The "Walk to Emmaus" comes out of the Roman Catholic Cursillo tradition. In Spanish, the word "Cursillo" means "little or short course". The Emmaus weekend is a short course in Christianity. Cursillo began on the island of Majorca, just off the coast of Spain, in the late 1940's. After World War II, a Roman Catholic bishop saw the deterioration of the Christian faith in his diocese. Along with some laymen, he developed this program to develop leaders among the men of his parish. The first Cursillois were very penitential in nature. In fact, the team and pilgrims fasted for the full 72 hours of the retreat.

Cursillo came to the United States in 1956, when two Spanish Air Cadets came to Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas for flight training. There was a Spanish priest in the area who was also a Cursillista (one who has attended a Cursillo). At first, Cursillos were given on the Mexican/United States border, and only in Spanish. It spread to other Spanish speaking communities before being translated into English. Cursillo has spread across the United States, and across many denominations. Except in a very few areas, Cursillo is not ecumenical.

In 1977, the Upper Room, an agency of the United Methodist Church, became interested in the Cursillo program and sponsored two United Methodist models of Cursillo in Peroria, Illinois, one of the few ecumenical Cursillo centers. In 1981, in mutual agreement with the National Secretariat of the Roman Catholic Cursillo, Upper Room Cursillo changed its name to "Walk to Emmaus". Since that time, the Walk to Emmaus has grown to an international ministry, with an average of 50 walks occurring every weekend. For more information about the Walk to Emmaus ministry, visit the Upper Room Walk to Emmaus web site.

The Atlanta South Walk to Emmaus (ASWTE) Community was organized in 1990 by South Atlanta pilgrims who attended "Walks" (Cursillo, Tres Dias, Chrysalis, Kairos, and Via de Christo, hereinafter being collectively referred to as a "Walk" or "Walks"). Walk to Emmaus is a program of the Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. The Atlanta South Walk to Emmaus Community is under covenant with the Upper Room, Nashville Tennessee. The Atlanta South Walk to Emmaus Community owes much to the North Georgia Walk to Emmaus Community. The first "Walk to Emmaus" held by the ASWTE was at Camp Wesley, Fairburn, Georgia in April 1992.

Emmaus is ecumenical in nature, which means that any person from any denomination is welcome to participate fully in any capacity. The hope of the Emmaus community is that we may come to a better understanding of our brothers and sisters of differing denominations, and a better understanding of the Church of Jesus Christ, which has no denominational boundaries. The goal of the "Walk to Emmaus" is to make Christian communities possible in neighborhoods, churches, work situations, and all the other places where people live the greater part of their lives. It attempts to make it possible for everyone to live a Christian life in a natural way and to put renewed meaning and added boldness into the most important proclamation that anyone will ever make - "I am a Christian".