Emmaus Correspondence School

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relror Emmaus Correspondence School is a ministry that was started in the 1940âs in USA to enable people to learn the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith. From small beginnings the Emmaus Correspondence School has grown so that it now has branches in most countries of the world and supplies courses covering:

What the Bible is all about
Christian Beliefs
Principles of Christian living
Brief commentaries on most New Testament and some Old Testament books

The aim of these courses is to help people come to faith in Christ and then to help them learn what the Bible teaches. They are not intended as academic studies, which lead to an accredited diploma. However, a person may feel that having completed some of these courses they would benefit greatly by undertaking further Bible studies at a Bible College.

[edit] See also

Emmaus Bible College

[edit] History

Since 1942, Emmaus Correspondence School has provided Bible study courses to people around the world. The Correspondence School started a year after Dr. R.E. Harlow, John Smart and Earnest Tatham began an evening Bible School in Toronto, Canada. There was a demand for systematic Bible teaching from students who were unable to attend the school and the three founders decided to develop the evening school lessons into correspondence courses.

Notes from the evening school classes were copied and exams written to test the understanding of the student. By November 1942 there were 137 students enrolled in one of the three courses offered, Pedagogy (child training), Bible Doctrine, and New Testament Survey. Seven years later, there were 1,250 active students. A person could now gain a basic understanding of the Scriptures without having to give up a job or leave home.

The paving of the Emmaus Road went beyond North America when in 1949; a missionary in the Philippines began using the courses as follow-up to a Gospel broadcast. The response was immediate and many wanted to study the Bible. Other missionaries became interested in the possibilities of reaching those in remote area with Bible study by mail. This launched the use of Emmaus courses overseas. Today courses are available in 122 languages in more than 1200 distribution centers.

By 1956, distribution of courses had reached over 100,000. In the late 1950s, the courses started to be used in the Cook County Jail. The distribution of courses in prison grew slowly and became more organized.

In 1963, the milestone of distributing over two million courses worldwide was reached.

In 1971, the prison work became more concentrated and in 1974, the first Emmaus Prison Coordinators were appointed. The work now includes all 50 U.S. States and Canada with over five million courses distributed to inmates.[1]