Hello Partners in the ministry of Jesus Christ!It’s been a while since my last official update, so I wanted to take some time to fill y’all in on everything ministry-wise as well as giving some prayer requests moving forward.

Traveling and Teaching

This past semester I was blessed to travel to Michigan twice to teach for the middle school and high school youth groups on their separate winter retreats. For years my dad has spoken at the winter and summer camp retreats. I grew up attending the youth group while I was in middle school. For both retreats I tried my best to focus on the simple Gospel. Both groups let me choose the theme and feel for the weekend. Part of me loves that creative freedom and another part of me always gets a little nervous. For the Middle Schoolers we focused on the theme of Identity. The tag for the weekend was “Who are you? You are who God calls you!”. We talked about how when the Gospel is at the center of our identity we are able to walk in this world in peace. We don't search for our identity in the world because we have been called righteous by our heavenly Father because of how Jesus took our place on the cross. For the Teens the theme for the weekend was Coming Home to the Gospel. We talked about how we were created to long for and desire home, a place where we’re accepted, wanted and treasured. We looked at the story of the Prodigal Son and his brother, and how they both looked for their home in the wrong place.I feel like God used this difficult theme to really speak to the hearts of the campers about their eternal hope and home in heaven with Jesus. Both weeks I left feeling ministered to. Jesus tends to use the topics that I am teaching to convict my own heart and push me closer to him. I was so honored to be used by God to speak to the youth and inspire them to follow Jesus with their whole hearts and lives!

Serving at Emmaus

Over the past few months I have taught Mark, 1st Corinthians and 1st Peter. Teaching for Emmaus, to me, feels like playing for the Major Leagues. As I tackle the unique challenges of each book, I wonder how I will bring the books alive for the students.. The temptation for my flesh is to make each book about me and how great I can teach it or how impressive and how much of an authority I am on the book. Instead I try to let the learning and discovering happen in the minds and hearts of the students. Learning usually sticks better when a student comes to a conclusion themselves, rather than when they are brought to one.

The Bridge- Assisted Living Home

Once a month I lead two church services for the residents of an Assisted Living Home. I was given this opportunity by a friend who used to teach there.It has surprised and humbled me that my time spent here is usually the highlight of my monthMost of my teaching experience has been with people ages 13-25. However, the application for that age group is vastly different than it is for a group of people who have already lived a full life and are nearing the end of their time on earth. This has stretched me and blessed me in so many ways as a Bible teacher, and I look forward to this responsibility every month!

Looking Forward.

There are many exciting things coming up! First, Lauren and I are in the middle of wedding planning! We are super excited about getting married and are working towards getting all the details figured out. We hope to have a date figured out by the middle of May. We were both blown away by all of the congratulations we received. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement! Second, this summer I will be teaching at two different summer camps. The first one will be at camp Lurecrest.The second week I will be tag teaming with my Dad at a family camp in Ohio. Lastly, we have assigned the books that we are going to be teaching in the Fall for the Old Testament. I will be teaching Deuteronomy, Joshua, Ezekiel, Joel and Zechariah. I’m really excited to tackle these books! I’m going to be using the entire summer to get ready for Deuteronomy and Joshua (I’ll be teaching them back to back).

Prayer Request.

Now that I’m engaged and going to be married by this time next year I really feel the pressure to get fully funded. I’m going to get back to support raising this week and, to be honest, I’m a little nervous. Please pray for God to stir in the hearts of individuals to give to God’s ministry here at Emmaus. As always, when I speak I want to do my best to get out of the way and let God do his thing. So, please also pray for the campers that I will be ministering to this summer. Pray that God can use me to communicate his Gospel to them. Please continue to pray for Emmaus as we continue to minister to the local church. We are super excited about everything that is going on with our school and Biblical Narrative Series.Blessings,Stephen 

