Sponsorship is assuming a lot more responsibility than merely completing the application form. Sponsors are responsible for many things before, during and after the weekend of the Walk. Hopefully you had a good model. The work of the sponsor should facilitate and enhance the whole Emmaus experience of an individual from the pre-Walk phase to well into their Fourth Day.

You should be a model of Fourth Day discipleship before sponsoring someone. You should be active in a Reunion Group and accountable to them for your piety, study, action and obtaining spiritual direction. You have the responsibility to introduce the individual to your Reunion Group after they have completed their Walk to Emmaus weekend.
You should be a recognized church leader active in your church and its ministry and mission. You should be involved in the support team during Emmaus weekends and attend community Gatherings.

Good sponsorship begins with determining who to invite to the Mountain Top Walk to Emmaus®. Remember that Emmaus is about building Christian leaders - not about evangelism. Individuals to consider sponsoring to the Walk to Emmaus should already be active members involved in a Christian church and have a leadership role in their church such as Sunday school teacher or church committee member. Individuals who have recently experienced death in the family, divorce, or are the primary care givers of a terminal family member should be invited at a later time. The Walk to Emmaus® is not designed to address their needs. Persons who are marginal Christians or non-Christian should not be sponsored. The Walk to Emmaus® addresses issues of mature faith and assumes participants already have a relationship with Christ Jesus. As you can see, knowing these matters require more than a casual relationship with the individual. Remember to "make a friend, be a friend, then lead your friend to Jesus."

The next step is to pray about who God wants you to sponsor. Once an affirmation is received then fully understand and accept all of the responsibilities of sponsorship before an invitation is issued. Here are some Sponsor responsibilities:

Sponsors issue the invitation.

Sponsors explain the Walk to Emmaus® to the individual and spouse (if married).

Sponsors explain Follow-up, Reunion Group, and Gatherings to the individual.

Sponsors should guide the individual through the Mountain Top Emmaus website. (This website has been designed to be a tool to help sponsors explain Emmaus.)

Sponsors communicate with the individual's Pastor about the Walk to Emmaus®.

Sponsors privately complete the confidential Sponsor sheet (Page 2) of the Application.

Sponsors mail the completed Application to the Registrar with the registration fee.

Sponsors pay the non-refundable registration fee for the individual as an agape.

Sponsors communicate with the Registrar regarding financial assistance needs.

Sponsors are available to address doubts or correct misunderstandings before a Walk.

Sponsors sign up for the 72-hour prayer vigil.

Sponsors have their Reunion Group prepare table agape.

Sponsors notify the Registrar immediately in case of a cancellation or postponement.

Sponsors bring the individual to the Send-off and attend the service that follows.

Sponsors are available to assist the individual's family needs throughout the weekend.

Sponsors serve the team crews as needed throughout the weekend.

Sponsors pray for the individual in prayer services and the prayer vigil.

Sponsors bring snack food, drinks, gifts, notes or letters for the individual.

Sponsors attend Candlelight.

Sponsors attend Closing and arrange to take the individual home after the weekend.

Sponsors bring the individual to the Follow-up after the weekend.

Sponsors introduce the individual to their Reunion Group after their weekend.

Sponsors assist the individual in finding and joining a Reunion Group.

Sponsors guide the individual through the process when they sponsor someone.

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Some of the guide lines the board would like to remind everyone of are:

Sponsor no more than 2 pilgrims per household.

Your registration fee can only be moved once with the same pilgrim, after that it is forfeited. It may not be transferred to someone else.

You are responsible for your pilgrim's family needs during the weekend.

Bring snack food & drink to sendoff...
...and each time you come to the Mountain during the weekend.

Letters are a very important part of the pilgrims weekend. Make sure you get them.

Sign up to participate in the 72 hour prayer vigil.

Make agape gifts, if at all possible.

Attend Candlelight to rise and pray for your pilgrim.

When you come to serve don’t ask your pilgrim "How are you doing?"

or "How is it going?", just let them know you love them.

Bring your pilgrim to the Follow Up after the weekend.

Introduce your pilgrim to the Reunion Group.

Bring your pilgrim to the Community Gathering.

Meet with and support your pilgrim throughout the Fourth Days.

Most important of all,
pray for your pilgrim and their family during the weekend!

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Once you feel you can accept all of the responsibilities of sponsorship, then issue the invitation. The individual should be responsive to your invitation. You should not become so insistent in your invitation that the individual agrees to participate in the Walk to Emmaus® to get you "off their back". Take special care in your invitation to clergy. Your pastor has already made a lifetime commitment to serve our Lord Jesus and has studied scripture and theology. True, your pastor may benefit from "going to the well", but also be aware that your pastor is not likely to learn anything new at the Walk to Emmaus®. Many pastors participate in the Walk to Emmaus® to determine if and how Emmaus may enable ministry in the congregations they serve. Under no circumstances should anyone, especially pastors, feel forced to participate in the Walk to Emmaus®.

One question that often gets voiced is, "How much can I tell someone about the Walk to Emmaus?" The answer is tell someone as much as you want. There may be wisdom in saving a surprise - but Emmaus has no "secrets". You may want to show someone this Mountain Top Walk to Emmaus® website designed to be useful to help explain Emmaus to someone.

After this it is time to help your applicant fill out their sheet of the Application form. Then privately complete your confidential Sponsor's sheet. Each application must have the completed Sponsor's sheet sent in with it. Even when you are sponsoring two pilgrims, each application must have its own Sponsor sheet sent in with it. If the Sponsor sheet is not included with the Application sheet, the application is not complete and cannot be processed. Please take care to make sure all address and contact information is complete, correct and legible. This is the source of the pilgrim information distributed at the conclusion of the weekend. Remember, Sponsors pay the non-refundable Registration fee and mail it to the Registrar attached to the Applicant's and Sponsor's pages of the completed Application. Sponsors who follow these guidelines should avoid most common delays in the Application processing.

Sponsorship offers many rewards and blessings. One of the most significant is the hope of making a Christian friend for life - a friend and companion to be with you on the Fourth Day journey down the Emmaus Road.

"How may I get selected to serve on a Team?"

After a Walk it is natural some Pilgrims feel called to serve on a Walk to Emmaus Team. However, serving on a Team is not a simple matter of completing a form and waiting for someone to call or mail a letter. Mountain Top Walk to Emmaus Team members are selected by a Team Selection Committee so it is desirable to become known within the Emmaus community. These are suggested steps to take:

1 - Join (or form) and regularly attend a Reunion Group.
2 - Become a Sponsor.
3 - Regularly attend Gatherings, Closings and Candlelights.
4 - Complete and keep current a "yes" sheet.
5 - Serve during a Walk in the Kitchen, Dining Room, or Prayer Chapel. Make certain to "sign in" so that your name has been recorded as one who served. While serving during a Walk, search out and talk to the Board members in charge of these areas and let them know you feel called to serve on a Team.
6 - Be certain you are truly called to serve, PRAY and be prepared to accept when asked to serve on a Walk to Emmaus Team.
7 - Though it is very rare, if you have taken all of these steps and have not yet been contacted to serve on a Team, then it's time to "stand at the door and knock". Write your most diplomatic letter to the Chairperson of the Board documenting the steps you have taken and expressing how you feel called to serve on a Walk to Emmaus Team.

DeColores Ya'll!