Emmaus equips you to lead others in spiritual formation and renewal

In the sacred space of this retreat-based community, we attend to the heart, mind and soul of the participants. We listen prayerfully and carefully to the life of God in each of us, seeking to discern what God is saying and doing. Participants are equipped by example, practice, instruction and mentoring. Could this be your next step in becoming an agent of transformation?

Each retreat provides an enriching environment for ongoing encouragement and growth in the spiritual life, in discernment, and renewal.​

Year One

The Leader’s Formation

In the first three retreats, you’ll focus on your own transformation and spiritual growth. Topics include:

  • Spiritual formation (yielding to the work of God, being formed by the Holy Spirit)
  • Spiritual practices (Scripture, listening prayer, reflection)
  • Spiritual rest (rhythms of renewal and sabbath rest)

Year Two

The Leader’s Ministry

In the final three retreats, you’ll focus on how formational leadership is lived out in your specific context. Topics include:

  • Spiritual leadership (within the Kingdom and spiritual authority)
  • Spiritual discernment (practicing a preference for God, discernment of emotion, holy listening)
  • Spiritual community (soul hospitality, spiritual friendship, relationships of grace)

...where new leaders are formed and experienced leaders are transformed...

Emmaus is for those who…

  • Are tasked with leading and caring for the souls of others
  • Long to live in ever-deepening reverence of God’s presence
  • Seek to learn how to listen to the voice of God, to one another, and to one’s own soul
  • Desire to grow in spiritual discernment and responsiveness to the presence and movement of God

The Emmaus Certificate Program Includes:

Retreat

Participants gather for six retreats over two years

Community

One-on-one mentoring/spiritual companioning and community-based learning with ministry peers

Equipping

Spiritually formative leadership curricula for personal enrichment and leadership development

Renewal

Unhurried, reflective, and contemplative settings support Spirit-empowered renewal

Participant Testimonies

"The Emmaus experience reminded me after almost 30 years of ministry that maintaining spiritual disciplines is not enough...you need a band of brothers and sisters who are engaged in the same journey. This journey has provided me with wise counsel, spiritual healing, and inspiration for continued ministry. I would strongly advise any spiritual leader who wants to finish well in his or her calling to be a servant of Jesus to consider being a part of the Emmaus journey."
— Tim, Pastor

What is Formational Leadership?

Formational Leadership involves accompanying people in the process of being spiritually formed in and by the Holy Spirit. It requires a way of being present and attentively attuned to the actual work of God in the soul, and learning to cooperate in that work as it is taking place in real time.

Listening (rather than telling) is the primary leadership posture; discernment (rather than taking charge) is the dynamic in the leader’s role. The fruit of this disciplined and mature leadership presence is the formation of persons and communities of grace, humility, compassion who increasingly yearn after God and hunger and thirst for righteousness. These are people who are open-handed and open-hearted, who are in possession of a capacity for unity amidst diversity, for mercy in judgment, for tenderness with the weary. They are learning to abide in Christ, to walk by the Spirit, to love God with all their heart, mind and soul, and to love their neighbors as themselves.

Watch the below webinar recording, “Servant, Steward, Shepherd: Learning to Lead Like Jesus“, for a panel discussion from Emmaus faculty on what Formational Leadership looks like:

We would be delighted to help you explore if Emmaus is right for you. Please contact Jeremy Stefano at jeremy@leadershiptransformations.org if you have any questions or need assistance in the application process.

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Jeremy Stefano

Director of Emmaus, Director of Abide, & Minister of Spiritual Formation

Jeremy offers spiritual direction, leads retreats, teaches on spiritual formation topics and serves as the director of Emmaus, a Certificate Program in Formational Leadership, and Abide, a Certificate Program in Spiritual Formation. He also works with students of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary at the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building. The heartbeat of Jeremy’s calling is to encourage Christian leaders in the cultivation of their relationship with God. He has served various churches as pastor and interim pastor. He and Bethany, his wife of 35 years, have been blessed with eight children and five grandchildren. They make their home in Massachusetts. He has a Licentiate in Theology from the Cape Town Baptist Seminary in South Africa, a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Regent College in Canada and a D.Min. in Leadership and Spiritual Formation from Portland Seminary in Portland, OR. “Friendships have been a source of grace in my life. It is a gift to serve in LTI alongside those who value the priority of rich and enduring relationships with each other.

Articles by Jeremy Stefano

Steve Macchia

Founder & President

Steve is a graduate of Northwestern College (IA) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div. and D.Min.). His prior ministry includes serving on the pastoral staff at Grace Chapel (Lexington, MA) and as president of Vision New England. Since July 1, 2003 Steve has served as founder and president of Leadership Transformations, director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building, and adjunct faculty in the Doctor of Ministry department at Gordon-Conwell. He is the author of sixteen books, including The Discerning Life (Zondervan Reflective),  Baker bestseller Becoming a Healthy Church, and Crafting a Rule of Life (IVP). He lives in the Boston area with his wife Ruth and is the proud father of two grown children, Rebekah and Nathan, daughter in-love Ashley, and papa to his beloved granddaughter, Brenna Lynn and twin grandsons, Aiden Joseph and Carson Stephen. “My soul comes alive singing the great hymns of the church and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. I’m in awe of God for fulfilling the dream for LTI that he birthed in my heart, for the team he has assembled, and the transformational impact experienced in the leaders and teams we serve.