This last week was our first week running our brand new SBS program. If you have been following my updates you might know that we have drastically updated our program to be more accessible to the body of Christ. This program also opens up new avenues for us to partner with the local church.  In making these changes, we have seen a huge response, as we now have 8 students participating in our pilot school! Many of our current students would have not been able to attend our former school.We are so excited to see God call each and every one of our students to study scripture with us this semester. It has been such a wild ride. Five months ago, we sat down as staff and dreamt up a school for people without faces or names. Now we have 8 students, each one having been called to come on a journey down the Emmaus road and discover God through his own Word. Seminar WeekThis week has been our introduction to how we study scripture. We focused on teaching the students the Inductive Bible Study method (if you are not familiar with the Inductive method I suggest you check out this article). The students have had a crash course in studying Scripture, attending class every day from 8-12. For many of our students, the inductive method is a very new way to interact with Scripture. I remember learning it all as a student and finding myself frustrated and confused many times. It has been such a joy now on staff watching our students learn the Inductive method for themselves. Many of them understand the concept much faster than I ever did!Possibly the most exciting thing is to see the moment of discovery for the students. In one of my lectures, I told the students that they were going to be the GPS and I was just the driver. It was in this hour of class that I saw incredible learning take place as they directed me. They were the ones to explore the text and lead me in interpreting it.I’m so excited to walk with this group of students through the New Testament and explore with them on the Emmaus Road.  

Next For Me:At the end of the month I will be teaching the Gospel of Mark. In my lecture, I will focus on the major themes found throughout the book, the important historical context, and the structural layout of the text. Later in the semester, I will be also teaching 1^st Corinthians and 1^st Peter, as well as speaking at two different youth retreats. I have also started to teach at an assisted living home once a month on Sunday mornings. I have a pretty busy semester and I’m excited to step up to the plate. Current Prayer Requests:When you pray for our ministry, please join me in praying for our students. Pray that God would continue to open himself up to these students. Pray that each one makes serious progress in knowing God more while attending the school.Please also join us in praying for the financial support of the staff. Several staff members, along with myself, still have financial needs that need to be meet. Pray that God will work through individuals, excited about our ministry, to partner with us on this journey.Please also pray that Jesus will continue to speak through me, both in my one on ones with the students and through my bible lectures. I find myself more concerned with trying to impress people through my wisdom or the way that I teach rather than the actual development of students. I find myself obsessing over what I think the students will think of me. Pray that I'll be more concerned with what they think of Jesus and not myself. Thank you for your prayers and continual support.

