Educational Resource
On the Road Again: The Emmaus Model of Accompaniment by Sara Blauvelt (2018)
This is a Forum White Paper, part of the National Leadership Forum on Ministry with Young Adults Conference, December 5-6, 2018, Tampa, Florida
This two-day Forum, designed for those who minister to young adults at all levels, allowed attendees to dialogue with national leaders integral to these major events, as well as young adult ministry peers applying insights to local efforts.
On the Road Again: The Emmaus Model of Accompaniment by Sara Blauvelt
The work of disciples has been, and will always be, to bring the Gospel to the world in which they live. The Second Vatican Council invited us to consider social discernment an essential element of discipleship, “The Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel” (Gaudium et spes, 4). Though the cultural landscape is an ever-changing reality, our history of passing on the faith can and should inform our present and future approaches to ministry. This does not mean we carry along every program and resource of the past, rather, it means we are called to mine our rich tradition of evangelization and catechesis for the wisdom and methods that remain perennial. Too often, when we trying to engage young adults, we think we must develop a new program. We should instead engage in a spirit of inculturating prevailing elements of culture with the wisdom of past methodologies. No single method of engagement is applicable to the needs of all young adults, but there is a universal model of accompaniment.