Inspiring Quotes

Here are some inspiring quotes about missions and serving the Lord. May they bless and inspire and challenge you today:

"I have but one passion - it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ." - Count Zinzindorf

"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies."
- J. Hudson Taylor

"When we try to do God's work in our own ways, we will never see the supernatural power of God in what we do." - Henry Blackaby

"He must increase, but I must decrease." - John the Baptist

"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." - C.T. Studd

"Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give." - David Livingstone

"All my friends are but one, but He is all sufficient." - William Carey

"How little chance the Holy Spirit has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves." - C.T. Studd

"The more obstacles you have, the more opportunities there are for God to do something." - Clarence W. Jones

"Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."
- William Carey

Highlights Of The Week

This week was a busy and a great week, and we saw many people receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. On Sunday night I preached at Igreja Metodista Livre in the Penha area of Sao Paulo. Our friend Adriana, who has helped us as an interpreter in schools, is a member of the church, and they invited me to preach in one of their missions services. The church is very missions minded, and they enthusiastically accepted the challenge to be active "fishers of men" in their daily lives. I preached the Gospel at the end, and 8 people accepted Christ.

Then we spoke in a school in the Sapopemba area of Sao Paulo, which is a very poor area. We spoke in 41 classes in the school EE Julieta Farao on Tuesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday night, and we worked with Pastor Roberto and Igreja Batista Luz Para As Nacoes. The school has 1st graders through high school, and also has some classes at night for adults. The Lord moved in a powerful way, and He touched & saved 948 students and 13 teachers. One interesting thing that happened on Wednesday morning before we arrived was that a gang that is from nearby had tried to take some of the students from the school, but thankfully the police intervened and stopped them. There are many problems in the favelas and poor areas with drugs, violence, alcoholism,... Please pray for the people that live in these areas.

Sharing Christ with interpreter Adriana in Igr. Metodista Livre

Part of the worship team at Igreja Metodista LivreJohn, interpreters Paulo & Adriane, Nancy, and the church teamJohn sharing Christ with interpreter FabianeJohn, Nancy, Pastor Roberto, and the church teamSpeaking and sharing Christ with interpreter Regis in a class

Brazil Photos

Manaus is a city located in the Amazon region of northern Brazil. It is the capital city of the state of Amazonas, and has a population of 1.7 million people. Manaus is the 8th largest city in Brazil, and is located near the convergence of the Rio Negro (Black River) and the Amazon River. The Rio Negro is the largest tributary of the Amazon River. Manaus receives many tourists visiting the Amazon River and rain forest.

Scenes From This Week

This week we visited the school EE Paulo Cavalcanti in the Vila Formosa area of Sao Paulo. We worked with Pastor Eliseu and Igreja Evangelica Da Fe, and we spoke in the school on Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon. The school is a very nice school, and we had a great time with the 1st through 4th graders and also with the teachers. We are very happy that 443 students and 25 teachers accepted Christ, and that the school really appreciated our visits to help the students & teachers. Many of the students come from families that have problems with drugs, alcohol,...

Professora Eliane and her students

John, Nancy, interpreter Elma, Pastor Eliseu and the church teamJohn, interpreter Elma, and the church team speaking in a classInterpreter Ruth and I and our team sharing ChristJohn and interpreter Elma sharing Jesus in a classInterpreter Flavia and I speaking in one of the classesNancy and I speaking and sharing Jesus

God Must Be The Source Of Our Vision

"There is a significant difference between revelation and vision. Vision is something people produce; revelation is something people receive... Leaders can dream up a vision, but they cannot discover God's will. God must reveal it... The visions that drive spiritual leaders must be derived from God... It is critical for leaders to walk closely with the Father, so they are keenly aware of his revelation and are ready to respond in obedience."
- Henry Blackaby / Spiritual Leadership

If we are to be fruitful for God's Kingdom, we must be faithful servants of His. Many Christian leaders make the mistake of not continually working on their personal relationship with the Lord, and to seeking His will and His vision of what He wants to do in the world. It is human nature to want to go out and do things for God, and to come up with our own plans and visions. But God's ways and thoughts are not our own. God is on mission in the world, working to redeem humanity, and only He knows how to do this. We must continually humble ourselves before Him (see I Peter 5:6), and seek His face and His will & vision.

