M was a short kid with an even shorter fuse. He regularly got kicked out of school for fighting. He started learning martial arts with David Taylor at his public school in Brazil and loved it so much that he stopped fighting at school to be able to continue training. His enthusiasm continued as he brought over 30 other kids to the different martial arts classes to be trained as well. David Taylor took him on as a leader in training, helping out at many different locations, and building a relationship as well. January 2022, M joined the IMPACT team, helping with martial arts classes in the communities as they shared Jesus. And it was during that time that Jesus broke through to him, and he surrendered his life. Since then, he’s been able to attend the International School on scholarship. He is years behind the other students, and has just now been diagnosed with different learning disabilities as well as sight issues that have gone unchecked his whole life. It is a struggle, but as M says, “It was like my life was so small, and now it has exploded: and I just have so much gratefulness.” Would you help support M and other kids with Glory Sports ministries? You can give at Worldrenewal.org/give. Since 1993, World Renewal Brazil has been church planting in Northeast Brazil. Almost 30 years later, after planting over 30 churches, they are ready to take the next big step. Everything changed for the ministry when they purchased the Alcance Headquarters in the year 2000. Every corner of the building and land is being maximized to hold an International school (over 200 students and 40+ employees), the Northeast Bible seminary (around 200 students and teachers), and two churches (with a total of over 200 members coming on Saturdays and Sundays). With over 20 families serving with World Renewal Brazil, creatively working together toward the goal of planting churches, they are ready to grow. There is a 7-acre campground in Paudalho (centrally located and near their headquarters) that they are ready to purchase. This will exponentially expand their ability to grow and serve the Lord for the next 20 years! Purchasing this property for $220,000 will provide:
In 1993, a group from Brookville Road Community Church (BRCC) went to Brazil. While there, they raised the money to purchase the first church plant location in Carpina. That was the beginning of an incredible partnership that has continued to grow. In the year 2000, when the ministry had grown and needed a headquarters (what would also become the Seminary, International School, and two churches), BRCC led the giving with a huge gift that encouraged the other churches to give—enabling WRB to pay it off quickly. Over the past months, Tele Moraes and the WRB team has been praying about a 7-acre campground property, Alcance Brazil (ABA) camp, that would be a day camp for up to 26,000 public school kids to hear about Jesus, a headquarters for Project Focus (Business as Missions) and IMPACT ministries (Glory Sports), a covered area, pool, dorm rooms, sports fields, kitchen, and bathrooms for events/retreats for all of our planted churches and ministries, missionary housing for our growing team, and a new church plant and Living Stones. Again, BRCC joined in the prayers, and their missions team decided to give a large amount for a down payment from the mission’s budget. They recognized that they also wanted give the church time to understand and partake in this opportunity for a sense of shared ownership. Over the course of a month, as a church body they prayed and talked about the need. WRB is overwhelmed and grateful to share that Brookville Road Community Church has given almost half of the cost of the property! Would you partner with us to pay off the rest of the property? In 2012, Cezar was expelled for a couple weeks from the Living Stones program in Brazil. He had been fighting, again, and the leaders were just not sure what to do with him. But he kept coming back. Over the next couple of years, he gave his life to Jesus and slowly became a leader in the sports program at Living Stones. Later, he began working with Project Focus as part of the Recycling program, and in 2022, he and Lane, the director of Living Stones in Guadalajara, were married. Cezar is now a part of the IMPACT ministry day camp team that served 600 public school kids over four days in October at the ABA (Alcance Brazil) camp. 37 kids gave their life to Jesus during that time. It’s incredible to see the full circle of being served to serving others, knowing the life-change that Jesus brings personally. Would you consider partnering with World Renewal Brazil as they work to pay off the ABA camp property? Next year, World Renewal Brazil hopes to run over 40 weeks of day camps, with around 600 kids coming a week, reaching the 26,000 public school children in the schools that are ready and willing to bus their students to the ABA camp. What an important and vital ministry! The Living Stones program is reaching out to around 250 children every day through LEND: love, education, nutrition, and directing to Jesus. It is run by local leaders who are passionate about Jesus and their community. Not only is it a valuable child sponsorship program, it is planting churches in communities. Church planters reach out to the immediate needs of the kids throughout the week, build relationships, and then invite the families to church on the weekend: it is fulfilling the great commandment—as well as the great commission. We are so excited to see all that God is doing throughout our 8 locations in Brazil. We want to celebrate together with two of our kids from Guadalajara Living Stones, Heloisa and Willamys, who have graduated