Earlier this year, after raising support through our #TruthAtTheCup online campaign, we distributed 140,000 booklets in Brazil during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. After our small team returned, we provided a brief update and gave thanks to those who supported and prayed for this outreach.
Today, we are pleased to share a new video that offers a further glimpse of our outreach to Brazil:
In addition to what you saw in the video, we have been receiving various reports:
Kevin DeYoung recently traveled to Brazil for a Fiel Conference—the ministry we partnered with to print and distribute these booklets. He reported that he spoke to one pastor who had baptized more than a dozen new believers in his church as a result of the #TruthAtTheCup outreach.
Seeking to encourage Christians in their walk with the Lord, Ligonier teaching fellow, R.C. Sproul Jr., spoke at the same conference and addressed the important subjects of the Holy Spirit and sanctification.
R.C. Sproul's booklets were distributed through more than 60 churches from 18 states. In God's kindness, we've also learned that this outreach served other purposes:
- It united the church around the work of evangelization: youth, elders, and leaders worked together.
- It brought awareness regarding the role of the church in reaching the lost.
- It motivated the church to think about future projects for reaching out to people from their neighborhood.
- It encouraged the church to develop classes to welcome new visitors and Christians.
- It engaged Christians online, with Ligonier's Portuguese Facebook page more than tripling its fans during the 5 weeks of outreach.
One of our key partners, Pr. Samuel Vitalino from a Presbyterian church in Salvador, BA, has reported that they began a discipleship class for baptism with 14 new people as a direct result of the book distribution in his town.
Other reports tell similar stories. Joelsio Marciano, from the First Baptist Church in Atibaia:
"A group of people from our church traveled to Rio de Janeiro and spent 10 days at Mangueira community to work with families who live in a very poor area. We gave books to people from this community, to police officers, and to people going to Maracana Stadium".
Pr. Ariel Rocha, from Igreja Aliança Cristã (Christian Covenant Church) in Curitiba, PR, also reported:
"Many people from our church got involved in the book distribution. The reception from the people on the streets was great and they showed interest, asked questions and were opened to listen to us. It was thrilling to see the youth of our church witnessing about Jesus and giving books to people. I want to thank you heartily for your investment."
Pr. Antonio Souza, from the Presbyterian Church in Manaus wrote:
"We want to express our gratitude to the Lord Jesus and to Fiel Ministries for the great opportunity of being part of "Lives in Game" project. Our church formed four groups that distributed the booklets in strategic places around the bus station. We are looking forward to being part of another project like this in the future".
As we rejoice in seeing this fruit, we know more work needs to be done. Therefore, we are moving forward to multiply our efforts to reach even more people during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Interest in R.C. Sproul's ministry and resources continues to grow throughout the Portuguese-speaking world, and we are grateful for the opportunity to uniquely serve these growing Christians.
