Meet the Staff: Morgan

This week we would love for you to meet Morgan Phaneuf! Morgan first came to Emmaus as a student during our pilot program. Born and raised in North Carolina, Morgan and her husband Justin moved to Florida with their two kids, Drake and Tannis. Morgan is an excellent student and teacher of the Word.

Morgan, Let’s cut to the chase, what do you do around here?

The short answer is, I enjoy myself WAY too much! If you're talking specifics, I'm the instagrammer on staff. Instagram is a "look in" at our daily life here and I love that part of my job is sneaking around taking candid photos! I also get to use my "nice camera" to take photos as a way to document everything from our community events, to photos for blogs/support raising needs, and just our ministry and school life. I taught my first two books this Spring and I am looking forward to adding to my repertoire in the Fall (starting with the Book of Joshua). As with most ministries, we all do a little bit of everything as needs arise.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Is it cliche' to say all the parts? It's probably cliche' but I am going to say it anyway. All the parts! My job is to be in my Bible all the time, talk to people about the Bible all the time, and be in community with people who love the Bible and want to talk about it all the time! I love my coworkers as well, they are a pretty great part of the job. I legitimately miss the people I work with on the weekends and I look forward to Mondays when I get to go back to work! If I had to narrow it down to just one thing though, it would have to be watching the way studying the Bible captivates people and changes them. God's word is living and active and it messes with the people that really spend time in it. Having the opportunity to watch that in all its incarnations is beautiful and wonderful!

When did you know God was calling you to be a part of Emmaus?

I think I knew that God was calling me to Emmaus to be on staff in the same way that I knew He was calling me to be a student, it just kept coming up! During my time as a student, I experienced life and heart change beyond what I thought imaginable. I spent a lot of time bewildered and overwhelmed. However, during that same time I also started teaching in my Neighborhood Group. I hadn’t even been inclined to speak up in discussions in group prior to that but, suddenly, I couldn’t help but share what I was learning in class! I wanted people to know what I was discovering. I couldn't stop talking about the Bible!  I tried to find any way I could to tell people about Emmaus. On occasion, people would say "You should teach the Bible" or "Your passion for this is infectious, you were made for this!" Those comments made me embarrassed and awkward, but they also made me think. Fast forward to coming into the end of my student year and I was absolutely unsure of what was next. What I was sure of was that I was completely bereft at the thought of leaving Emmaus for good. I would have never anticipated that being on staff at a ministry where I stood in front of people and gave lectures was in God's plan for me, but, here I am!

Which Bible Character would you want to get coffee with?

Jesus of course! Shouldn't everyone say Jesus? Everyone probably says Jesus right? Well, if Jesus is a given, I would say my second choice would probably be Mary, the mother of Jesus. If you think about her life, what she was told, what happened to her, what she saw through the eyes of a mother, her story is just incredible! I would love to pick her brain about seeing Jesus through the eyes of both a mother and a disciple! I imagine some of it would be heart wrenching, like the crucifixion. However, I think some of it would also be humorous. I mean, what was Jesus like as a kid? I’m a parent, I have some great stories about the things my kids have said and done! I also cannot imagine hearing the sweet, soft pride that only a mother can feel as she spoke of watching her son grow as a Rabbi and take his ministry forward.

What was your favorite Christian Song to Jam out to growing up?

Well, I didn't grow up listening to Christian music often as I didn't have what you would call the "traditional" faith history. I mostly jammed out to The Beatles, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Buffett, show tunes, 60’s rock and some of whatever was popular. However, my best friend (the person responsible for dragging me to youth group and church kicking and screaming, if you’re reading this Melissa, I love you!) only listened to Christian music in her car. I rode to school with her in the morning and she had a few songs she would put on blast and repeat until we joined in her joyful 7am worship sessions (yes, there was dancing). I really enjoyed "The Devil is Bad" by The Ws. That's a fun one to sing with 6 people stuffed into a Mustang!

Why Emmaus?

I’m not sure I have a concise answer for this question. I simply feel like this is what God made me to do. I know, I know, that sounds like such a “this is my calling” super spiritual type answer. It’s true though. Once I graduated college, I would tell people “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” As my transcripts can attest, I certainly didn’t know when I was still in school! (Four schools and I think 5ish majors?) During my student year at Emmaus, even when the workload was hard and balancing life with class was demanding, I always felt sadness knowing that one day it would end. I would have to graduate and leave Emmaus. Often, I’d demand an “Emmaus 200 level” course catalogue or I would threaten to just camp out and blatantly refuse leave! Emmaus has been such a gift, not just to me, but my family, my friends and my faith community. I am who I am because I have allowed the Bible to mess with me. I am a different person than I was prior to January 2018. I cannot believe that now I really do get stay at Emmaus! It’s not just that. I get the honor and the incredibly humbling privilege of watching students while the Bible messes with them too. All that to say, “Why Emmaus?” is really more a “What else but Emmaus?” question to me. There’s nothing in the world I can imagine that I want to be involved with more than this ministry with these people!

If you would like to support Morgan and her family or read her update blog click the buttons below.