If you have been following my blog posts, you may know that Emmaus is currently in the process of restructuring our year long residential Bible School . Our hope is to make our school more accessible for every follower of Jesus to attend. Our hope is to see the lives and hearts of Christians transformed by discovering the God of the Bible and his ultimate plan of redemption through all time.We have made a lot of changes to our curriculum and desire to “test run” our school for a semester before we launch our year long program. Next semester (January-May) we will be launching what we have called our Pilot Program (I like to think of it as our dress rehearsal). In the past two weeks, we accepted our first students to this new program and have several others currently in the application process. This morning I was thinking about our incoming students and getting excited for them. I’m so excited to see their lives transformed by the Scripture!!!!! I’m excited to enter into the mess of life with them and work through understanding Scripture!!!!!!!!As I was thinking about the immense life change that I hope and pray will happen for them, I thought about what the Bible did for me, and decided to share that story with you.I grew up in a great Christian home and was discipled to follow Jesus. Although I regularly read the Bible and could understand what it said and how Jesus loved me, I didn't know the story of the Bible. I didn’t understand the books as a whole. I didn't know why I believed what I believed.I also wrestled with constant anxiety. I was very emotionally driven, frequently basing my decisions on how I felt at the moment rather than on truth. I didn't fully understand who I was or how God could love me. I was trying to follow him and his will for my life, but I didn't know his Word. I needed to discover who I was, and I needed help.Studying the Bible rescued me. Each book I studied showed me my own story of brokenness and the surpassing glory of Jesus Christ.Philemon taught me the importance of relationships and the power of restoration in the midst of brokenness.Romans taught me that Christ traded his righteousness for my sin. I learned that when he died, I died, and when Jesus raised again I rose (Is this right) again into newness of Life.Ephesians taught me who I was. The Ephesians themselves echoed the cry of my heart, a longing to be right with God. Paul showed me the work of Christ in my own inefficiency.Galatians set me free.Leviticus showed me the intentional heart of God and his ultimate plan of redemption.Genesis taught me about hope.Exodus showed me the story of the Gospel. How we were enslaved with no hope and God rescued us and brought us into new life.Habakkuk taught me how to wrestle through hard times. He taught me what it looked like to disagree with God.Nehemiah taught me how to deal with disappointment.The whole story of the Bible taught me how God is faithful to me when I am unfaithful. It showed me who I am because of Jesus, and how to walk in life with him. My whole way of seeing the world has been transformed because of these 66 books. It’s why I’m so excited for these students who are about to journey through the New Testament with us and can’t wait to see their lives transformed through the Gospel.We are in the final stages of getting our Pilot Program ready. This looks like prepping books that we will teach next semester. I will be teaching Mark, 1 Corinthians and 1 Peter. On top of studying to teach, we are also rewriting our student manuals, and prepping the classroom for students. Part of our program is focused on making our campus feel like home. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes to make this school be intentional with our students.We are excited and anxious to launch this school on Feb. 8th. Please be praying for a smooth transition from school prep to launching, and that our students all arrive safely and are ready for this adventure through Scripture. Please also pray for our staff members to get fully funded. Along with me, several other staff families are needing more support.Thank you for praying for this ministry.  

Hello Partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I wanted to reach out and give y’all an update about the ministry as a whole, as well as my personal support raising needs.The State of the Ministry:We are in a season of preparation for launching our new school. For those who don't know, last year we shut down our school of biblical studies to refresh and revamp the program. We made the program 20 hours per week and, with church partnerships, our students are able to work in the local church while studying the Bible with us.We are excited about these changes to our Bible program and how we are seeing the body of Christ come together in a holy partnership. We can’t wait to see young people radically transformed by the Word of God while growing as a dynamic worker for the Kingdom of God.We are currently inviting a small group of students to “Test Drive” our program next semester. We are launching our pilot program, where we will be taking a small number of students through the New Testament. This will give them a taste of what our school is going to be like and will help the staff do a “Dress Rehearsal” of sorts.Two weeks ago we had our first class as part of our Narrative Series. The Narrative Series is our new night class that we offer to anyone in the Orlando area. These classes are designed to break the Bible into 10 sections. Each class explores reading tips for that section, important historical context, and insight on how to apply that part of Scripture to our daily lives.We are excited about everything that God is doing in and through Emmaus, and we can’t wait to relaunch our School of Biblical Studies and see students transformed through Scripture! Support Raising:As of today, I am currently receiving half of what is required to be full time with the ministry!! I’m so excited to see God provide through passionate partners in ministry! The hope is to be fully funded (or close to it) before the pilot school starts in January. Some days it’s hard to stay focused on the goal.This morning when I walked into the classroom, I was listening to the song “Take a Moment”, by Will Reagan. Toward the end of the song the lyrics are “I want more”.  In that moment I visualized every seat in the classroom full of students saying the same thing to God as they learn more about him through the Bible.This is what keeps me going through support raising. It’s why I support raise in the first place: that in this place students of the Scriptures would have an opportunity to explore who God is in his fullness.Thank you for partnering with me both financially as well as through prayer! Please continue to join me in praying for the future of Emmaus, that God would fill this classroom with students. Also pray for me as I support raise, that God would go before me in each conversation and that endurance would be built up in me.Thank you for your invested interest in this ministry and what God is doing here in Central Florida.

