News from Porto Alegre

Our church plant continues to go well. We had a returning visitor this past Sunday named Ana. She is searching and said she would be reading the book of John this week searching for God. The others are faithful and return each week hungry for the Word of God. This Sunday we are going to show a creation/evolution DVD along with the study. Pray for God to work in hearts.

We continue to look for a location to meet in. We found a second floor office that has a good view of the main road. We are checking to see if they would even allow us to rent it for a church.

“In the beginning” - Hope Baptist Church

Everything has it’s beginning…God spoke and it was so in the creation of the world and we have already seen His hand at work in the city in the start of the new church.

God saved a couple named Gustavo e Lisandra who He is beginning to use mightily for His name.  We are meeting now every Sunday morning at 10.  Each week it seems we have a visitor.  We are sharing and discussing the vision of the new church as well as studying the book of Romans together. 

We continue to look for a place to meet.  We don’t know how long we can meet in our home.  We have looked at several locations but with the falling dollar the rent is way too high.  One hopful place is a second floor office space.  Continue to pray for wisdom in our search and the the Lord would provide in His perfect time and way.

May 11 - Bringing the group together

We are getting excited.  This Sunday morning we will be gathering at 10am for our first meeting. Please pray with us!  We will gathering to pray and study Gods word.  We have put together a presentation that shares our vision for the new church.  We pray that God will move in hearts to form a core group that can add to our vision as we look to be an obediente church serving the city of Porto Alegre in the Gospel ministry for the Glory of God.  

We look forward as well to May 12 when our friend Chad arrives.  Pray that we have a great two weeks.  We have much planned and hope that he can go away blessed to have been with us here in Porto Alegre.  Pray for our safety as we work around the city.  Tonight we put stickers on about 500 bridge tracts.  We will be doing some distribution and evangelism in the downtown area and the city parks near our home.  He will be speaking as well on the two Sundays he is here.  Pray we can make some contacts for the new church plant. People are always interested to hear English interpreted.   

1 Peter: The Gospel, the Obedient Church, and the City

 

Our mission is: An obedient church, serving the city in the gospel, for the glory of God. We again see our values and much instruction about them in 1 Peter: 

Firstly, in 1:1-12, Peter introduces his letter reveling in the glorious GOSPEL, which he calls a ‘lively hope.’  And it is so glorious that even the angels desire to look into it. You can tell by the way that Peter describes it he has been angelically gazing at it for a long while. The gospel jewel is extra precious to Peter and has been the core of His entire life and ministry. We know from his early days with Jesus that the gospel had graciously transformed his attitudes, as Paul writes from ‘faith to faith’ or as John writes, ‘grace upon grace.’

Secondly, in 1:13-14, 22, we see that the radical grace received in the Gospel motivates us to be an OBEDIENT CHURCH. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end  for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.”  Grace and obedience are closely connected. We must use grace to motivate the church to obey.

Thirdly, we see the obedient church’s responsibilities and attitudes in the CITY in 2:1-25, especially verses 11-12. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.  Serving and submitting in the city is only possible through grace-filled gospel transformation.  The gospel calls us to love and serve sinners in humility like our Lord Jesus did in giving his life a ransom for many.

 

The Gospel, the Church, and the City

In Paul’s salutation to the church in Rome (1:1-7) you can see our mission and values for the new church. Do you remember them? 1. Gospel (Our Motive). 2. Obedient Church (Our Model). 3. City (Our Mission ). 

Firstly, we see at the core, the Gospel, Paul is “separated unto the gospel of God” (v1). For Paul, the gospel was a message big enough for an entire lifetime. It also demanded an entire life dedication. It is a message that should motivate everything that we are and do at all times.

Secondly, in verse 5 we see the Obedient Church. The grace of God in the gospel calls for a radical response of obedience. Paul says “for obedience to the faith”. Any gospel that excludes the need for transformed lives is “another gospel.”  

Thirdly, we see the City.  Paul says, “for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name” (v5). This grace-filled Gospel obedience is to be modeled among the nations.  The city is a great place to model obedience to the nations as they gather together to make a name for themselves. We are here to proclaim the gospel and call together an obedient people who forget making a name for “themselves” and get caught up in making “God’s Name” great in the city.

So you have it, our mission, An obedient church, serving the city in the Gospel, for the Glory of God.   Pray as we began to communicate that mission to others. 

Project “Door of Hope”

Recently in my studies I came across this passage in Hosea.  As you are beginning to tell we like the theme of Hope…Based in this passage we have chosen to call our location search “Project Door of Hope” - its based on the passage below. 

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. Hosea 2:14-17

 

God longed to restore His people Israel giving them a “door of hope” for the “valley of Achor”.  Achor was that valley of Achan’s sin and shame.  God wanted to wash their hearts and minds of that shameful place and bring them to a place of second chances, a place of hope.  He will take away their paganism (Baalim) and they will be a people that will worship the name of God forever. As we see a city given to great idolatry every day we know the Love of God that has provided a “door of Hope” in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to restore souls to the joy of their Creator and Lord.

