New Church Development in Brazil — September 2022 Update

The Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB), our partner in fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus, has been striving to plant new churches, and The Outreach Foundation has been working to find partners to plant new churches. One of these new churches is located in the city of Valinhos, State of São Paulo. This is a city with enormous potential, but its inhabitants are very resistant to the Gospel message. Despite the resistance, the church has grown, as the organizing pastor discovered that he can best share the Gospel through interpersonal relationships with good results, thank God!

Don and Martha Wehmeyer — July 2022 Update

Dear friends,

It is good to write to Outreach Foundation supporters. Martha and I have been blessed by your ministry for over 30 years!

Hopefully, we are near the end of the COVID pandemic. The whole country of Mexico is most anxious that it be so. The burden it has placed on the church and society has been enormous.

José Carlos Pezini - December 2021 Update

Dear sisters and brothers, partners in the work of expanding the Kingdom of God in this world!

May grace and peace from God our Father be poured out in abundance upon your lives. I am very happy, and I pray constantly for you, thanking God for your generosity and love for us. In this difficult time, His love is expressed through the efforts you make, sharing with us so that through you we can live with dignity and develop our mission.

The pandemic is still present in Brazil. But my perception, in general, is that we have learned to live with it and life here in Brazil is slowly returning to normal.

José Carlos Pezini - October 2021 Update

Dear brothers and sisters, servants of Christ Jesus and collaborators with him in the expansion of the Kingdom,

Grace and peace be with you all.

We've all experienced the difficulties of these past couple of years. But despite the struggles we have faced, battles were won, thus fulfilling the promise that in Christ Jesus we are more than conquerors.

Through your partnership, the gospel has been preached in many places here in Brazil. It has brought salvation to dozens of families in eight different cities, from the southern part of Brazil to the northeast. Here are reports from some of the new churches:

COVID-19 Appeal - February 2021 Update

Your gifts to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal are making a difference...all over the world

When we launched this Appeal almost a year ago, none of us could have grasped what the devasting effects upon the global community would be with almost two million dead and economies devastated. Vaccines provide a glimmer of hope, but we know it will be a long time before large parts of the world can access them.

The Outreach Foundation is grateful for your faithful generosity over these past months as your gifts of over $277,000 have allowed us to respond to urgent needs in 23 countries: Iraq, Syria, Ghana, Rwanda, China, Cuba, Venezuela and so many more. These gifts have provided food relief, tuition help for seminarians so that their studies could continue, salary support for pastors in impoverished villages, and refugee relief for those whose lives were already being lived on the edge of calamity. The Global Church has used these gifts to shine the Light of Christ upon those who might not yet know of him and to encourage the faithful to “hold on.”

Vulnerable Children's Fund - July 2020 Update

The Situation

According to James 1:7, “True religion is this, that we care for orphans and widows in their distress…” We cannot be faithful to the whole Gospel if we do not express love and care for the most vulnerable in our midst. The Outreach Foundation believes this fundamentally and believes that children are the most vulnerable of all in our sinful, broken world. And The Outreach Foundation believes that all children have the right to survive, to thrive, and to fulfill their God-given potential. This means understanding the global situations facing children everywhere and committing to helping to provide access to basic services, care, and education to the children in their (Outreach’s) spheres of influence.

In the church, and around the world, there is an effort to provide comprehensive care for vulnerable children that addresses the physical, emotional, educational, social, and spiritual life of every child, recognizing that they are each created in God’s image. The ultimate focus is on value and dignity for children and their families.

Venezuela Appeal Update - May 2020

Praying for Venezuela

Prayer is a crucial element of everything we do at The Outreach Foundation. As you join us in intercessory prayer, please consider this information about the difficult situation that the people of Venezuela are facing:

1. Food Prices: Since the quarantine began, food prices have increased by 153%. A chicken or a carton of eggs is $5.00. Because most monthly salaries are around $4.00, there are serious problems of food insecurity in impoverished neighborhoods. Please pray for the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan families suffering from food insecurity, and for pastoral families who are also affected.

