Explaining the Dust of Emmaus
AG evangelist Lynn Lapka unearths a vibrant approach to Scripture.
Ministry seeds rarely blossom overnight. Assemblies of God evangelist Lynn M. Lapka and his wife, Holly, waited more than a quarter center before launching The Dust of Emmaus (DOE) teaching ministry in Hungry Horse, Montana, in 2020.
“We seek to find Christ in the stories of the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, and how they fit together to create one larger, perfectly formulated story of redemption,” says Lynn Lapka, 52.
The couple’s journey began after they met in high school and married in 1989. A friend invited Holly to a service at Libby Assembly of God in northwestern Montana, which afterward led to both Holly and Lynn committing their lives to Christ.
While pursuing God’s will for his future, Lapka started studying the Old Testament roots of Jesus’ life. His curiosity to understand the Hebrew culture engraved in the Bible and ancient Israel soared.
In 1992, he drove 31 hours with four men from his church to a Passover Seder at a community center in Independence, Kansas.
“The Hebrew Scriptures and biblical prophecies came alive,” Lapka says. “So did the vital meanings of the feasts cited in Leviticus 23.”
The trip turned into a pivotal event. Above all, Lapka sensed that he needed to dig deeper. He pursued AG ministerial credentials through Global University courses. In 1999, he started attending Bigfork Chapel, an AG church in the Flathead Valley, which proved to be another defining moment.
He managed a grocery store during that time and served the church in volunteer positions. However, regular preaching stints at the church opened more responsibilities, resulting in him leaving his secular job. He became associate pastor at the church and continued studying Old Testament culture and speaking at other congregations, encouraging the truth of the Torah and Hebrew prophets.
In 2005, Lapka responded to an opportunity to pastor Cornerstone Faith Center (CFC) in St. Ignatius to help revitalize its dwindling congregation of six members. The town sits on the Flathead Reservation, home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.
Lapka launched creative ministries that have profoundly impacted the community of 850 residents. Many salvation decisions followed. The church opened a pizza business to raise funds for the local school and needy families. It sponsored a race car, which Lapka raced himself, and bought an old hotel providing transitional living space.
About 100 congregants currently attend. Originally on a temporary assignment for two years, Lapka remained 15.
In 2019, the Lapkas sent three months in Jerusalem on a sabbatical, resting and reflecting on their future. He says God revealed a new path: passing the CFC leadership baton and transitioning to a role as a full-time traveling evangelist in which he teaches and inspires a hunger for the Word of God among Christians. Luke 24:44-45 has become a key passage.
“We believe as we collect the dust of seeing Jesus from Moses and the prophets, our hearts will burn within us, as it did for the fellow sojourners on the Road to Emmaus, and we will be encouraged in our faith and understanding,” Lapka says.
He frequently travels now with his wife, speaking at Bible camps, Chi Alpha Campus Ministries meetings, and weekend programs at churches. He also conducts a teaching ministry in the Holy Land.
Lapka held a weekend conference at Restoration Church in Huron, South Dakota, in February.
“The church at large focuses far too much on the New Testament alone, but we cannot fully understand the New Testament without understanding the Old Testament,” says Restoration Church lead pastor Tom A. Brantner. “Lynn gave us a fuller and deeper understanding, and our people are studying the Bible more and realize what they had been missing.”
“We seek to find Christ in the stories of the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, and how they fit together to create one larger, perfectly formulated story of redemption,” says Lynn Lapka, 52.
The couple’s journey began after they met in high school and married in 1989. A friend invited Holly to a service at Libby Assembly of God in northwestern Montana, which afterward led to both Holly and Lynn committing their lives to Christ.
While pursuing God’s will for his future, Lapka started studying the Old Testament roots of Jesus’ life. His curiosity to understand the Hebrew culture engraved in the Bible and ancient Israel soared.
In 1992, he drove 31 hours with four men from his church to a Passover Seder at a community center in Independence, Kansas.
“The Hebrew Scriptures and biblical prophecies came alive,” Lapka says. “So did the vital meanings of the feasts cited in Leviticus 23.”
The trip turned into a pivotal event. Above all, Lapka sensed that he needed to dig deeper. He pursued AG ministerial credentials through Global University courses. In 1999, he started attending Bigfork Chapel, an AG church in the Flathead Valley, which proved to be another defining moment.
He managed a grocery store during that time and served the church in volunteer positions. However, regular preaching stints at the church opened more responsibilities, resulting in him leaving his secular job. He became associate pastor at the church and continued studying Old Testament culture and speaking at other congregations, encouraging the truth of the Torah and Hebrew prophets.
In 2005, Lapka responded to an opportunity to pastor Cornerstone Faith Center (CFC) in St. Ignatius to help revitalize its dwindling congregation of six members. The town sits on the Flathead Reservation, home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.
Lapka launched creative ministries that have profoundly impacted the community of 850 residents. Many salvation decisions followed. The church opened a pizza business to raise funds for the local school and needy families. It sponsored a race car, which Lapka raced himself, and bought an old hotel providing transitional living space.
About 100 congregants currently attend. Originally on a temporary assignment for two years, Lapka remained 15.
In 2019, the Lapkas sent three months in Jerusalem on a sabbatical, resting and reflecting on their future. He says God revealed a new path: passing the CFC leadership baton and transitioning to a role as a full-time traveling evangelist in which he teaches and inspires a hunger for the Word of God among Christians. Luke 24:44-45 has become a key passage.
“We believe as we collect the dust of seeing Jesus from Moses and the prophets, our hearts will burn within us, as it did for the fellow sojourners on the Road to Emmaus, and we will be encouraged in our faith and understanding,” Lapka says.
He frequently travels now with his wife, speaking at Bible camps, Chi Alpha Campus Ministries meetings, and weekend programs at churches. He also conducts a teaching ministry in the Holy Land.
Lapka held a weekend conference at Restoration Church in Huron, South Dakota, in February.
“The church at large focuses far too much on the New Testament alone, but we cannot fully understand the New Testament without understanding the Old Testament,” says Restoration Church lead pastor Tom A. Brantner. “Lynn gave us a fuller and deeper understanding, and our people are studying the Bible more and realize what they had been missing.”