The only way we will be successful and fruitful for the Lord is to join Him in what He is doing. In this way we will be instruments and servants that He can fill and empower to do His work. We will never be what God wants us to be, and we will never accomplish what God wants to do by dreaming up our own plans and visions, and then praying for Him to come to join and bless us. We must humble ourselves, work on our relationship with Him, seek His face, and then follow and obey Him wherever and however He leads us, no matter the cost. Then in God's timing He will reveal how we can join Him in His work. It is not us trying to do great things for God, it is God doing His great work through us, His servants and instruments.

God At Work In The World

"Look unto the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."

- Habakuk 1:5

In my last few posts I have written about the amazing things God has been doing in Brazil and also in China. Now let's talk about what God is doing in other parts of the world. God is mightily at work in the world, reaching out in love to people who are without Christ. In the past the US, England, and Europe were where the majority of evangelical Christians were, and these were the places where most evangelical missioinaries were sent from. There has been a spiritual decline in these areas for a good number of years now, and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been growing dramatically in other places in the world, especially in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Here is some interesting information about the approximate percentage of evangelical Christians in the world (for example - in 1960 14% of evangelical Christians in the world were in Africa ; today 32% of the world's evangelical Christians are in Africa):

* Africa: 1960- 14% , today- 32%
* Asia: 1960- 9% , today- 28%
* L. America: 1960- 7% , today- 15%
* N. America: 1960- 52% , today- 19%
* Europe: 1960- 15% , today- 4%
* Pacific: 1960- 3% , today- 2%

You can see God's activity and the dramatic spread of the Gospel in areas like Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and the decline in North America and Europe. Here are some other great things that God is doing in the world:

* South Korea has been experiencing spiritual revival for a good number of years now, and the Gospel has spread greatly. They are expected to pass the US for sending out more evangelical missionaries in the future (they are currently 2nd behind the US).
* In Africa in 1900 there were approx. 8.7 million evangelical Christians - today there are approx. 389 million.
* Approx. 20,000 Africans accept Christ as their Lord & Savior each day.
* Approx. 500 Muslims accept Christ every month in Iran.
* It was illegal for Christians to live in Nepal until 1960. Now there is an evangelical church in all 75 districts of Nepal, and there are approx. 500,000 evangelical Christians.
* In 1970 there were approx. 1.3 million evangelical Christians in Indonesia - today there are approx. 11 million.
* Approx. 50,000 people in Asia accept Christ as their Lord & Savior each day.
* Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world.

An Amazing Video About God At Work In China

I found this video that shows some of the amazing things that God is doing in China. The video is long but it will really touch your heart, as it did mine. It is humbling and moving to see the passion and faithfulness of the Chinese evangelical Christians.

God Is Amazingly At Work In China

At least 20,000 people in China accept Christ as their Lord and Savior - each day

In my last post I wrote about how God is doing great things here in Brazil. I have been doing research into what God is doing in other countries in the world, and I am astonished at some of the things happening in other parts of the world. Some of the most amazing things are happening in China. Despite Christian missionaries being banned from China in 1950, and despite heavy persecution from the government, the Lord is touching and saving an amazing number of people in China. It is estimated that between 20,000-30,000 people accept Christ as their Lord and Savior - each day. It is difficult to say exactly how many evangelical Christians there are in China because the vast majority belong to underground house churches, but estimates range from 40 million to 130 million or more. The general concensus in China is that there are at least 100-130 million evangelical Christians in China today and quite possibly more. Many of the Chinese missionaries and church leaders are ordinary people and farmers that are filled with the Holy Spirit and with God's passion to reach out to people without Christ. There are thousands and thousands of underground house churches, as well as many underground house seminaries and Bible study institutes to train new leaders and missionaries. God is truly doing amazing things in the world today.

A Very Special Time In Brazil

" Within the next 10 years Brazil will probably be sending out more missionaries to other countries than the United States."

