Living Bread Ministries
Planting Churches Among the Desperately Poor
Brazil Day 2
Praying for Lindomar and his family
We closed the service by praying over Lindomar and his family; then listening to his testimony. It was very humbling to hear how the Lord had been moving in lives on two different continent for years, in order to bring about this church plant.
Tonight we visited the church in Vila Nova. I couldn't help but remember how the church in Vila Nova was just like the church in Capao only 5 years ago. Now they have a growing congregation and even own their property. Pastor Jason shared the Gospel and challenged the church members to dedicate their lives to serving the Lord by ministering to their community. Two new believers responded with a desire to serve and one man shared that he believed the Lord was calling him to pastor. What a great honor to be a part of such a great day in the Kingdom of God.
Brazil Day 1
Mission Trip 2010
Lindomar and his family. He is planting our newest church
among the poor and needy in southern Brazil.
We will be posting updates on this blog as well as facebook and twitter. We would appreciate your prayers during the week. If you have any questions or feedback please let us know.
Most Frequently Asked Questions
What is the process of starting a church (for LBM)?
How do you do it with most of your time in the states?
We have spent years building relationships with Brazilian leaders, specifically Pastor Magioli. We have also started an NGO (nonprofit) in Brazil. Pastor Magioli, who has over 30 years experience planting churches in Brazil, has been called as the Executive Director of this organization. It is called Ministerio Pao Vivo (MPV). MPV shares the same burden and passion as LBM for church planting among the poor and needy.
All of our work in Brazil is done through MPV. This allows us (LBM) to remain completely behind the scenes. In all of our outreach ministries we point back to Christ and the church plant. However, when this is not possible officially the church is being planted by a Brazilian led organization (MPV). This is especially important when working among the very poor.
Please don’t misunderstand, MPV is not just a front that helps us stay behind the scenes. In reality, as we are planting churches among the poor and needy the Lord is also using us to begin a church planting movement in Brazil led by Brazilians (i.e. MPV). We have built a true partnership with MPV and are beginning to see its fruit. Currently, about 15% of the annual operating budget of both MPV and our church plants is being provided by churches and individuals in Brazil. Our long term goal is to see MPV leading Brazilian churches to plant churches among the poor and needy all over Brazil. Further, our hope is to expand our work throughout Latin America and beyond. This will be done as a joint effort between LBM and MPV. We are two organizations interdependent upon one another. Both providing leadership, resources, and accountability.
In short the church planting process with LBM is as follows. The leadership of MPV isolates a community and finds potential church planters. Then together the leadership of LBM and MPV develop a plan, call the church planter, train and equip, provide accountability, and financial resources. The church planter and the church plant are funded by LBM and MPV. The nature of this interdependent relationship is very unusual in global missions. Many organizations talk about using nationals but very few are willing to give them financial resources and empower them to be true partners.
Think of it this way. Rather than sending an American who is perceived as wealthy to lead a church planting movement among the poor and needy in Brazil, we have called an experienced well respected Brazilian pastor to fill that role. As a result of empowering him and the rest of the Brazilian leadership to be equal partners, Brazilian churches and individuals are responding and investing in the ministry.
I hope this clears things up. If you have any further questions, would like to partner with LBM, or have us share with your church contact us at info@livingbread.org.
Community in the Early Church
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I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
Launching Our 6th Church Plant
If you would like to learn more about this church plant and all the Lord is doing through LBM please take a few moments to read our newsletter.
Potential New Church Plant
A young boy in front of his home in Capao
Please join us in seeking the Lord's will about LBM beginning our 6th church plant in this community. We will be making a decision in the coming weeks. To see the pictures of the community we would be working in click this link .
On Tuesday 1st Baptist Porto Alegre is meeting to discuss the possibility of partnering with LBM to plant another church among the poor in Porto Alegre. If the Lord opens this door that will allow us to begin 2 of the 3 churches we are planning for 2010. Please pray for both of these opportunities.
In preparation for these church plants we are in need of purchasing 3 of the book sets that we give each of our pastors. These sets include books on theology, pastoral ministry, prayer, missions, Bible study, and preaching. The books cost $150.00 per pastor. If you would like to help provide these much needed resources for our pastors click here.
Trip Update 1 - Buying Land
Pastor Jocelito, Pastor Magioli, and me looking at land in Vila Safira
After the meeting we went to look at a piece of land in Vila Safira. The church has outgrown the home they have been meeting in and need to secure a permanent building. We have a potential ministry to help build one, but we need to raise $15,000 for the land. A couple here in Brazil has agreed to provide the remaining funds. If you would like to help click here .
On Wednesday, we will be traveling to a city about an hour away to meet with a potential Pastor about planting a church there. Pastor Magioli has been meeting with him and believes this is a good opportunity. I am excited to see how the Lord moves. We have the funds to begin two new churches but lack qualified pastors. Once we begin these church plants we will need to raise the money for ongoing support until they are able to support themselves, but we will move ahead in faith trusting the Lord to provide.
This Saturday we have a big outreach planned in Vila Safira. This is especially exciting because it will involve people from 3 of our church plants. The poor and needy coming together to advance the Gospel in Porto Alegre. What a blessing.
Heading to Brazil
During this trip we will also be planning for our short term team that will be coming from the US in July. In addition, we will be planning for Share Christmas 2010. Last year we helped over 500 kids through this project and if we can begin the two new churches those numbers will increase dramatically. We will need more churches to get involved to make Share Christmas a success. If you would like to help let us know.
Please pray for this trip. I will be posting regular updates here and adding pictures to our photo site. Also, pray for Barbara and the kids as well. She has her hands full with all three children and finishing up the semester. God bless.
Church Planting Among the Poor and Needy
Bio
Living Bread Ministries exists to be used by the Holy Spirit to create worshipers of Jesus Christ among the desperately poor of Latin America. To accomplish this we are planting churches among the poor and equipping those churches to minister to their community for the glory of Christ.