Living Bread Ministries
Planting Churches Among the Desperately Poor
Living Bread Ministries
Calling Our Newest Church Planter
For several months we have been evangelizing a very needy community in the city of Torres in southern Brazil. Our desire has been to launch a church plant in this community but unfortunately, we have had difficulty finding church planters who want to work in the slums. As a result, one of our other pastors was evangelizing the neighborhood, when possible, in anticipation that the Lord would raise up someone to minister to this community.
Artenio, Luciane, and family
Of course, in his timing, the Lord did just this. We have called a young seminary student to begin a church planting effort in Torres. Artenio and his family will be commissioned on January 29th and will begin ministering in February. Artenio and Luciane have two children. They adopted their son when his mother died of a drug overdose.
As with all of our church plants among the poor and needy, we are beginning this one in faith. We have one partner church helping but still need to raise $900 per month to fund this church plant. This amount will provide the basic resources to launch and operate the church including: ministry expenses, support for Artenio and his family, utilities, rent, feeding ministries, etc.
Artenio, Luciane, and family
Of course, in his timing, the Lord did just this. We have called a young seminary student to begin a church planting effort in Torres. Artenio and his family will be commissioned on January 29th and will begin ministering in February. Artenio and Luciane have two children. They adopted their son when his mother died of a drug overdose.
As with all of our church plants among the poor and needy, we are beginning this one in faith. We have one partner church helping but still need to raise $900 per month to fund this church plant. This amount will provide the basic resources to launch and operate the church including: ministry expenses, support for Artenio and his family, utilities, rent, feeding ministries, etc.
Will you join us in planting a church among the poor and needy in Torres?
Hard Work Should Be Rewarded
Each year we partner with our church plants to send some of the teens to camp. Just like American youth they love going to camp and its a great time of spiritual growth for them. It is especially joyful for our youth because its the one time most of them ever get out of the slums they live in. They get to enjoy three meals a day, hot showers, and an opportunity to hang out with kids from other demographic groups.
Last Year's Group
In order to qualify for a scholarship each teen must pass the school year and participate with their church in fundraising for camp. If they meet these two criteria we will provide them with a $90 scholarship to help fund camp and the transportation to and from. Will you help us bless the youth for their hard work this past year?
Share Christmas 2011 - Update
Share Christmas 2011 was a big success. Through partnerships with churches and individuals in the US and Brazil our church plants were able to provide Christmas for 650 kids and youth. The school age kids received school supplies and a hygiene kit, while the younger kids received a hygiene kit and a toy.
Teen mom who received school supplies with her son and his toy truck
All of these were distributed by the church plants at worship services last week. Many mothers from the various communities expressed their gratitude for helping their children succeed in school. This outreach ministry is a way that the local churches can assist with meeting a very practical need and demonstrate to the community, as a whole, the love of Christ.
To see more pictures from the gift distributions click here.
Teen mom who received school supplies with her son and his toy truck
All of these were distributed by the church plants at worship services last week. Many mothers from the various communities expressed their gratitude for helping their children succeed in school. This outreach ministry is a way that the local churches can assist with meeting a very practical need and demonstrate to the community, as a whole, the love of Christ.
To see more pictures from the gift distributions click here.
Church Plant Helps Fight Dengue Fever
Pastor Ubiratan,from our church plant in the neighborhood of Planalto, recently attended a community meeting hosted by the local health clinic. The leaders of the clinic shared that they were organizing a campaign to combat Dengue Fever, a viral infection spread by mosquitos. The campaign would include sharing information about the disease followed by an effort to remove trash and standing water from the community. Unfortunately, there was no one in the community willing to host the event or provide volunteers for the clean up.
Church members and residents cleaning up the neighborhood
Pr. Ubiratan quickly offered the church and agreed to provide lunch for the leaders from the clinic as well as the volunteers. Several residents of the community came for the lunch and information. During this time the coordinator from the clinic told those in attendance that the church was the only people to volunteer to help them. She also said that the church was always willing to help the clinic anytime they could. As a result, she had learned to love and respect the church. This woman is not yet a believer but we are trusting the Lord to draw her to himself.
