Emmaus

Emmaus is the name of this student ministry. It has developed over the last two years as we have searched for a name that adequately represents who we are. The Emmaus Road was where Jesus appeared to two of His disciples and interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). During their encounter Jesus concealed His identity until after He finished teaching the Scriptures. Once Jesus revealed Himself, He vanished from the disciples’ sight. Their response is what we want for the next generation. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" (Luke 24:32 ESV)

Our desire is for every student to burn for the Lord and for His Word.

Relentless

In a culture of images, sound-bites and instant gratification everything we want is just a channel, a radio station, or a mouse-click away.  We can call anyone, anywhere, at any time and we can travel across the world in under one day.  It all seems so simple, so comfortable, and so effortless.  Is this the full measure of life?  In reality, is life simple, comfortable, effortless?  I am sure that we would all answer with a resounding “NO!”  This is the problem, the world offers you and me too many lies that we believe.  The answers to our problems cannot be found on the television, radio, or internet; they can only be found through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  The solution is so easy, but it is completely countercultural because there is no room in our high-speed society for Jesus.

So our mission for the students of RCF is for them to fall in love with Jesus and to make Him their treasure.  Not because it is simple, comfortable, and effortless, but because He is worth the fight.  Our theme verse is Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (NKJ).  We want our students to passionately pursue God because He has passionately sought them.  We want our students to fight the onslaught of attacks the world is waging on them by finding Christ to be their treasure.  We want our students to “PRESS ON” through the various trials they encounter by grabbing a hold of Christ to be their sufficiency.  We want our students to be RELENTLESS!

We love this word!  We love it mostly because it encapsulates our vision so well.  They are to be RELENTLESS in all things concerning God!  You see the problem is that the world is also relentless.  The world’s relentless pursuit of self-satisfaction, self-indulgence, and self-gratification are just a means to the end of self-destruction.  This is the message most of our youth hear everyday through T.V., radio, movies, school, etc…  We need to meet the world’s relentless agenda with a greater fire and passion for the Truth.  God wants His people to find satisfaction, indulgence and gratification in Him and Him alone because He is the all-sufficient source of joy.  Does it shock you for me to say that God is selfish and that He is the only one who is able to be so?  He is selfish because He wants all of us for all of Him!  He will not share us with anyone or anything.  This is the message that we all need to hear and teach to the next generations.

Jesus Christ sacrificed everything for a people who mocked, spit at, beat and ultimately crucified Him.  We want this truth to grip the hearts of our youth.  We want them to “press on” because that is exactly what Christ did for them.  We want them to pursue because they have been pursued.  We want them to surrender their lives because He surrendered His life for them.  We want them to love because they are loved.  We want them to be RELENTLESS because He was and is RELENTLESS for them!  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen (Rom. 11:36).

-Adam Greenfield