The Chorus We All Should Know - [The Phaneuf Phamily Blog]

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The Book of Revelation is a song of praise meant to inspire awestruck worship, eternal hope and a call to action for believers everywhere.

-Impressions of a first time Revelation reader

WELCOME NEW STAFF

Friends and Partners,

It is such an exciting time at Emmaus as God has blessed our staff with the addition of TWO incredible staff.

First of all, Kristi Marsh has arrived on our campus! As you know, Kristi has been hard at work through the fall raising support in her home state of Tennessee. We moved her into her apartment the first week of January and she officially joined our ministry staff. We are so thrilled to have her on the team and she’s already begun to influence with her heart for community, discipleship, service and study. Please be praying for her as she prepares to teach her first ever book with our School, Ephesians, at the end of February.

Secondly, we are thrilled to announce that Morgan Phaneuf, a student from last years School of Biblical Studies is joining our staff team! One of the great joys of this past year has been the way Morgan has embraced the transformative work of the Scriptures in her life, and that transformation brought with it a passion and vision for equipping all Christ-followers to be confident in engaging their Bible. Please join us in welcoming Morgan, her husband Justin, and their children Drake and Tannis, to the Emmaus team! Also, be praying for Morgan as she is currently working on support raising and preparing to teach her first book with our School, Colossians, in March!

Thank you for your continued support through prayer and finances as we, as a community of missionaries, seek to equip the body of Christ with the word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ from here in Central Florida.

Thank you,

The Emmaus Team

Merry Christmas from Emmaus!

Friends and Partners,

Merry Christmas from our family to yours as we celebrate the “good news of great joy” that has come for all of us in the God who put on flesh and dwelt among us. We just concluded the Old Testament and it was such a great time to enter this season of Advent, as we celebrate the longing satisfied in the birth of Jesus and also the hope anchored in His future coming to restore all things.

There is also something about the end of the year that causes us to reflect on the year that is coming to a close, and here at Emmaus, it’s amazing to think about all that has changed:

• Caleb became the new Executive Director

• Jacob, Samantha, Stephen and Lizzie staffed their first Emmaus School

• The redesigned School of Biblical Studies welcomed it’s first class

• We launched our brand new Biblical Narrative Series

• Jacob & Samantha added baby Benaiah to the community!

• Trey & Lizzie welcomed little Teddy to their family and ours!

• Stephen got engaged to the amazing Lauren! (wedding in January)

And now as we head into 2019, we have the VERY EXCITING addition of Kristi Marsh to our staff in January! Kristi is bringing a gift of teaching, a rich background of theological education, and a passion for engaging the Church in Biblical training. We can’t wait for her arrival! Check out her bio on our Staff page.

Honestly, even while I write this, it feels a little overwhelming to take it all in! What an incredible year marked by change, by challenge, by hope, and most of all, by the faithfulness of Immanuel, the God who is always and forever WITH us.

As we conclude 2018, we wanted to say thank you to all of those who have been a part of the story of Emmaus over the years. Thank you for your prayers and your partnership as, year after year, the experience of the Emmaus road happens in the lives of followers of our wonderful Jesus:

“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

We sat down with a few of our students so they could share with you some their discoveries along their Emmaus road so far this year

As you can see, God continues to do incredible things in the hearts of people as they come face to face with the character of God and the beauty of the Gospel within the pages of the Scriptures. This wouldn’t be possible without our sacrificial, faithful team of missionaries. If you are one of their donors, THANK YOU! Your investment is discipling students, teaching book after book of the Scriptures, and impacting countless Christ-followers in local churches through the creation and implementation of new programs!

As we come to the end of the year, consider investing in the mission of Emmaus as we seek to equip the body of Christ with the word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Two tangible ways to do this:

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We currently have a goal of $5000 in general fund contributions to utilize in the program creation, operation, and marketing

All of our staff are ongoing in their support-raising. Consider investing in one of them as a one-time gift or a 2019 partnership.

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Thank you again, for being a part of the story of Emmaus. A story of lives revolutionized by the power of the Gospel…past, present, and future. We pray you that in this season, you enjoy the presence of Immanuel, The God who is always with us.

Merry Christmas,

The Emmaus Team

Announcing Caleb Ives as Executive Director

We are very pleased to announce that Caleb Ives will be the new Executive Director for Emmaus Ministries, effective April 5, 2018.

Caleb has served on Emmaus Ministries (ESBS) staff team since 2012.  Before serving with Emmaus Ministries, Caleb and his wife, Latoya, were full-time staff at a church in Michigan. In addition, Caleb has taught the Bible internationally for many years. Caleb holds his Emmaus School of Biblical Studies (ESBS) certificate and received an MDiv from Regent Seminary. Caleb is a gifted Pastor, Teacher, Communicator and Leader. Caleb and Latoya have four beautiful girls (Lily, Grace, Maya, & Faith) who keep them busy and bring a lot of joy to their lives. 

Lilly, Grace, Maya, Faith

Please join us in welcoming Caleb and his family in the new role as Emmaus' Executive Director.

- Emmaus Ministries Board