What is Via de Cristo?
Our Mission Statement: By grace, with the Holy Spirit, we challenge leaders to discover and achieve their personal calling, assisting them to influence their environments with the Gospel.
Via de Cristo is a Spanish phrase meaning Way of Christ.
Via de Cristo is a highly structured three day weekend designed to strengthen and renew the faith of Christian people, bringing them to a new awareness of living in God’s grace. It is a combined effort of lay people and clergy toward renewal of the church.
OUR HISTORY
The Via de Cristo movement originated as Cursillo in the late 1940’s in the Spanish Catholic church and moved to the United States in the late 1950’s. It took root in the Lutheran church in 1971 when lay people and clergy attended a Catholic Cursillo, both in Iowa and Florida.
The first Lutheran sponsored weekends were held in 1972 in Iowa and Florida and have now been held in over 25 states and some foreign countries.
Gold Coast Via de Cristo grew into an ecumenical Christian movement which is currently benefitting people from various denominations including Lutheran, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and others.
This year we are celebrating our 100th weekend…almost 50 years in South Florida.
What Happens on a Weekend?
Who Should Attend?
Who should attend a Via de Cristo weekend? Via de Cristo is intended for lay people from every walk of life, for pastors, for people who live strong and active lives in Christ, and also for those who seek to be renewed and strengthened in their relationship with Christ and the people around them. Via de Cristo is open to both married or single men and women.
On the Weekend
What happens on a Via de Cristo Weekend? A Via de Cristo weekend is three days in length, beginning on Thursday evening and ending the following Sunday evening. The participants live, study, worship and commune together daily. Fourteen talks are given, nine by lay people and five by clergy. Following each talk, small roundtable discussions focus on the main points of the talk and a poster is done. The talks, in an overlapping fashion, present the [...]
After the Weekend
What Happens After the Weekend? You may attend Via de Cristo only once in your life, but you are asked to build on it for the rest of your life. After you have attended a Via de Cristo weekend you are considered a Fourth Day-er (meaning the rest of your life), and you are encouraged to Expand your inner spiritual life through study and church participation. Become a more active witness for Christ in your daily [...]
Here’s another way to put it:
You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.
