Emmaus Community,

I hope that you are as excited as I am to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior this Sunday. Easter is my favorite time of year; I love everything from the words Jesus spoke on the cross (Tetelestai- debt paid in full), to the empty tomb that means we have an eternal hope in our God who is ALIVE! Hallelujah! I pray that everyone is thoroughly blessed this weekend remembering all that Jesus did on our behalf.

The April men’s walk is quickly approaching, and is in need of pilgrims. Be a blessing to someone this Easter and sign them up so that God can reveal himself on this walk. I can assure you that God has annointed this team and has amazing things in store for it, so please go out in faith and prayer and find someone to sponsor.

Lastly, I want to thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to serve this community as Lay Director for the past year. My limited skill set does not lend itself well to anything regarding administration, and to be honest I dread meetings, so I wondered why God called me to serve in this capacity. But I soon found that what he was calling me to was simply prayer. The motto of our community has always been “The power behind these walks is prayer”. Prayer to the God who has the power to change the hearts of His children. That is what I urge you to continue to do, because if I have learned anything in the past year, it is that humbling ourselves in constant prayer to our God who will revive us, is the only pathway to revival.

I am excited to announce that Frank McLelland will be serving as the new Community Lay Director. I first met Frank on Mens Walk #57, which he led. I was blown away by the sight of such a big fellow humbling himself before the Lord that he loved deeply. I knew immediately that this was a servant I wanted to serve beside! Please join me in praying for God to bless this community and the McLelland family, and I look forward to seeing the ways God uses them to further His kingdom through this ministry.

De Colores,
B.J. Schilling

Community, you missed out if you couldn’t make it to any of the events for Women’s Walk #132 in February. We sent off a full walk and candlelight was amazing! God outdid himself over the weekend! As I prayed about what to write this month for the newsletter, I thought about something my pastor said this past Sunday –

“If what you did yesterday still looks awesome today, then you haven’t done enough today.”

I love studying the life of King David. You know, David faced a lot of foes in his day, from Goliath to huge armies, but conquered them all. What finally took David out was a gal on a roof top. At a time (Spring) when kings were supposed to be leading their troops into battle, David sat resting on his couch. Comfortable in the victories in his past as King; he got complacent. Instead of leading the battle that God commissioned him for, he got a bit too comfortable and he stumbled. He wasn’t defeated by the sword of a giant, or by the countless armies he battled, but by his complacency.

God has used Emmaus in the past to reveal Himself and his grace to each one of us. He continues to do that each and every time testimonies are told at closing. To that I say Praise God! But we, as a community, can’t rest in the past victories won on Emmaus weekends. To ensure that this tool that God has used so often in the past to shine His love and truth to countless peoples remains that same instrument in the future, we must not rest but continue to rise for battle; continue to strive forward in the ministry He has called us to.

On that note, there is a Young Mens Chrysalis coming up in March and a Men’s walk in April. As a member of this community, I ask you for your unending prayers, and all of the pilgrims and agape that we as this body can gather. Here is a quick list of upcoming events-

March 5th – Community Meeting – Westmont Christian Church – 4808 Utica – 6:30pm
March 19-22 – Young Men’s Chrysalis Journey
April16-19 – Men’s Walk #93

May God continue to bless each of you on your 4th days!

De Colores,
B.J. Schilling

Greeting Community,

Happy New Year! I pray that this Christmas season was packed with blessings for everyone! As we jump into 2015, I want to first ask for your continued prayers for our Emmaus community at large and for the walks that will be taking place this year. I am certain that as we continue to lift up our community to him in prayer, and continue to to ensure that His name is glorified and His will is done through Emmaus, that He will be faithful to continue blessing all of us involved and all of those to come.

It is again a busy season for Emmaus activity; beginning with the Young Ladies Chrysalis this weekend, and the Men’s Walk next weekend. Both of these walks are still in need of pilgrims, so please pray about that and be bold in inviting friends and loved ones to receive the blessings that the weekend has to offer.

Our Community meeting is also this Thursday, January 8th at St. Josephs in Slaton. It will work a bit differently this month. There will not be a meal for this community, instead we will meet at the Mercy Center patio at around 6:30 to send off the Young Ladies on the Chrysalis. Following that, we will join acroos the street at St. Joseph’s for worship and updates.

Hope to see you there and may God continue to pour out His blessings on each of us this year!

De Colores,
B.J. Schilling

Greetings community! I hope everyone was blessed with plenty of food and family over the Thanksgiving holiday! I thought that I would be really smart on Thanksgiving night and drop into a large store near my house and knock out my Christmas shopping in one swoop, while getting some good deals as well. When I entered the store, I saw that the line to check out wrapped all the way around the store and ended at the door I’d just walked in. I quickly realized that Thanksgiving weekend shopping required much more commitment to shopping than I possess, and I returned home with promises of never trying that again!

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3

My wife and I have felt somewhat of a burden this Christmas season to keep our kids’ eyes trained on what Christmas is about, and why it is sacred and such a cause for celebration! Around 2000 years before Jesus was born, God made Abraham this promise that He would bless the entire world through Abraham’s lineage; and for 2000 years the people of Israel waited anxiously for the Messiah that God had promised to send. Generations saw the glory of Israel through King David and the rise of Solomon, and they saw the nation of Israel fall to conqueror after conqueror. But hope was not lost, because at God’s appointed time, some 2000 years after He made this promise, He made good on it.

How blessed we are now to not just live with a hope that someday God will send a Messiah and that maybe we will be alive to see it, but to live with the knowledge that He has! Now, we ride in the wake of the trail that Jesus blazed for us, safe in our faith in the Gospel that began when God sent his Son on Christmas! I pray that each of you have a very blessed Christmas this year as we all celebrate the coming of our Savior.

I hope to see you at the Community Meeting this Thursday, December 4th at 6:30 pm at First Christian Church on Broadway. If you would like to sponsor a man or woman for the upcoming January/February walks, there are still spots available.

De Colores,
B.J. Schilling