Detailed Biography
Articles by Stephen Macchia
Author Website
Schedule a one-on-one with Steve

Jovin Adjeitey

Jovin Adjeitey

Emmaus Faculty & Selah-East Faculty

Jovin delights to lead others to experience God’s life-changing love and power through the ministries of prayer, the Word, and attentive listening. She does this through offering prayerful, hospitable spaces and experiences to leaders across cultures who have become weary and need to be re-directed to hear the voice of God.

She lives in Ghana, West Africa. Though her educational background and degrees are in Hospitality, things took a turn when the Lord led her in a different kind of hospitality than expected. She spent the last two decades in full time vocational ministry with InterVarsity USA (an Interdenominational campus ministry) serving international students and scholars, and later InterVarsity Staff. She understands what it’s like to live in a different culture and serve many cultures. Her ministry experience includes speaking, training, and working with different cultures, spiritual formation, intercession and prayer ministry.

She trained as a Spiritual Director through Leadership Transformations’ Selah Certificate Program. For fun, she enjoys a good cup of tea and loves to express hospitality through cooking for others. “The ministry of LTI was meaningful to me during a Kairos moment in my life. I am blessed to serve with this remarkable team.

Dan DeRoche

Emmaus Faculty

Dan enjoys being the senior pastor at Crossview Church in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. He has 25 years ministry experience which includes serving as a missionary in Lisbon, Portugal. He loves encountering God, getting lost in His wonder, and introducing others to Jesus. Prior to ministry, Dan served in the United States Air Force and is a war veteran. He has a bachelor’s degree from Judson University, a master’s degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and is ordained in the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). He is married to the love of his life, Pam, and they have two adult children. Dan enjoys hanging out with his family, reading, golfing, coffee
conversations, and going for walks in nature. He is a dog lover and has a pug named Theo. “As a pastor, I heard of this idea of ministering out of the overflow of what God is doing in your own heart, but I never really experienced that as a regular practice until I enrolled in the Emmaus program. There I learned spiritual formation practices like noticing God’s presence, being more attentive to my soul, responding to God’s invitations, and remembering that I am dearly loved by God. I am grateful for LTI, and I am excited to walk with friends on the Emmaus journey.

Gail Edmonson

Emmaus Faculty & Abide Faculty

Gail Edmonson has a deep longing to create space for people to feel safe – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. After serving for 18 years on her church staff in various positions including Director of Leadership Development and Director of Spiritual Formation, she entered private practice as a spiritual director. She delights in offering spiritual direction for individuals and groups, giving leadership to monthly gatherings for spiritual practices, and facilitating soul care retreats. Gail holds a Bachelor of Science degree in interior design from Baylor University. She received spiritual direction training through Leadership Transformations’ Selah Certificate Program as well as certification in spiritual formation leadership through Leadership Transformations’ Emmaus program. Additionally, Gail holds a certification in Death, Dying, and Grief from Tyndale Spiritual Formation Centre.

Gail and her husband live in Katy, Texas. They have three adult children and seven growing grandchildren.

I am deeply passionate about the ministry of LTI because of the ways the Lord has used both Emmaus and Selah in my spiritual formation. Therefore, my gratitude for LTI and its leadership runs deep. It is an honor to serve alongside these grace-filled men and women.

Gary Franklin

Emmaus Faculty

Gary Franklin has been a pastor since 1980. Today he serves as the teaching and vision pastor for Grace Church in Fayetteville, Georgia. He’s been in this role since 2007. He also served as the pastor of the same Grace Church in 1990’s.  He also serves as the Founder/President of The Leader’s Heart, Inc. which is a non-profit through which he provides spiritual friendship and direction to ministry and marketplace leaders.

Gary has been married to Verna for 44 years. They have three grown children and four grandchildren with a fifth arriving later in 2022.

Gary has a passion for spiritual formation which was awakened in 2005. It changed his spiritual journey and his pastoral ministry. “I’ve been part of two Emmaus communities and enjoyed privilege of sharing those experiences with members of my church staff. The rhythm of community with other leaders has been enriching and centering.

Gayle Heaslip

Gayle Heaslip

Spiritual Formation Associate, Abide Faculty, & Selah-East Faculty

Gayle Heaslip has a degree in counseling from Gordon-Conwell Seminary and having completed Selah’s spiritual direction training program, she is drawn to walk alongside others as they grow into the fullness of life the Lord supplies through both trials and triumphs. In addition to working with LTI and offering spiritual direction to individuals and groups, she is a priest in the Anglican Church of North America, serving a missional fellowship in Falmouth. Gayle delights in the ever-changing beauty of Cape Cod where she lives with her husband and close to their three grown children and eight grandchildren. Good books and conversation, hiking, writing and photography, and time alone to ponder are God’s gracious gifts to her. “I have been deeply formed over many years through LTI within its listening, companioning community, and I’m honored to walk with others in the Emmaus and Selah programs as we become more attentive and responsive to God’s presence.

