After attending a Via de Cristo weekend, your congregation members will find that:
Some of the options include:
A group of men and women will visit your church to speak about their experiences at Good News! Via de Cristo during announcements, sermon time, or Sunday School. A music team is also available. Led by guitar, music of the weekend can be woven into your service.
You may copy all materials.
We offer weekends that are held each spring and fall.
"You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church." (Mat. 16:18) The Church is Christ's chosen method for evangelizing the world and sustaining the people of God. It is the Church that has received Christ's command to go into the world making disciples and teaching them to obey everything Christ commands. Tragically, the Church has been torn in pieces by not only false teaching but also by good teaching emphasized inappropriately. The Via de Cristo method seeks to appropriately support pastors and congregations in their home churches. Although the Via de Cristo is not for everyone (and does not profess to be), it has demonstrated an effective method for renewal. Since Cursillo began in 1943 it has spread around the world, encouraging the lives of many and building up the Christian Church.
Via de Cristo is a tool for Church renewal. A tool always works best when it is used for the proper purpose and in the proper way. Via de Cristo is a corporate experience of the Gospel for the whole person. It is neither a head-trip nor a heart trip. Practiced correctly, it will speak to the whole person. It is not an individual experience, but one to be shared with others. As such, it is not a tool for individual conversion, but for corporate growth. Via de Cristo is for the renewal of the Church. It is a leaven within the Body of Christ.
The Via de Cristo is designed to allow the layperson a significant partnership with the clergy. In fact, one of the most beneficial outcomes is that after a weekend the participants are able to view clergy as friends and co-workers in the gospel. It is well said in Via de Cristo materials "the Via de Cristo is a movement of the Church, lay in leadership and commitment to winning the world to Christ."
The Via de Cristo participant should bring strength and renewal to the whole Body. Everything that is taught and occurs within the movement is to be consistent with and derived from the original teachings of the Church; those in existence since its foundation. Nothing is taught on the weekend that is not consistent with Lutheran theology. Because of its corporate nature, Via de Cristo should not be mixed with other kinds of more individual tools. It is not a vehicle of the neo-Pentecostal experience.
The Via de Cristo method is intended to be a lifelong discipline for every participant within the movement. On a three-day weekend new participants, both lay and clergy, are taught a method which, when practiced, will encourage openness to the Holy Spirit and effective work for Christ. We describe this method in terms of Piety, Study, and Apostolic Action.
Yes! We are made up of community that have attended Catholic Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, De Colores, and other forms of the Cursillo method. Let us know that you are in our community and we will put you in our database to receive our newsletter and general information about upcoming weekends. You may also be asked to serve on a team
Absolutely not! We understand how busy a pastor is. We do ask that you talk with your members who will attend as you sign their applications, and then again after they have made their weekends.
Definitely! We are always open to having a weekend at a new facility. Each weekend has approximately 40 team members and 20-30 participants. We need several rooms for sleeping, a large room for the weekend talks and small table discussions, use of the kitchen, dining area, and sanctuary or chapel, and adequate bathroom space. The Secretariat is looking for churches in the Metro Detroit and Lansing/Jackson areas to host a weekend.