#50: Back from Brazil … An Amazing Experience
Hello thinker,
Last month I told you that Ben and I had two objectives for our “scouting” trip to Brazil: to support two other missionaries in a fellow ministry, and to engage church leaders and youth to determine if there is a need and desire for apologetic training and mentoring.
We are proud to tell you that we accomplished both objectives! Regarding the latter, yes, there is definitely both a need and desire for apologetic training and mentoring. There are challenges in Brazil just like we have here in the US, but Challenges = Opportunities . . . opportunities to further serve our Lord and brothers and sisters in Christ.
We were in the city of Belo Horizonte from January 30th to February 6th. Belo Horizonte means “Beautiful Horizon” in Portuguese. The city is located about 250 miles north of Rio de Janeiro and has a population of ~2.7M (about 6M in the metro area – the 3rd largest in Brazil).
Ben and I spoke to approximately 800 people: military police cadets and church pastors, lay leaders, and youth in seven different settings. The Brazilians opened their doors – and hearts – to us. They are among the most gracious and hospitable people I have met.
Our apologetic focus was on two churches. One is called the Central Baptist Church. It has 15-20 thousand members spread over 7 campuses. The other is the 8th Presbyterian Church. It has about 7 thousand members and is the largest Presbyterian church in Brazil. Our meetings and presentations were with a small group (if 50 people is really a “small” group!) and pastors from both churches in separate meetings. We were also invited to give sermons at both church’s youth services. There were about 500 youth, youth leaders, and parents combined in attendance in both services.
Ben and I shared our faith journeys with emphasis on our studies, application, and ministry in apologetics. We also explained the apologetic work we are doing in Africa.
The consistent message we received – that is, what we learned – is that there is little to no awareness or understanding of apologetics. I began almost every presentation by asking who had heard or knew much about apologetics. In every instance, either no hands or very few went up in response. After defining and describing the biblical basis, history, and utility of apologetics, the response was nearly unanimous: Why don’t we know about this? And, yes, we need to learn and apply it.
The other consistent – and unfortunate – message that confirmed are fears, is that their youth are leaving the church in large numbers. Despite the tremendous size and continued growth of these churches, they are bleeding teenagers. When I shared the following examples of questions that our younger generations are asking here in the US, the teens and adults shook their heads in agreement. They are the same kinds of questions they hear in Brazil.
Everything seems to depend on the truth of the Bible – but isn’t it full of myths, errors, and contradictions?
It’s harder to believe in events like the resurrection – how can I believe in miracles if I’ve never seen one?
There are a lot of different religions – how can we say that Christianity is the only way?
There’s so much suffering in the world – how could a good God allow such evil?
I have gay friends who are kind, wonderful, and happy – are we sure that homosexuality is really wrong?
Science seems to be able to explain everything in the universe – do we really need to believe in God?
But when I said, “The good news is that we, the Church, have good answers”, many actually applauded. At the youth services, both Ben and I had to hang around long after the services ended to speak to the teenagers and leaders that wanted to talk more about these and other apologetic issues.
The head pastors told us that they want to work with us. They would like us to help them educate their pastors and small group leaders. We have offered to return and conduct leader summits, conferences, and teaching sessions, and to provide courses online when we are in the US. Both churches are now internally deciding how they want to proceed and we anxiously await their guidance.
We are grateful to, first, the Lord for giving us this opportunity to serve Him. We are grateful to our Brazilian brothers and sisters who were so welcoming and wanting to worship and work with us. And we are grateful to all of you for your prayers and financial support. The challenge is huge, but the opportunity is even bigger.
You can learn more about our trip by viewing this short video:
In Christ,
Doug