South America, Projects, PartnershipThe Outreach FoundationMay 28, 2020Venezuela Appeal, Venezuela

New Church Development in Brazil - January 2020 Update

The General Assembly of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB by its initials in Portuguese) installed its new executive leadership board on July 31, 2019. After seven months of elections and another seven months of transition, the new board headed by its new president, the Rev. João Luiz Furtado, took responsibility for guiding the denomination until 2023. The 116-year-old denomination has 63 Presbyteries, 547 churches, and 685 active pastors. Among the proposals that the newly installed group presented was to “analyze and diagnose missionary field possibilities for church planting” and “incentivize particular churches for the planting of new congregations and future churches.”

Over the last three decades, Presbyterians in the U.S. have contributed to the IPIB in the development of at least 26 congregations. Rev. Dr. José Pezini, The Outreach Foundation’s Portuguese-language Ministries Coordinator, and John Terech, Director of Operations for the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, will attend the formal service to organize another church planting in March.

Partnership, Projects, South AmericaThe Outreach FoundationJanuary 30, 2020New Church Development in Brazil, Brazil

Venezuela Appeal - December 2019

According to The United Nations, more than 4 million Venezuelans have left their country. Those that remain in Venezuela are struggling. Despite the severe economic crisis the country is experiencing, the Presbyterian Church of Venezuela (IPV) has been demonstrating grace in many ways.

Thanks to ongoing donations, The Outreach Foundation has been able to continue its support of the initiatives of the Presbyterian Church of Venezuela. Thousands of food baskets have been distributed, medications have been provided to members and friends that could not afford them, and Bibles have been handed out in more than 20 different neighborhoods. Grateful for our partnership, the IPV said that Outreach’s support will be very helpful for the expansion of their ministry efforts during the year 2020.

Partnership, South America, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 10, 2019Venezuela Appeal

José Carlos Pezini - November 2019 Update

Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is hard to believe that 2019 is almost over. It was an intense year in our ministry here in Brazil. The Lord guided us and opened many doors. Through SARA Ministries, Odete and I spent time caring for pastors and helping them in numerous ways. We saw the lives of many pastors from different denominations being transformed through mentoring and as a result of this transformation, we saw their churches grow in enthusiasm and membership.

The mentoring program includes monthly video conferences and participation in two annual retreats. Through these we work on three fundamental areas in the pastor’s lives:

The pastor and his life with God
The mentee sets aside at least one hour a day, five days a week to be with God, to hear from him, to know him, to develop intimacy with him, and to understand his purpose for their life and ministry. This is not a time for exegesis or sermon study, but a time to feed on God's word and nourish the soul.

José Carlos Pezini - Update

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since Odete and I returned from the U.S.A. at the end of April, we have been traveling to fulfill an intense agenda with commitments in various denominations all over Brazil. The Brazilian church faces many dilemmas these days. God has given me the privilege of being able to help pastors, lay leaders, and congregations in different areas including mentoring pastors, lay leadership training, church revitalization, and discipleship.

In all these places, I feel encouraged by God to motivate Christians to engage in discipleship by sharing their faith with non-believers as well as helping new converts grow in their intimacy with God through prayer and meditation in the Scriptures. I have also led the church to rethink its missionary action in the context where it is located and to rethink the reason for its existence.

José Carlos Pezini - March 2019 Update

I believe that it is a good time to look back, consider, and evaluate our ministry. Let us see what God has done, using our lives as instruments in his hands, and reflect on what has been accomplished since we returned to Brazil seven years ago. We glorify God for his faithfulness and providence.

From the time that Odete and I arrived back in Brazil in May 2012, we sought to understand God's will and to discern the reason he was bringing us back to our country. We hoped that he would use us for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. God has done this, but in a different way from what we had expected.

José Carlos Pezini - December 2018 Update

Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings in Christ Jesus, the Lord of the Church. Another year is ending and as we look back, we can see how God was gracious to us and blessed us greatly. I know this happened because of the faithfulness of the beloved brothers and sisters who have been praying for us. We want to thank you all for your loyalty. Odete and I are so grateful for you and the care that you have demonstrated towards us.

