About
Our History
Via de Cristo is a Spanish phrase meaning "Way of Christ." We have adopted this phrase to refer to a powerful, three-day retreat ministry. Our highly structured weekend retreats begin on Thursday evening and end on Sunday evening. They are designed to strengthen and renew the faith of Christian leaders and bring them to a new awareness of Living in God's grace. The weekends are led by lay people and supervised by clergy. Christians of all denominations are welcome.
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The movement originated as "Cursillo" in the the late 1940's in the Spanish Catholic church and moved to the United States in the late 1950's. It began in the Lutheran church when lay people and clergy attended a Catholic Cursillo in 1971, 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. Via de Cristo is the Lutheran expression of this method, which is currently being used in many denominations including Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Reformed churches.
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The South Carolina Lutheran Via de Cristo movement started when volunteers from the Western North Carolina movement joined with folks from South Carolina to provide a joint weekend in 1991 at Camp Kinard in Batesburg-Leesville, SC. The South Carolina Lutheran Via de Cristo Secretariat, our governing body, was formed in 1995.
Who Should Attend
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 all Christians - married couples, and single men and women. One should keep an open mind and heart in making the decision to attend a Via de Cristo weekend.
Everyone's experience is unique, and all the conversations in the world will not become a substitute for your weekend. Many of those who have attended experienced the questions and doubts during the decision process. Having already experienced a weekend, your sponsor wants to share this wonderful gift from God with you and has prayerfully requested you "make" a weekend. A person must experience a weekend to obtain its full and life enriching value. All involved want you to be comfortable with your decision so we ask that you pray for God's guidance.
Please be open to the call of the Holy Spirit and you will come if it is meant to be.
What happens on a weekend?
During the three-day weekend participants live, study, worship and commune together dailv. Fourteen talks are given, nine by lay people and five by clergy. Following each talk, small round table discussions focus on the main points of the talk and a poster is completed.
The talks, in an overlapping fashion, present the Christian life, based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. The titles of these talks indicate their content: Ideal, Piety, Study, Sacraments, Action, Obstacles to Grace, Leaders, Environment, Life in Grace, Christian Community, and Total Security.
There is also music and singing, food and fellowship, a time for laughter and for prayer. ​