New Church Development in Brazil - January 2020 Update
Meeting with IPIB national leadership
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.
In his first written communication, Rev. Furtado re-affirmed his commitment to the health of the church and how prayer is a foundational element for it. He quoted a sermon by Rev. Abival Pires da Silveira, Pastor Emeritus of the historic First Presbyterian Church of Sao Paulo, “The Church is looking for new strategies, better plans, modern methods, but God is looking for better people, called people, committed people.”
Rev. Dr. Rob Weingartner sent a note in which he expressed, “The Outreach Foundation anticipates that our Lord will help us expand our current forms of collaboration in God’s kingdom in ways that also help Presbyterians in the United States grow in faithfulness. We also anticipate that the Holy Spirit will bring about new and exciting missional opportunities to grow together into the likeness of Christ as we participate in his great commission.”
On September 27, 2019, The Outreach Foundation met with members of the new executive leadership to discuss future avenues of collaboration in God’s work. Please consider joining our Outreach trip to Brazil from October 18-27, 2020. That will be an excellent opportunity to gain first-hand exposure to the inspiring work of developing new churches in Brazil. Call the office at 615-778-8881 for more information.
With you in Christ’s mission,
Juan Sarmiento, Associate Director for Mission
Read more about New Church Development in Brazil HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts totaling $40,000 to support four new Brazilian churches at $10,000 per church. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.