Bibles for New Christians - August 2018 Update

The year was 1986. The economy was thriving in the country with the largest oil reserves in the world. Still, most people in Venezuela lacked access to good education and health services. A group of teenagers had recently become exposed to the Scriptures. Somehow, what Jesus had initiated and instructed his followers to carry on sounded to them like real rebellion. Not just one seeking to replace a social elite with another but a real movement that calls people to repentance and a new life of faith and love for God and fellow human beings. The revolution was to move forward as people became aware of the unsettling ways in which the purposes of God have been carried out in history. If they could help other people read the Bible – they thought – then others too may have their lives filled with new meaning, purpose and compassion. After receiving a gracious donation of hundreds of Bibles, they got busy talking to whomever would pay attention to what they had to say.

International, Projects, South AmericaThe Outreach FoundationAugust 30, 2018Bibles for New Christians, International

José Carlos Pezini - June 2018 Update

Dear brothers and sisters,

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Let me begin by thanking you for your prayers. God has been great to us. After spending some time in the U.S., I returned to Brazil at the end of May to find that the SARA Retreat Ministry for Pastors continues to grow. In this update I want to share with you the testimony of a fellow pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, the Rev. Marcio Tenponi, whom God gave me the privilege of helping in his ministry. This is the Rev. Marcio’s testimony:

At the age of 17 I began to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I served the church as a lay leader until I received God’s call to the pastoral ministry. I surrendered to God and went to the Presbyterian seminary.

José Carlos Pezini - April 2018 Update

Dear friends,

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Let me begin by thanking you for your prayers. God has been great to us. In January I had prostate surgery. Thanks to God’s grace, I recovered well. Within two weeks of the surgery, I was ready to return to my regular ministry activities including my international travels. Odete and I are so thankful for your lives and the care that you have demonstrated towards us.

The SARA ministry has grown exponentially in these last couple of years. Today there are 13 mentoring core groups spread out all over Brazil. Each one of them has two retreats per year. This year alone, we have scheduled 26 different retreats. It is through God’s mercy that we have already reached around 500 pastors in 13 different denominations. We have helped them through their daily struggles. Many of them have testified that through our personal mentoring and spiritual formation retreats, they have been able to conquer depression and other signs of burnout. As they recover from their personal burnout, they feel motivated to perform their ministry with enthusiasm and great joy again.

Gordon and Dorothy Gartrell - February 2018 Update

Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19

Dorothy and I are in the United States for six months speaking at churches about our work in Brazil, where we are PC(USA) missionary co-workers working in partnership with the United Presbyterian Church of Brazil. We are working in leadership development in the local church as well as evangelism. We have been in Governador Mangabeira in the state of Bahia for the last 2½ years, which is a couple of hours from Salvador on the coast.

We arrived in the U.S. the first week of December. We spent several days at headquarters working on our talks and being oriented by the staff. Everyone was focused on Christmas in December, so we took advantage of that and went to see our children.

South America, MissionariesThe Outreach FoundationFebruary 21, 2018Gordon and Dorothy Gartrell, Brazil

Developing South-South Mission Partnerships - January 2018 Update

One of the frequent features of Christianity in Africa, Asia and Latin America is enthusiasm for mission and evangelism. Through our “Developing South-South Mission Partnerships” project, The Outreach Foundation seeks to come alongside efforts that our partners are undertaking to bridge cultural differences with the purpose of sharing the Gospel in areas where there is less access to it.

Last July I visited with a Brazilian family dedicated to demonstrating the love of Christ in word and deed in a North African country. Having arrived in the country 16 years ago after 13 years of fruitful ministry in Jordan and Morocco, their mastery of the language and culture is exceptional. They are currently working in coordination with the small Christian community there to follow up with the growing number of people that have expressed an interest in learning more about the Christian message. They are also mentoring other missionaries arriving from Brazil, Guatemala and other countries.

Partner Updates