What Is Spiritual Sponsorship?
Every person who attends an Emmaus Spiritual Event is supported by a Spiritual Sponsor. This sponsor walks alongside the participant before, during, and after the Emmaus experience, offering prayer, encouragement, and guidance.
Spiritual sponsorship is not about paying for a participant, but about helping them receive the full spiritual benefit of the Event. It reflects the way God reaches people through relationships. Through sponsorship, the gift of Emmaus is shared from person to person in a caring, prayerful, and disciplined way.
Sponsors therefore participate in, and demonstrate, God’s outward‑reaching love.
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Why Is Spiritual Sponsorship So Important?
Spiritual sponsorship is one of the most important roles in the Emmaus Movement. While it is often reduced to simply signing up participants, true sponsorship is far more than that.
The quality of sponsorship directly affects: - The spiritual growth of the participant - The health of the local Emmaus Community - The wider impact of Emmaus within churches
Good sponsorship includes discernment, prayer, personal agape, and ongoing involvement. From the first conversation to reunion groups after the Event, wise sponsorship helps ensure the attended days of Emmaus are an act of meaningful and appropriate sacrificial love.
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Who Can Be a Spiritual Sponsor?
A Spiritual Sponsor must:
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Have attended an Event to Emmaus or a Chrysalis Flight/Journey
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Not be serving on the same Event the participant will attend
In exceptional cases, approval may be granted by the Board. In such cases, a Co‑Sponsor will be required.
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What Does a Spiritual Sponsor Do? (read and re-read this section)
Being a Spiritual Sponsor is a serious and prayerful commitment to a participant. It includes the following responsibilities:
A. Before the Event
• Prayerfully discern and select a suitable participant
• Consult with your accountability/reunion group
• Engage with the participant’s minister or pastor
• Clearly explain the Event and expectations
• Discuss the Event with the participant’s family or close friends
• Ensure to transport participant to and from the venue
• Commit to prayer before, during and after the Event
(use the 72‑hour prayer schedule to take a slot as a reminder)
B. During the Event
• Attend Sponsor’s Hour and Send‑off
• Pray intentionally for your participant
• Attend Candlelight
• Attend the Closing Ceremony
C. After the Event
• Collect your participant after the Closing Ceremony
• Encourage participation in a Reunion Group
• Accompany your participant to future gatherings and events
• Encourage follow‑through on new spiritual commitments
• Support involvement in the Emmaus Community
• Continue praying for your participant
• Support the participant when they sponsor
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Practical Steps
Before submitting this application, please ensure that: 1. The Participant Application Form is fully completed and signed and 2. This Spiritual Sponsor Application and Checklist is fully completed and signed
Applications will not be considered unless all required documentation is submitted.
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Spiritual Sponsorship Checklist
☐ I have prayerfully considered this participant’s readiness for the Event
☐ The participant is currently active or committed to a church
☐ I have consulted the participant’s minister or pastor, who supports this application
☐ I have explained the Emmaus programme and financial implications
☐ I have committed to prayer during the 72‑hour prayer schedule
☐ I have organised agape letters (no gifts, flowers, or large items)
Weekend Commitments
☐ Transport to the venue on Friday morning
☐ Attendance at Sponsor’s Hour and Send‑off
☐ Attendance at Candlelight
☐ Attendance at the Closing Ceremony
☐ Collection of participant after Closing
Ongoing Commitment
☐ Encourage participation in a Reunion Group (Name: ____________________)
☐ Accompany participant to future gatherings and events
☐ Encourage faith commitments made during the Event
☐ Encourage service within the Emmaus Community
☐ Assist the participant to sponsor others
☐ Continue praying for the participant
☐ Support the participant when they sponsor