Marcos Leon

Emmaus Faculty, Abide Faculty, & Selah-West Faculty

Marcos has served as a Team Leader for Faithwalking since 2007. He facilitates and coaches the Faithwalking curriculum in English and Spanish, leads the communications team, and oversees the training for coaches. Marcos is also part of the Emmaus Online faculty team at LTI. Additionally he serves as a counselor and has a passion for spiritual direction. Marcos was born and grew up in Ecuador, but now lives north of Houston in Porter, TX with his wife Julie and four children. He loves nature, good stories, and road trips with family. His education includes a Masters in Hotel Administration in Spain and a Masters in Counseling from Houston Graduate School of Theology. He also received his training on the Enneagram from Crosspoint Ministry and is a graduate of LTI’s Selah program. “Selah facilitates an encounter with God. The integration of a solid biblical foundation in the teaching, the humble spaciousness of the discipline of silence, and the faith-filled loving attitude of the leaders invites the soul to listen to the Spirit of the Living God.

Suz Skinner

Suz Skinner

Emmaus Faculty, Abide Faculty, & Spiritual Formation Associate

Suz received her degree in Art Education from Pennsylvania State University, received theological education from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary through CCO and IVCF campus ministries, and completed the Selah Certificate Program in Spiritual Direction. After serving in campus ministry, Suz has also served on church staff teams, in both youth ministry and adult discipleship ministry. In addition, Suz has worked as a visual arts instructor, for over two decades. Currently, Suz serves LTI at the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and on the faculty team for the Emmaus: Certificate in Formational Leadership. As both an artist and a spiritual director, Suz offers creative soul care and spiritual direction in her art studio. Five clever grandkids, along with their loving parents, continually bless Suz and her husband, Joel. Suz loves to fill her kitchen with friends and good conversation and is always refreshed by an oceanside walk. “God continues to use the grace-filled people and the attentive spaciousness of LTI to shape me for Christ’s Kingdom.

Sanda Tomuletiu

Emmaus Faculty

Sanda is from Romania and she currently lives in her hometown, Sibiu. She has a Ph.D. in communication from Duquesne University (U.S.) and is a graduate of LTI’s Emmaus program. Her interest in spiritual formation, discovered while teaching at Wheaton College, deepened after she moved to Lithuania to provide leadership for the new communication major at LCC International University, a Christian university serving students from the former Soviet Union. Since her return to Romania, Sanda’s heart has been with the local church, where she provides teaching and spiritual companionship to women. Her desire to be better equipped for accompanying others in their walk with God led her to pursue training in spiritual direction with LTI’s Selah program in Europe. Books and dogs are Sanda’s faithful companions, gardens and forests – her life-giving spaces, while deep friendships and conversations are her soul food. “Finding LTI’s Emmaus program was like finding home. The spiritual discipline of holy restraint, of again and again returning to Silence in order to notice the Spirit’s movement, has entered my life for good.

Dr. Brenda Woods

Emmaus Faculty & Abide Faculty

Brenda has spent her career as a physician and has now entered a season of “re-purposement” with a call to accompany others in their walk with Christ. She is married to David for 42 years. They have 4 married children with a total of 10 grandchildren who are a joy and delight! She is active in her local church serving as an elder and facilitates the spiritual direction training program that has raised up spiritual directors in her congregation. She discovered LTI during the pandemic, and the Soul Care retreats and workshops were a lifeline while practicing medicine at that time. Because of this experience with LTI, she completed the Emmaus program and is currently an intern with Selah to continue to be formed as one who listens well and joins others as they journey with God. She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Dallas Theological Seminary. She enjoys time with her family, reading, painting and being outdoors especially if water is involved! “I am experiencing God in a new and powerful way. Instead of working hard for Him, almost as His employee, I now operate out of a deep and abiding knowledge that I am His dearly loved child. Everything I do in His service now flows out of gratitude and in response to His love. I see His activity surrounding me and have an ever-growing awareness of His continual presence in my life. This has brought me to a place of rest and contentment that I did not realize existed.

David Wu

Selah Senior Faculty, Emmaus Faculty

David serves as Senior Faculty of Selah, LTI’s Certificate Program in Spiritual Direction, and Emmaus, LTI’s Certificate Program in Formational Leadership. He is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.,’11) and Selah. Prior to his ministry with LTI, David was involved with overseas missions in East Asia, church planting, and pastoral ministry in the local church. David is passionate about creating prayerful and hospitable space for others to listen to God, whether through leading worship corporately, facilitating soul care retreats, or one-on-one spiritual direction. For fun, David enjoys long hikes, playing the guitar, gluten-free cooking, and pulling weeds. David and his wife and three kids make their home in Sugar Land, Texas. “I first encountered LTI at a soul care retreat during a very low point in my life and ministry. LTI was my spiritual paramedic at just the right time. Today I am so grateful to serve with this incredible team of loving and compassionate soul care-givers.