To read additional testimonies or learn more about our work take a look at our current newsletter.
Church members and residents cleaning up the neighborhood
Pr. Ubiratan quickly offered the church and agreed to provide lunch for the leaders from the clinic as well as the volunteers. Several residents of the community came for the lunch and information. During this time the coordinator from the clinic told those in attendance that the church was the only people to volunteer to help them. She also said that the church was always willing to help the clinic anytime they could. As a result, she had learned to love and respect the church. This woman is not yet a believer but we are trusting the Lord to draw her to himself.
To read additional testimonies or learn more about our work take a look at our current newsletter.
Judo Ministry in a Brazilian Slum
Our church plant in the Porto Alegre, Brazil neighborhood of Vila Nova is trying to begin a Judo ministry. The church has the man power for the ministry. Vini Santos, a member of the church, has been training in Judo for several years and is currently teaching some private classes. He and his wife Wanessa have a heart for the youth in Vila Nova and want to reach them with the Gospel and help encourage them in their education as well as keep them from gangs and drug traffickers.
Student for the Judo Ministry
Vini, Wanessa, and other members of the church have about 20 teens and pre-teens who are eager to learn Judo. Vini will instruct the Judo classes and after each class he and Wanessa will provide a hearty snack for the kids and teach a Bible lesson. This ministry will allow the church in Vila Nova to invest in the lives of kids and the future of the community.
The start up cost is $1,900.00 to cover the mats, uniforms, and equipment. The church plant is made up of very poor families. They have a willingness to serve and a heart for their neighbors, but lack the capital to get the project going. Would you make an investment in Vini, Wanessa, the church, and Vila Nova to help to meet these one time expenses?
Update from Church Plant in Planalto
Below is an update from Pastor Ubiratam at our newest church plant in the Porto Alegre, Brazil neighborhood of Planalto. Please rejoice with us in the Lord's blessing.
Beloved brethren, through the infinite grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on September 3rd we were finally able to inaugurate Missão Batista na Vila Planalto. At this service we had the presence of our mother church , Igreja Batista Viva. Brothers and sisters from other churches, as well as some people from the community whom we had invited were also present. It was a packed house!
On September 4th we had our first service however, only my family was present. On the second Sunday however, we had three visitors, of which two were believers with a desire to join us and help in this new work. They have been a great help already! On the third Sunday we had five more visitors; all ladies from the community. This past Sunday, we had twelve people at the service counting my family and I. Thank God we are doing so well in this early stage. We’ve had an average of 10 people at the services and every Sunday we have a new visitor. Glory be to God.
Students for the Guitar Lessons
On September 18th, we launched free guitar lessons at the church plant as an outreach to the community. To our surprise we had eleven teenagers at the first class! During the lessons we read from the Bible and share about Jesus.
I ask that you’d be in prayer for us and especially the teens in the guitar lessons, for God to work in their lives. We have not been able to get them to come/stay for the services, but I am certain that at the right time God will enter their hearts.
Partnering with an Evangelical Drug Rehab Center
We are adding a new phase to our work in southern Brazil. With our mission of planting churches among the very poor we encounter many people who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, and huffing glue and paint thinner. These addictions wreak havoc on lives, families, and communities. Our pastors do their best to work with these addicts and their families, but often need help. For this reason we are entering into a strategic partnership with a local evangelical rehab center. We know this particular ministry is very effective because one of our pastors graduated from it many years ago and is now planting a church in the very community where he was a homeless crack addict.
Pastor Magioli with Daniel (a man from the community he is church planting in).
Daniel has been at the rehab center for two months.
The program is led by Pastor Quirino and is completely faith based. They get no support from the government or denominations. It is a labor of love for Pastor Quirino and his wife; as they have dedicated their lives and personal resources to the work.
The program is simple yet profound. The residents, currently over 70 men women and children, spend their time working around the compound and studying God's word. By the power of the Spirit people are being set free from their addictions. As you might imagine feeding 70 people three meals a day can be costly. We will be helping with that cost by providing $250 per month.