Pray for our location search that soon we will be able to open the “door of hope” for all peoples.

Igreja Batista Esperança: Our Mission, Values, Activities, and Vision

My love for the city began in my childhood years when my family planted a church in urban Toronto, Canada. Through God’s Word and several personal mentors during my years at Bible college, God instilled in my heart an urban burden and now we are bringing the Gospel to the city. We see the cities of the world as a strategic place for church planting. In this issue we want to share the mission of Hope Baptist Church. Our mission is to be:

 

An obedient church, serving the city in the Gospel, for the glory of God

 

Within that mission statement you see our three core values. First, The Gospel - this speaks of our motive.  The Gospel is not only the A,B,C of the Christian life, it is the A to Z.  The gospel of God is enough for our justification, sanctification, and glorification. Second, An Obedient Church - this speaks of our model We will teach that our example is our greatest influence. We will seek to edify the saints, so they can live pure lives and survive Satan’s attacks in the city. Third, The City - this speaks of our mission.  As servants of the Gospel we are debtors to the city. We will be interceding for the souls of Porto Alegre.

 

How will we seek to fulfill the mission of the church? Because we value the Gospel, we will Exalt Christ in Worship. Because we value an obedient church, we will Edify the Saints in the Word, and because we value the city, we plan to Evangelize the City through our Witness in Word and Works.  These three activities are in line with our core values and mission.  All this we will do for God’s eternal kingdom and His glory. 
 

Gustavo and Lisandra

Wow! We just got in from having dinner with Gustavo and Lisandra.  What blessing it was.  Tonight they surprised us by sharing how they are really excited about our church plant and want to help in every way possible.  They even want to start giving their tithe to the church plant.  We have been praying for a couple like this and the Lord has brought one right from among the people that live here on the North Side.  Tonight at dinner we shared with them the philosophy of the new church and how our goal will be to be an obedient church serving the city in the Gospel for the glory of God.  They had lots of questions about how a church is planted.  We told them that this is our first time as well so we all would be learning a lot together.  It seems that tonight a deep expression of commitment was made on their part.  We are so excited to have this type of couple by our side.  This is truly the Lord’s doing and is marvelous in our eyes. 

Hope in the midst of “The End of Hope”

This week our city invited Edgar Morin (french philosopher) to inaugurate “Frontiers of Thinking”, it’s more or less our cities “Mars Hill”.  It’s quite an event.  There will be a series of events this year with the worlds most pagan thinkers highlighted on the roster.  The city newspaper published an interesting article discussing Morin’s worldview.  The article is entitled “Morin and the end of Hope”  Morin spoke of the great “loss of the future”, “end of hope”, “crisis of progress” that the end of the 2oth century brought to the world.  He concluded his lecture saying that all this hoplessness ”translates into a world where religions prosper”.  We are seeing the void left by modernism well nigh into post-modernity and the void that must be filled with something. 

After reading the article I thought to myself. This guy makes it easy for us to say like Peter at Pentecost, “Save yourself from this crooked generation!”  What a great day to be a part of the “Gospel of Hope”, a firm believer and defender of the Resurrection in Jesus Christ.  What a day to point confused souls who have lost confidence in every part of society to a “real hope” which is not some kind of ”placebo” but a rational and life changing reality.  

I love the verse that constantly sustains me in the gospel ministry. In it lies the power and the promise of God’s blessing on missions in allowing the gentiles to be a part of the hope of Jesus Christ.  For me its the promise that God wants a church planted among every kindred, tongue, people, and nation  - “Now the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye might abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13) (See the context of Romans 15:13 and what they are to have joy and peace in believing - it’s not Jesus but it’s the promise that God wants Gentiles to take part in the OT promised Hope). 

So, continue to pray for us and we will for you.  We want to be found faithful as stewards of the Gospel of Hope.

An evening on the town

This evening I drove some more around town and actually was able to look at and call about several nice locations.  One location I found was incredible!  On a main road, large secure parking area (Porto Alegre is famous for car jacking), very clean, freshly painted, and room for Sunday School - but they are asking about US$1700 a month for rent.  Ouch!  We will keep looking!

Tonight I wrote the sales administrator of a huge construction project here in Porto Alegre. They are actually one of Brazil’s largest high-rise apartment builders.  The name of the company is Goldsztein www.goldsztein.com.br  Well they are developing an entire suburb called “Jardime Europa” (European Gardens) and will be around for several years. They have a huge sales center and showroom in our target area right next to the shopping mall.  We met the gentleman sometime ago and he was very kind to us so we thought we would ask him if he would allow us to use some of the showroom space to meet in.  It is not being used on Sundays.  We will see. Something to pray about.