high school and won scholarships to good universities nearby! We’ve watched them grow up, give their lives to Jesus, and become leaders within their community, and are so excited for this next chapter of their lives! Heloisa won four scholarships with many honors, and has decided to study law. Willamys won a basketball scholarship after playing almost daily at Living Stones. Would you sponsor a child through Living Stones? Worldrenewal.org/sponsor-a-child In 8 different locations, the Living Stones program in Brazil is reaching out to around 250 children a day through LEND: love, education, nutrition, and directing to Jesus. Not only is it a valuable child sponsorship program, it is planting churches in communities. Maria Clara is six years old and lives with her grandmother. Her father died when she was little, the father of her two half-sisters is in jail, and she doesn’t see her mother much. Maria’s grandmother is also taking care of her five cousins and her great-grandmother. Their home has one bedroom, where the grandmother, great-grandmother, Maria Clara, and her sisters (and sometimes others) sleep. Her cousins and aunt sleep in the living room. There isn’t a lot of food, as none of the adults have steady work, and they mostly survive off of the little government money they receive. Maria Clara has been waiting anxiously for Living Stones to begin. Ever since they started the weekly kids club, she’s been in the front row, begging for more. When they officially began, making sure that for the first time, Maria Clara gets a good meal each day, she said “My heart jumped it was so happy!” Would you sponsor a child through Living Stones? Worldrenewal.org/sponsor-a-child-brazil Church planting is the foundation of the ministry in Brazil. Since 1993, World Renewal Brazil has planted, and partnered with others to plant over 35 churches. The IMPACT outreach is church planting in action. This January 5-19, 50 people from different churches planted by World Renewal Brazil came together to help other communities plant churches. They started with prayer, worship, and training, and then went out into the streets and schools with sports, music, the arts, and lots of one-on-one conversations. The result was incredible growth for this team, as they all return to their own churches, as well as 79 decisions made for Christ. Many names and addresses were gathered and given to the local leaders to follow up on as well. Please join us in praying for the six newest church plants in Brazil: Riacho do Mel and Lagoa Comprida (two churches in the town of Limoeiro that were started through the food basket ministry), Caja (in a neighborhood of Carpina, where the World Renewal Headquarters is), Tabatinga (close to the big city of Recife), Mirante do Falcao (near the Amazon, started through and with Living Stones), and the Two Brothers community (in Paudalho, the town next to Carpina, which was the focus of the recent IMPACT 2022). You can support church planting at Worldrenewal.org/give. Graduation in Brazil is in December: another thing to celebrate! The Northeast Bible Seminary has seen unparalleled growth during the pandemic. Their online classes have provided hope when many other areas of training and serving were closed down. Since 1999, around 90% of those who have graduated from the seminary are still continuing to serve God in ministry: an incredible statistic! Pictured above are two of the 2021 graduates: Lane and Misse. Misse grew up at the Community Church of Guadalajara, and was used by God to lead her friend, Lane, to the Lord. When they were both 16, they saw how important the Living Stones program was in their community, so when the leader left, they took over. After graduating high school, the girls had no doubt about what they wanted to do: they wanted to be missionaries, and began their training at the Northeast Bible Seminary. They have faithfully worked for the last four years, leading Living Stones in their community while studying at the seminary. We are so excited to see what God has done, and has planned for these amazing young ladies. Valmir Alvis, married with children and a full-time job, lived about an hour and a half drive from Carpina, where the Northeast Bible Seminary (SBNE) is located. He felt called to study theology and become a pastor, so in 2012, before on-line classes were available, he drove to class three days a week after work. Everyone saw how dedicated and excited he was about learning. Then his mother got very sick. She was in the hospital in Recife (another hour or two of driving) for special care for three months, and he was the only one in his family able to take care of her. After awhile of this ragged schedule, Valmir was at the end of his rope. His seminary professors, as well as the other students saw his needs and provided help, pooling money together for his mother’s medical costs. Valmir says: “The Northeast Bible Seminary was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was deeply impacted by it, because I see it as an instrument of God acting in my life. SBNE is a big family. My soul was shepherded by the seminary professors who helped me make some important decisions in my life and ministry. SBNE contributed a lot to my academic training and my spiritual life, and that is directly reflected in my personal life and character.” Pastor Valmir graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Theology from SBNE in 2015, and was ordained in 2016. He is pastoring a church in the state of Piauí, and finished his Biblical Counselors Training Course in 2019. Please consider giving a scholarship to enable someone like Valmir to attend SBNE. You can give at WorldRenewal.org/give. |