Two Kinds of Sponsorship: Wise and Unwise

Wise sponsorship is purposeful and prayerful; unwise sponsorship is haphazard and undiscerning. Wise sponsorship eventually will produce a balanced, theologically centered movement of the Holy Spirit, which is integrated into the life of the church in the community and which is honored by a variety of churches as an effective instrument for conveying God’s grace, the call to committed discipleship, and our unity in Christ.

Unwise sponsorship eventually will produce a harvest that becomes more of a burden than a blessing for the church, a movement that has become a “religious fringe group” or a parachurch apart from the established church in the community. At best, such groups benefit the individuals involved, having no impact upon or relationship with the churches of the community, thus forfeiting the purpose of the Emmaus Movement. At worst, such groups benefit themselves at the expense of the church, breeding division instead of unity within the body of Christ and intolerance instead of tolerance of different religious expressions.