- Pastor Wagner Vaellatti
Igreja Batista Boas Novas
Sao Paulo, Brazil

God is doing some amazing and very special things here in Brazil. In a little over 2 years, we have seen almost 31,000 people accept Christ in the Sao Paulo area, which is absolutely amazing to us. It is a great joy and privilege for us to be a part of what God is doing in Brazil. What we have seen and experienced is only a small part of what God is doing here. Not only are very large numbers of people coming to Christ as their Lord and Savior, but many Brazilian churches are experiencing revival. Many Brazilian Christians are growing spiritually, and many are answering the Lord's call to share the Good News of Jesus in other parts of Brazil and in other parts of the world. When I heard the words above from Pastor Wagner I was surprised. The US has long been the leader by far for sending out evangelical missionaries to other parts of the world. So I did some research over the past week, and I found out some very interesting things about what God is doing here and in other countries. I will share about the other countries in my next post, but for now here is some exciting data about what God is doing here in Brazil:

* In 1900 less than 1% of the people were evangelical Christians in Brazil
* By 1970 approx. 5% of the people in Brazil were evangelical Christians
* By 1990 the number of evangelical Christians grew to approx. 12%
* By 2000 the number of evangelical Christians grew to approx. 15%
* Today approx. 18-20% of the people in Brazil are evangelical Christians

More and more pastors and churches in Brazil are receiving and following God's vision to passionately reach out to others with the Gospel, here in Brazil and in other countries. Here are some more details:

* In 1990 Brazil sent approx. 850 evangelical missionaries to other countries
* By 1996 the number grew to approx. 1800 evangelical missionaries
* By 2001 the number grew to approx. 2800 evangelical missionaries
* Today there are approx. 5000 Brazilian evangelical missionaries in more than 100 countries
(the US is still the leader with approx. 60,000 evangelical missionaries; Korea is 2nd with approx. 14,000 evangelical missionaries)

As less and less people in the US, the UK, and European countries are fervently seeking and serving God, He is looking for and finding more willing and passionate servants to take to others the message of His love and salvation in Brazil and other Latin American countries, and also in places like Korea, China, and African countries. In my next post I will talk about other places in the world where God is mightily at work.

Finished Another School

Last night we finished speaking in the EE Moacyr Campos school in the Aricanduva area of Sao Paulo. We spoke there last week on 4 days and again last night, and we worked with Pastor Marcos and Igreja Batista Vila Antonieta in the school. Last night there were all high school students, and we had some small problems here and there with some of the students talking during our speech, but overall the vast majority of the students and teachers responded very well to the message. Incredibly 1956 students and 24 teachers accepted Christ in this large school, and we praise God for this great result. Here are some pictures of last night.

Some of the high school students at nightSharing Christ with interpretor KarinaMore students in a class at nightNancy, John and I, with interpreters Alessandro & Karina, and part of the church team last night

Brazil Photos

Here are some pictures of one of the best things about Brazil - the people. Brazilians are wonderful people - friendly, kind, hospitable, generous, warm, loving,...

Another Great Week In A School

We had another great week speaking in a large school in the Aricanduva area of Sao Paulo (in the East Zone of the city). We spoke on Monday & Tuesday mornings and on Wednesday & Thursday afternoons in the EE Moacyr Campos school (we spoke in 56 classes so far), and we will be there again next Wednesday night. The school has students from 5th grade through high school. We are working with Pastor Marcos and Igreja Batista Vila Antonieta, since they are close to the school. The response from the students and from most of the teachers has been great, and God is doing a great work in many peoples' lives in this school. So far 1725 students and 19 teachers have accepted Christ. This is a very special time here in Brazil, and God is touching and opening many hearts, and a great number of people are responding to the Gospel and accepting Christ.

We did have a couple of men teachers who were very cold towards us, and one of them refused to let us into his classroom. He coldly stated that he does not like Americans and that we needed to get out. We talked to the director about this, and he was very helpful. We were able to go back and speak in the class the next period. Fortunately we have never seen this before, and the vast majority of Brazilians really like Americans (and other nationalities too). The vast majority of students and most teachers have a great curiosity about foreigners and Americans, and are very interested in having us in their school. They also are very interested in hearing the Gospel and about God's love and His special plan for their lives.

Nancy and I and Elisvaldo sharing Christ in a class

John and interpretor Elaine speaking in one of the classesMe, interpretor Eduardo, Eliane, Elisvaldo, and Alfredo sharing JesusJohn and interpretor Alessandro sharing ChristSharing Jesus with interpretor Iraci in a high school classSome of the high school studentsNancy & John, interpreters Elaine & Andrea, Pastor Marcos and part of the church team