As of today (June 2nd), Samantha and I are officially graduates of the Emmaus School of Biblical Studies! It has been a long year with many trying circumstances that we never expected to face, but we wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
Before coming to this school, one of our favorite Christian authors presented a question that really challenged us: If you took away everything you’ve ever learned about God or the Bible through a second hand source (sermons, speakers, topical/theological books), what would you really know? For us, the answer was very little, and that started the desire within us to go and study God’s Word for ourselves. An analogy I like to use to describe our experience is that of a “forest path.” If someone were to try and describe a forest path for me using photos and illustrations, I would get the general idea and could probably even memorize certain trees or bends of the path. But it’s a much different experience getting to walk the path yourself. Everything takes on a new light or angle, things that could never be comprehended perfectly through a second hand source. And to us, that was what this year was like as we went through the Bible. I can’t really give a better ending thought for the year other than our gratitude at being able to experience something so unusual as making the Scriptures our lives’ purpose for the past 10 months. It has truly been a blessing.
What’s Next?
As you may have read in our previous post, Samantha and I have felt the call to remain here in FL with Emmaus Ministries. As school ends, we are getting more and more excited to see how the next year will play out. That being said, God is moving in this Ministry in a way that came somewhat unexpectedly, in that, we feel He is calling us (Emmaus Ministries) to rethink our vision for the school. Our mission as a ministry is going to stay the same: “Emmaus Ministries exists to disciple and equip the body of Christ with the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ through: Inductive Bible study, authentic relationships, and community life.” Currently, we feel that God is showing us that our 10 month school simply isn’t as accessible as we would like it to be. Because of this, we have entered into a season of much prayer and supplication, asking God what His heart for this ministry is and how we can expand this ministry for the greatest amount of impact. We know that He is calling us to something greater, and we are diligently seeking His guidance. During this time, we (Jacob and Samantha) are still looking to establish a support team that will enable us to take on the responsibilities of this ministry full-time. And as a ministry, we are still committed to hosting seminars for local churches and bible studies, staying involved in those same churches as we nail down details for Emmaus Ministries’ future. For this, we would love your continued prayer and support.
Samantha and I currently have plans to travel this summer for the purpose of seeing family and talking with anyone who might be interested in what this ministry is about or who might be interested in joining our support team. Our current plan is to travel to Homer, AK near the end of June for a couple weeks and shortly afterwards we will head to Virginia for a couple weeks as well.
If you are interested in meeting with us during our travel time or if you have any specific questions for us, please click on the “Contact” tab at the top of the page and send us a message, we’d love to chat.
-Jacob and Samantha
The McRae Family 