July 12, 2010 issue
E-mails lead to church plant
Brazilian inspired by MC USA vision statement
By Lynda Hollinger-Janzen Mennonite Mission NetworkPage:
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MARANHÃO, Brazil — A routine response to Paulo Roberto Filipe Silva’s e-mail helped create the newest Mennonite church in northeastern Brazil.
Silva, a young father and schoolteacher, was looking for help in leading a meeting of about 15 Christians in his home in São Luís each Sunday when he discovered Mennonite Church USA’s vision statement.
Silva felt excited as he read: “God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as communities of grace, joy and peace, so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world.”
On Aug. 7, 2009, he wrote: “I found a bridge to a beautiful description of intelligent Christian life.”
Silva named discipleship, community life and active faith that makes a difference in the world as elements that compelled him to learn more about Mennonites.
Linda Shelly, Mennonite Mission Network’s director for Latin America, responded to Silva’s request by putting him in contact with Brazil’s Junta Menonita de Missoes Internacionais (International Mennonite Mission Board). Silva requested JMMI’s help in planting a Mennonite church in the Maranhão region.
“We rejoiced at the possibility of starting a new church,” said Valdeti Campos, JMMI treasurer and communications director.
Members of the Brazilian mission agency invited Silva to their March meeting in São Paulo. Impressed by Silva’s leadership qualities, they formed a plan for mentoring him and supervising the congregation across the more than 1,000 miles separating São Luís from São Paulo.
During an intensive three-day orientation in São Paulo, Silva received a crash course in Anabaptist theology and absorbed Mennonite community life.
“Their concern with my spiritual and physical life caused me to be even more certain of my own salvation and my missionary call,” Silva said.
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