been very encouraging. Our hope is that other churches from all denominations would also desire to learn and know their Bibles, and that they’d send their youth, youth pastors, and anyone else involved in ministry, to us.

We continue to be so thankful for all of you who have partnered with us in any and every way imaginable. Your prayer and support means so much to each and every one of us. Please keep praying as we push into a season of new connections and continue to settle into our new home.

For current updates and info visit us at: EmmausBibleMinistries.org

Written by Ellen Stark

ESBS RELOCATES TO FLORIDA!

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-->THIS IS A LONG ONE...HANG IN THERE..(Tom and Julia)

 

-->

When we moved to Lake Lure, Tom was concerned that the mountains there were too small and the temperature too hot (yes, insert chuckle/scoff/snarl here).  Yet, over the course of 9 years, our hearts filled with love for this place and its people.  Lake Lure became a home we never thought we’d leave as we discovered just what these mountains had to offer.  I (Julia) birthed 2 new lives here and figured my hair would grey and face would wrinkle watching our children forge friendships with families at the small church and hometown school we love.  We lived alongside ESBS students, saw them come and learn and grow, and saw God grow a wonderful staff community around the school.  We grew too, as ESBS flourished where God planted us.

Over the past two years, God has continued to grow the ESBS community, as He's made our hearts ready to respond to the next adventure ahead...a move...a rebirth for the school...and a call to leave this wonderful mountain town, for the place He’s taking us next.

We’re moving the school to a community called Oviedo, just outside of Orlando, to plant it at a thriving and exciting conference center there.  Here's how this all came about:

In November 2014, Tom and Caleb met for lunch in Lake Lure with Jon Davis, the Executive Director of Canterbury Conference Center in Oviedo, Florida.  He happened to be in Lake Lure and Caleb knew him, partly because Canterbury was the place Caleb first heard about ESBS and made the decision to come and be a student here.  As Tom and Caleb shared about our search for a new location, Jon was instantly excited and invited us to come check out Canterbury.  Our program was a perfect match for his vision of seeing a long-term discipleship community form at Canterbury. 

A week after meeting Jon, Tom and I were in Hawaii.  He was teaching at a YWAM school and we were also celebrating our 10 year anniversary.  On our first morning there we stepped out onto the streets of Kona at 5:30 a.m. and the first person we ran into "randomly" was a man named Dave Behring, someone we’d never met, but who happens to be on the Board of Directors for Canterbury, and who was the one who initially encouraged Caleb Ives to apply for ESBS (while they were at Canterbury together 4 years ago).  He and his wife were in Kona for an art show.  We were surprised to meet him like that, and we chatted about what had just happened at Canterbury.  He had already heard about it.  He prayed for us right there on the sidewalk.  It was a wonderfully weird experience!

As we've searched for a new location over the past year we’ve sensed the Lord saying that He’s going to provide the place and when He does, it will be like a sailboat whose sails become full of wind blowing and pushing it.  It will be like the sun rising and where there was darkness, there will all of the sudden be illumination.  It will be like opening a present on Christmas morning.  We feel like now the Lord is bringing these words to fulfillment by providing Canterbury Conference Center as the new home for the ESBS. 

In December 2014 six of us from the ESBS community flew to Canterbury to officially explore a partnership.  After several great days of meetings we said “no” to the partnership and decided to continue to pursue a location in Lake Lure.  In may ways Tom led that decision, keeping the school in Lake Lure was something he’d always wanted to do, and we had an open door with a property there at the time. We announced the decision to stay in Lake Lure in January 2015.

In April plans to remain in Lake Lure began to deteriorate.  Our ministry model had already outgrown the facility we were moving into.  As we began to move in, it became clear to us all that we couldn’t do what God was asking us to do there.  The property couldn't  facilitate growth.  After discussions with the owners, we chose to discontinue the planned rental agreement.

A partnership with Canterbury was obviously an open door we needed to re-investigate.

By early May we had been back down to Oviedo once more, for three more days of meetings with Canterbury, and we’d achieved a working partnership. By May 11^th both boards had approved the move, and by June 3 all of our ministry supplies had been relocated to Florida.  When God moves…sometimes you just have to hold on tight.

Our first morning at Canterbury in May, before the meetings began, Julia and I participated in morning prayer on the campus.  There were two scripture readings for the day.  We were asked to read them both.  The first one was from Deuteronomy 8.  “Remember the long way that the Lord your God has lead you these 40 years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, to test you to see what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments….for the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land…where you will lack nothing…you will bless the Lord your God for the good land he is bringing you into…(Deut 8:2-10 parts omitted).  Julia was asked to read that scripture, and I saw the tears well up in her eyes as we both felt those words impacting our hearts.  Next I (Tom) was asked to read from Luke 9:18-27 “If any want to become my followers, let them take up their cross and follow me, for those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”

God was speaking.  The meetings were a huge success, and a strong partnership was created.

Emmaus Ministries will operate in partnership with Canterbury much like it did with Lurecrest.  We will maintain our own 501(c)3 status.  Our curriculum, calendar, costs and staff will not change.  What WILL change is that we will be integrating ourselves into a campus that has deep connections in Central Florida, and where the school will have a much higher visibility than it ever did in Lake Lure.  College groups and ecumenical ministry fellowships meet on Canterbury’s campus on a weekly basis.  Youth ministry training, and church leadership training also happen there regularly.  Additionally Canterbury operates in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, which is the most conservative and orthodox Episcopal diocese we’ve ever seen.  The diocese has been very receptive to the partnership we’ve created, and we’re so excited to see all the ways that God will plug us into what He’s doing there. 

So, we’re excited about this new season for Emmaus, and for our community of staff members.  Currently we have three families and two singles transitioning out of Lake Lure and towards Oviedo.  The past month has been a wild ride for all of us, but we’re so confident that God is up to something good.  After 9 years at Lurecrest, we are THRILLED to follow God into this new adventure.  We all feel like Emmaus Ministries is positioned to really grow and thrive in Florida.  This partnership is replete with signs of God’s providence.  We stand in awe of His provision, and with heart of faith we say “yes” to the leading of God towards the “Good land” he is calling us into.

Tom and Julia