A Journey of Faith
Via de Cristo has touched lives all around the world, but the beauty of it is how personal each weekend feels. You can step away from your busy life and have time to grow closer to Christ, and experience God’s grace in a way that can truly change your life.
Who Are We
Via de Cristo is a three-day Christian renewal movement that helps people grow closer to Jesus, deepen their faith, and live out God' s grace in everyday life.
Our community brings together believers from many churches and backgrounds to experience worship, teaching, fellowship and the powerful love of Christ.
What We Offer
The Weekend
Three days of worship, prayer, conversation, teaching, and time to focus on your relationship with Christ.
The Community
After the weekend, there are opportunities to stay connected through gatherings, small groups, prayer, fellowship, and service.
The Journey
Via de Cristo isn’t meant to be a one-time experience. It’s encouragement for a lifelong journey of faith.
Via de Cristo of Western Washington began in the spring of 2003 when a small group of people came together with a vision for bringing the Via de Cristo ministry to Western Washington.
The organization was incorporated as a nonprofit in February 2004, and our first weekend was held that October with 12 pilgrims and a team made up of Fourth Day community members from Washington, Arizona, California, and Utah.
More than twenty years later, that journey continues.
Our Past
Celebrating over 20 years of ministry
Since our first weekend in 2004, people from churches throughout Western Washington have come together to worship, grow, serve, and encourage one another in faith.
Each weekend becomes part of a much larger story—one built through the people who have experienced Via de Cristo and carried what they discovered back into their churches, homes, and communities.
Our Leadership
Secretariat Board
secretariatvdcww@gmail.com
Via de Cristo of Western Washington is led by volunteers who give their time and gifts to serve the community and support the ministry.
Lay Director - Theresa Lui-Kwan
Spiritual Director - Coe Hutchison
Spiritual Director - Ken Wyneken
Secretary - Terri Hahn
Treasurer - Teri Aprill-McGourty
Palanca - Marcia Newman
Music - Evie Lui-Kwan
Fourth Day - Gerald Lui-Kwan
Communications - Mary Olson
Facebook - Claudia Baillargeon
PreWeekend - Lesley Hooker
Training - Margaret Wyneken
Our Roots
Via de Cristo is part of a worldwide Christian renewal movement with roots reaching back to the Cursillo movement that began in Spain in the 1940s.
Over the years, this approach to Christian renewal inspired similar three-day movements across many denominations. While each has its own traditions, they share a desire to help Christians deepen their relationship with Christ and live their faith more fully in everyday life.
How Via de Cristo Began
The roots of Via de Cristo go back to the late 1940s, when a movement called Cursillo® began in the Spanish Catholic Church. It made its way to the United States in the late 1950s and eventually found a home in the Lutheran Church in 1971. That year, both lay people and clergy from Iowa and Florida attended a Catholic Cursillo weekend—and they brought the experience back with them. By 1972, the first Lutheran-led weekends were held in Iowa and Florida. Since then, the movement has grown across the U.S., taking place in over 25 states and even reaching some international communities. Via de Cristo is the Lutheran expression of this powerful faith-building weekend, and today, similar movements can be found in other denominations, including the Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches. In 1986, the National Lutheran Secretariat—which represented all Lutheran Cursillo groups—voted to become an ecumenical community and adopted the name Via de Cristo, which means “Way of Christ.”
History of Cursillo
Cursillo began in Spain in 1944 as a simple yet powerful lay movement to renew faith during a difficult time. It made its way to the U.S. in the late 1950s, growing rapidly across the country and becoming an official part of the Catholic Church. By the 1960s, it had expanded to English-speaking communities and established national and international offices. Today, Cursillo is a global movement with vibrant communities on every continent. A favorite tradition is the joyful greeting “De Colores,” meaning “in colors,” which reflects the bright spirit and joy found in this movement.
Additional 3-Day Movements
The Cursillo method has inspired many other retreat and renewal programs across different Christian traditions. Some of these include Alpha, Encounter, Antioch, Search (for high school students), Awakening (college students), Cum Christo, DeColores (adult ecumenical), Happening, The Journey (United Church of Christ), Kairos Prison Ministry, Gennesaret (for those with serious illness), Koinonia, Lamplighter Ministries, Teens Encounter Christ (TEC), Tres Dias, Unidos en Cristo, Via de Cristo (Lutheran adults), Chrysalis Flight (Methodist youth), and Walk to Emmaus (Methodist adults).
For more information check out our FAQs
® Cursillo is a registered trademark of the National Cursillo Center.