After months of anticipation and excitement, we are finally ready to announce our new programs! Emmaus ministries now offers three different ways to engage with the Bible! The New School of Biblical Studies.From August to May students of our school will journey through the entire content and narrative of the Bible. Students utilize the inductive study method (IBS) to study each book of the Bible through our classroom, seminars, and retreats. This 20-hour per week program integrates academic and spiritual development through one-on-ones, weekly worship, and community meals. Students will get a deep dive into exploring major themes and important background information for every book of the Bible! For the first time, we are opening up the school for those who wish to commute to our school! Along with participation in the school, students now have the opportunity to pursue a seminary education or an internship in a local church through our ministry partnerships. The Biblical Narrative SeriesThe Biblical Narrative Series takes participants on a journey through the Bible alongside our SBS students. This monthly series tells the story of the Bible through ten evening lectures, which provide an overview for understanding the Bible as a whole. These lectures will also explore the themes and setting of the books which make up each part of the story. The narrative program is designed to be open to the public and accessible to all types of learners. No experience or outside assignments required. Biblical Literacy programEmmaus partners with the vision of local churches and ministries to see every believer equipped with essential tools to engage their Bible. The Biblical literacy program consists of:Why the Bible matters: find out why the Bible is essential to the life of a follower of ChristBible Overview: understand the history of God and his people from beginning to end.How to study the Bible: Learn how to observe, interpret and apply the Scriptures for yourself.This program is brought directly to the local church through our seminars and Retreats designed specifically for congregations. We hope that you are just as excited for what God is going to do through our new programs as we are. We are so grateful for your support and encouragement in this time of transition and can’t wait to see Central Florida absolutely rocked with the Gospel.

I have been here in Florida working with Emmaus Ministries for two weeks now. These past two weeks we have been in meetings every single day crafting a new program(s), and thinking up ways that people from all over the nation, as well as central Florida, will be able to interact with God’s word and learn tools to help them study the Bible. This past week, we as a staff laid out the “skeleton” of what is going to consist of our brand new Emmaus program. Every staff member is genuinely excited about what God has crafted through us and we are excited to share it! However, we are not quite ready to let the cat out of the bag. There are quite a few details that still need to be ironed out before we are ready to make a formal announcement. Trust me, once we are ready to spill the beans I will share every detail! I promise! For now, something really stood out to me in our last meeting. Our executive director, Tom Phillips, reminded us about the vision behind the ministry and the why we do what we do. Our Vision statement (which can be found at our website) is as follows: We seek to share with our students not only God’s Word, but also our lives, endeavoring to communicate and exemplify biblical truth and it’s relevance to all aspects and domains of life. We strive to better enable Christians to flourish in the many spheres of life, making no distinction between sacred and secular callings. It is our goal that students leave our classes with a thriving relationship with God rooted firmly in the gospel of grace and equipped with a big picture understanding of the Bible; herein lies the source of healthy relationships and a life led by the Holy Spirit that impacts the world for Christ.For those who have a hard time seeing the heart behind sentence structure, stanza and grammar let me explain what this practically means. We here at Emmaus believe that the Word of God can and will change the world. We believe that when people take a deep dive into Scripture, God changes their hearts. People get so radically transformed by God’s word that it changes every aspect of their lives. Emmaus does not exist to train future pastors and preachers alone. Rather, we hold that everyone following Jesus can, and will, change the world of the people around him. We believe that everyday Christians can have massive impact in the world. In fact, 2,000 years ago one carpenter completely turned the world upside down. We have a vision for every Christian knowing the Bible, not to obtain level 3 Christianity or to get an A+ on a Bible knowledge test. Our vision is for the Monday to Saturday life of every Christian to reflect a transformation that only comes through an intimate relationship with the living God. This can change the world! This is our/my “why”: Transformation of Christians so radical that they affect every community they come in contact with. It’s why I moved my life to Florida.It’s why I’m raising money. It’s why I’ve stayed with the ministry even though the job description changed. This vision gets me excited and I want to invite you to join me/us as i continue to walk through this adventure that God has called me to!