What happens after The Great Banquet?
One of the most important parts of the Great Banquet is the follow-up. Although the weekend lasts only three days, guests are invited to use its lessons for the rest of their lives. After attending the Great Banquet, they are challenged to:
1. Strengthen their own spiritual life through study and active congregational participation; and
2. Strive to become active disciples of Jesus Christ in the world through their church.
To assist them in their discipleship, the Great Banquet offers specific opportunities. First, reunion groups of three to five people meet weekly to examine their goals of spiritual growth and to encourage one another to a life of discipleship. Second, there will be opportunities to assist in future Great Banquet weekends through prayer, support and team involvement. Third, guests are made aware of community needs through a newsletter of other Great Banquet weekends, both locally and regionally.
What is the purpose of The Great Banquet?
The focus of the Great Banquet is to Know Jesus as Savior and Lord and to Make Him Known.
The objective of the Great Banquet is to continue the three-day experience by serving Christ in local churches, homes, and work places.
To live a life of grace and to respond to higher levels of Christian discipleship becomes the purpose of the Great Banquet.
What is the history of The Great Banquet?
To become familiar with the Great Banquet, let’s look first at the history of its counterparts, The Cursillo Movement and Walk to Emmaus. The Cursillo Movement (in Spanish: Cursillos de Cristiandad, short course of Christianity) began in Spain in the 1940’s in the Roman Catholic Church. It spread to the United States and evolved for Protestants into Walk to Emmaus under the auspices of the Upper Room and the United Methodist Church.
A Walk to Emmaus community was started by the First Presbyterian Church in Madisonville, Kentucky in 1982. After a 10-year history of Walk to Emmaus in Madisonville, the Great Banquet was formed. Institutionally sponsored by the Madisonville, Kentucky First Presbyterian Church, the Madisonville Great Banquet Movement started in October 1991.
Lampstand Ministries was formed as a covering corporation for the National Great Banquet Movement in 1992, as well as to help equip communities to begin the Great Banquet indifferent locations. Governed by an ecumenical board of directors and using the “Cursillo model”, but with a different image, the Great Banquet continues to emphasize personal Christian discipleship.
Who should attend The Great Banquet?
This 72-hour weekend experience is for anyone who:
– wishes to strengthen his/her spiritual life;
– wants to have a better understanding of prayer, the sacraments, study and Christian action;
– strives to live a Christian life that bears fruit for God;
– seeks to know Jesus as Savior and Lord and to make Him known.
Your attendance is by sponsorship of a prior 4th Day movement attendee. If you do not know one — or you have other questions — please contact us.