One of the best parts of working for Emmaus Bible Ministries is the feeling of an ongoing learning experience. It seems that a lot of life’s most important lessons are learned the hard way, but working within a community of disciple-making-Bible-nerds has certainly had its perks in this particular arena of life. As Bible teachers, we really love the continuing opportunity to journey through the Scriptures every year, honing our skills and understanding, but the true gift of this job has been the spiritual formation that has come through a team of like-minded individuals seeking Jesus together. We have found that one of the greatest catalysts of individual growth is community.
Ephesians 4:15-16, “…speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
This is also one of the primary reasons that “community life” is a core value of Emmaus Bible Ministries.
Recent Happenings
Currently, our School of Biblical Studies students are getting ready to head into their final Old Testament Unit for the year. I absolutely love teaching through the Old Testament, but it’s always the most challenging to prepare for.
One thing Emmaus has done for me and many of our students is open a door into understanding the Old Testament. It had historically always been a challenge for me to see the Old Testament as anything but a random collection of books that I couldn’t relate to, but our program has continually shown me the breathtaking beauty of the Old Testament as a grand story connecting the Bible from beginning to end.
Another great gift of working for Emmaus is watching students become teachers. This is the testimony one of our students from last year gave about her time in our School of Biblical Studies:
“For me Emmaus sparked a love for God’s Word that I never had before. Before my student year, I didn’t believe I could understand the Bible, I didn’t believe I would ever be able to read it in its entirety, and I didn’t believe it related to me very much. However, studying at Emmaus gave me the confidence to engage and apply God’s Word, not only in the classroom community, but in the silence of my own home.”
– Sarah Phaneuf
Sarah just got done teaching the book of Micah in our School of Biblical Studies!
We also had another student last year give this testimony about our Foundations Course:
Patrick is currently teaching the book of Exodus in that same Foundations Course!
What’s Next?
For a long time, Seminary has been on my heart for the future (and still is) but we just haven’t felt the Lord lead our family in that direction quite yet. But we do believe that he has opened up a new opportunity for furthering my education while also preparing me for seminary, and it’s an opportunity you can partner in! Starting in January, I’ll be attending Kairos Classroom as I begin my journey toward learning the ancient langauges of the Bible. This particular course will allow me to maintain my current work schedule while also taking the next two years to learn both Greek and Hebrew.
Kairos Classroom is an online language learning ministry that focuses on bringing seminary level instruction into a more accessible and practical space. With Kairos, I will be engaging in live instruction with a small online classroom. Kairos specializes in creating tailored learning experiences while emphasizing practical engagement with languages, helping students learn how to both read and study these ancient languages on their own. Kairos also works with seminaries to help transfer my learning experience into class credits.
If you would like to help me take this specific next step in furthering my education and enhancing our ministry roles here with Emmaus, you can donate to our GoFundMe account here!
Thank you all for your continued love and support!
– The McRae Family
The McRae Family 