Skip to main content

There is Power in God's Word

          The month of August has come and gone as a blur and we are almost half-way through September already.  I have only been back in Brazil for seven months, since our last visit to the States but it seems so far away.  So much has happened; so many trips, classes taught, meetings and baptisms that it is a blur.
            In August there were 9 baptisms throughout the state, that I know of.  Three of them were in a small town called Emas.  The evangelist, Givanildo, has lived in this city for several years and the church has grown very little.  I began studying the Bible with Givanildo by phone once a week, every week and he began teaching more people in his city of Emas.  This past month, three people were baptized and more are studying God's Word. 
            I do not believe that my studying with Givanildo was the cause of these three baptisms but I have "seen" or should I say heard a change in his voice and the subjects he talks about.  I have seen him more often on my trips to the interior, where as before, he would hardly show his face, I have grown closer to him and he has helped me to grow in my relationship with Christ.  He is a very humble person with a great desire to serve God.  He is now seeing evidence of the service he is giving.
            This article was written to celebrate the power of God's Word in our lives.  Read it. Study it.  Live it.  It will change your life and the lives of some or all of those around you.
Please pray:
  • for the maturing of your three new brothers and sisters in the city of Emas;
  • for Givanildo's love to study and live God's Word to continue to grow;
  • for the congregations throughout the state of Paraíba and their growth.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Second Generation, Part II

In 1993 when we came in contact with a young struggling couple in Caruaru, Paulo and Simone, we never imagined what plans God had in store for them. Now 18 years later (Wow, has it been that long?), after conversion, ups and downs, growing pains, working to further the Kingdom and living it, they have had the pleasure to witness the beginning of their daughter's life in Christ. Juliana (age ten) was baptized by her older brother, Jheymerson, who was also ten years old when he gave his life to Jesus. What a wonderful blessing to have one's whole family saved in Christ! Maria and Cícero were also converted when we lived in Caruaru, though single at the time. They dated and got married, the ceremony performed by yours truly. Maria has been faithful to Jesus all these years though going through several difficulties. Cícero, on the other hand, fell away, but came back and renewed his life and his marriage, and now, along with Juliana, his daughter Vitória (age ten) was baptize...

Out And About

    Last weekend I traveled to Patos, where I conducted the state-wide plan meeting, spent time with an evangelist, helped plan the Great Supper in October and met with two different congregations.              The state-wide plan is still moving forward.  Their goal for this meeting was to have someone prepared who is able to prepare another person.  Each congregation is still working towards this goal.  They each have someone in place that they are training.  The short-term goal is to train men and women who will be able to train other men and women.  The mid-term goal is to prepare the congregation in various aspects of the work and spiritual life so that it, the congregation, can continue to grow without the current evangelist.  The long-term goal is to prepare the congregation to send out the current evangelist or other men to establish a congregation in a new city....

Pandemic Connection Strategies

Since the Covid-19 pandemic and its social distancing, we have had to work out other ways to connect:  We started a telephone ministry to keep members connected, to verify needs, and to keep our prayer lists updated. Some conversations last five minutes, others have lasted two hours. The idea is that every member receives at least one phone call a week. As we discover needs, we are able to act. One thing that surprised me was that I was expecting to hear about many financial needs. This has not been the case. Many requests have been of an emotional nature. Most requests have been of a spiritual nature. This type of contact has brought us closer together. It is interesting how God can use difficult times to bring about good. May God be glorified! Also, we began small group Bible studies with 3 to 6 members depending on the group. We would normally organize groups like these according to neighborhoods. However, since we are online, we created several groups, days and times and let th...