More Weddings in Porto Alegre
June 30, 2009
Among the very poor in southern Brazil marriage is not the norm. Most of the women are single and many resort to prostitution to survive. Men come and go in their lives and when they are together it is typically living together outside of marriage. This becomes an issue when these women come to know Christ. The teachings of Scripture clash head on with their lifestyle. We like to think that the issue is very simple, get married or don't live together, but it is a complex social problem.
A woman with several children, no education, and no way to provide for herself finds this situation very difficult. Asking their unregenerate live-in boyfriend to leave almost certainly means that she and her children will face extreme hardship. Not only is there the financial issues when the only source of income leaves the home, but also issues of safety. When you live alone in a slum that is run by gangs and drug lords it is very dangerous. Imagine, being a single mom in your mid-twenties living with your 3 or 4 children in a place where the police won't even go. It is a scary proposition for a new believer to consider.
Pastor Magioli, Rosangela, and a few friends with Roseli and her husband after their wedding.
However, our church plants must call people to live a life worthy of their calling. We must challenge people to live by the Spirit and trust Christ to take care of them. Each of our church plants does this. As part of our new believers classes we teach God's plan for the family. We require that prior to membership in the church these types of open sin are made right. Often it takes long periods of time to work out these complex issues but our pastors are faithful to teach and assist people in these circumstances.
In fact, often people want to get married but many of the poor don't even have identification or money to get the proper paperwork. Our churches provide resources and our pastors work with them to get any documentation that is needed. In the end we have seen many marriages at our church plants, many homes being transformed for the glory of Christ. For this we give glory to the Lord. Currently, we have two more couples in the process of getting their documentation for marriage.
Among the very poor in southern Brazil marriage is not the norm. Most of the women are single and many resort to prostitution to survive. Men come and go in their lives and when they are together it is typically living together outside of marriage. This becomes an issue when these women come to know Christ. The teachings of Scripture clash head on with their lifestyle. We like to think that the issue is very simple, get married or don't live together, but it is a complex social problem.
A woman with several children, no education, and no way to provide for herself finds this situation very difficult. Asking their unregenerate live-in boyfriend to leave almost certainly means that she and her children will face extreme hardship. Not only is there the financial issues when the only source of income leaves the home, but also issues of safety. When you live alone in a slum that is run by gangs and drug lords it is very dangerous. Imagine, being a single mom in your mid-twenties living with your 3 or 4 children in a place where the police won't even go. It is a scary proposition for a new believer to consider.
Pastor Magioli, Rosangela, and a few friends with Roseli and her husband after their wedding.
However, our church plants must call people to live a life worthy of their calling. We must challenge people to live by the Spirit and trust Christ to take care of them. Each of our church plants does this. As part of our new believers classes we teach God's plan for the family. We require that prior to membership in the church these types of open sin are made right. Often it takes long periods of time to work out these complex issues but our pastors are faithful to teach and assist people in these circumstances.
In fact, often people want to get married but many of the poor don't even have identification or money to get the proper paperwork. Our churches provide resources and our pastors work with them to get any documentation that is needed. In the end we have seen many marriages at our church plants, many homes being transformed for the glory of Christ. For this we give glory to the Lord. Currently, we have two more couples in the process of getting their documentation for marriage.
Posted by Patrick at 6/30/2009 12:54 PM 
Categories: General, Praises, Testimonies
Tags: whole Gospel world missions Jesus Latin America Living Bread Gospel poor and needy world poverty
Categories: General, Praises, Testimonies
Tags: whole Gospel world missions Jesus Latin America Living Bread Gospel poor and needy world poverty
Comments