Most of us have experienced a time in our lives when we either choose to or needed to make a trip. Another name for these trips are "journeys." In our lifetime, we may have journeyed to grandma's house or some other exciting place such as Disney. However, none of these journeys compare to the journey of faith we all participate in. There is no doubt that our "journey of faith" is different from everyone else's because God has called us in different ways through different life experiences. However, we also know that there are several things we all have in common on this "journey of faith."
First, our "journey of faith" begins when we realize our need for God and give our lives to Jesus. In fact, we believe that even before we know we need God-God is already calling us to begin this "journey of faith." Second, we believe this is a journey that will take us a lifetime to fully complete. Third, the destination of all who begin this "journey of faith" is two-fold: It is a physical reality that the Bible refers to as heaven and it is the transformation of individual lives.
The first part of our two-fold destination is the physical reality the Bible refers to as heaven. In heaven we find a place of pure beauty without all the flaws of this world. However, the most important part of heaven is not beauty or flawlessness-the most important part of heaven is that we are in the "very presence" of God for all eternity. You could say, that our "journey of faith" leads us to the house of God where we are invited in so that we might spend eternity with the One who created us out of love. As you are aware, knowing our beginning point and our ending point doesn't necessarily mean that we will reach our destination. For example, just because we know where we live and we know where Disney is doesn't mean that we will ever make that journey. Other things must happen for any journey to be completed and to be seen as successful.
We believe that these other things are what we are called to work on while we are enjoying the life God has blessed us with here on earth. Thus, this brings us to the second part of our two-fold destination: The transformation of individual lives. We believe that God calls us to follow the example of Jesus in our daily lives. It is by following this example that we become "Just Like Jesus." The gospel accounts help us see that Jesus prepared the disciples for service in the kingdom of God as they journeyed together ON THE WAY to Jerusalem. We believe this to be a prime example to us that we, too, are called to prepare followers of Jesus for service in the kingdom of God as we journey the road of faith together. The goal of Jesus' journey with the disciples was to prepare them for ministry in a hurting world. In the end almost all of those who joined Jesus ON THE WAY became fully committed followers of Jesus-to the point of sacrificing their own lives. These first followers are evidence that transformation can and does take place in the lives of individuals. For example, Jesus helped transform the lives of several fishermen, a hated tax collector, and just ordinary people into individuals who transformed the world in a Godly way. We are committed to helping those who enter our doors grow into fully committed followers of Jesus Christ. Here at Emmanuel we believe that transformation means helping individuals become "One Anothering" Christians. (NOTE: You will find more details about this part of the destination on the next page) The plan we have established for making this happen is called "ON THE WAY" Therefore, all those who attend Emmanuel are asked to be "ON THE WAY" Together, we believe, we can help transform the lives of individuals and ultimately the world for God's purposes. We invite you to join us "ON THE WAY" to becoming a fully committed follower of Jesus Christ. The wonderful part of the journey is evidenced in our Church name Emmanuel which means "God with us." It is truly good to know that God is with us ON THE WAY.