As part of our partnership our church planters will be teaching classes at the rehab center. Pastor Jocelito is currently teaching a class on Urban Mission. Our hope is that the people in treatment will come to know the Lord and be discipled, so that we will be able to plug them into our church plants when they leave the program. This will provide a level of accountability and will also help our churches minister to others in the community. We currently have two men from our church plants in the program.
Will you help provide the $250 a month to fund this partnership? To see pictures from the work visit our photo site. For individual gifts use the Donate button below. To give monthly please contact us.
What's Going On...
Below is a link to our third quarter newsletter. Please take a few minutes to have a look at it. We are very excited about the church planting updates and personal testimonies included. Please share it with anyone who might be interested. We would appreciate if you shared it on social media outlets as well.
Share Christmas 2011
Its that time of year when kids are returning to school. This is always a time of hope and promise, because we know that education is essential to our children's success. The Lord uses education to open doors of opportunity and provision for them. For this reason as parents we are willing to do the hard work of getting our kids to school, checking homework, helping them to grasp difficult concepts, and providing the materials they need to do well.
Third grade from local elementary school receiving their school supplies
This last item, materials or school supplies is not something many of us give a lot of thought too. It's a chore to run around town picking up the various supplies, but beyond that we take them for granted. Imagine, if you were a single mom who was struggling to provide even one meal per day for you child. How high on your priority list would pens and notebook paper be?
Now imagine you are a struggling elementary or middle school student. You want to do well in school but without the basic supplies you can't even turn in your homework or do the practice problems in math class. How well do you think you will do? What type of education will you get? How long before you quit in frustration? This is the need we seek to address with our annual Share Christmas project.
Through Share Christmas we equip each of our church plants among the desperately poor in South America to provide school supplies for children in the church and surrounding communities. This is a way for the church to continue to build relationships and expand the kingdom of God. All of the school supplies and hygiene kits are distributed at the churches during evangelistic services.
Would you join us as we Share Christmas? Your gift of $15.00 will help provide school supplies for one child. Will you help our church plants care for needy children in their communities both spiritually and physically?
The Lord Accomplishes Much with Little
Yesterday I was reflecting on all that the Lord has done in and through Living Bread during our brief history. It is amazing to see what he has accomplished in a relatively short period of time with very minimal resources combined with the very small faith of an insignificant couple of first generation believers. To be sure even the faith was a gift of his grace.
When we began LBM in early 2004 we started from scratch. We had no partnerships, no connections in Brazil, and no money. The first donation was literally a $50 donation from our family. In the less than 7 and a half years that followed and with total resources of $493,000 the following has been accomplished.
- Living Bread Ministries (LBM) has been established as a mission organization planting churches focused on integral mission among the poor and needy in South America.
- Ministério Pão Vivo (MPV) has been established as a Brazilian led mission organization planting churches focused on integral mission among the poor and needy in Brazil and is building partnerships with Brazilian churches and individuals.
- In partnership with MPV we have planted 8 churches
- Hundreds of new believers
- Many marriages performed with new believers forming godly homes
- Hundreds of Bibles distributed
- Thousands of food kits distributed
- Thousands of meals served
- Medicine and medical supplies distributed
- Winter clothes distributed annually
- Blankets distributed
- Thousands of school supply kits distributed through Share Christmas
- Dozens of Pastor Libraries and many other Biblical resources for pastors and leaders distributed
- Adolescents sent to church camp
- Elderly widows and orphans being cared for
- Four Brazilian church planters on staff
- In partnership with MPV
- Bought multiple properties
- Renovated church buildings
- Building a church
- Assisting an evangelical drug rehab center
- Supporting the Hubbard family as they have lead this work from its inception
As you can see the Lord has blessed exceedingly abundantly and much has been accomplished with minimal resources. One of the primary reasons we accomplished so much in Brazil is because the Lord gave our family the grace to endure severe financial hardship in order to see his will done in and through us. What a blessing it is now to look back and see the fruit of those difficult times. By his grace we will continue to trust the Lord to do great and mighty things for his glory and the good of his kingdom.
