WOW!!

First of all let me say that I feel so blessed to be the pastor of Olivet.  You are an incredible group of people.  I was gone 12 days and our pastors, staff and church family did an amazing job of being on mission for Christ.  We saw many people come to Christ and follow in baptism and join our church family.  I may need to be gone more often.  I am thankful for our church in allowing me to be a part of this great opportunity in Brazil.  I don’t know of any place that I would rather be than serving Jesus Christ with you.
 
Brazil 2011 was an incredible experience.  We had a team of about 24 four people from six different churches (five from Olivet) in Oklahoma.  We traveled to Porte Alegre and worked in the community of Gravatai.  The plan was to divide up our team into groups with several tasks.  We all worked together to build a building for the Baptist church in Gravatai, then we worked in groups that were involved in personal evangelism, working in a clinic that provided eye glasses, Vacation Bible School and a soccer clinic through the week.  We were also able to preach and share our testimony in several Baptist churches and share in two youth detention centers in the Porte Alegre area.
 
It was amazing how God worked.  Through all those different efforts, not only was the church built from the foundation to the dedication service in five days but we saw around 400 people indicate making a decision for Jesus Christ.  The people were  very open to the Good News, the believers were gracious to us and passionate about their faith.  The worship times with the Brazilian believers was very meaningful.  I have to admit that our God showed Himself in a way that I have never seen before.  He truly is able to do more than we can ask, think or imagine.  Seeing God bless this community and little church in such a powerful way not only made a Kingdom impact in their lives but also in our lives.
 
There are a couple of truths that God showed me that I hope will encourage and challenge you in your walk with the Lord
 
First, I learned that GOD IS A BIG GOD.  Our God is at work around the world.  He is bi-lingual.  He is at work in Brazil.  They may speak a different language, and worship a little differently but their heart for Jesus is very real.  We have brothers and sisters in Christ that are around the world.  God is at work bringing the world to Himself and we need to get on board with what He is doing.  I discovered that for much of my life, I put God is nice neat little box, in which God spoke my language and worked in my world.  God showed me that He is way bigger than any box that I can put Him in.
 
My prayer is that each of us and our church family would ask God to put the world on our hearts.  We need to remember that “‘God so loved the world’ that He gave His one and only Son… “ (John 3: 16a).  We need to continue to find ways to engage the world with the Good News.  We do this through giving to the Cooperative Program and mission offering but we can also do this through being a part of mission work in our city, our country and short term mission work around the world.  I am convinced that when the world in on our heart then our neighbors will be on our heart.
 
The second truth is that I NEED TO BE MORE COMMITTED TO PERSONAL EVANGELISM.  In Brazil, we had opportunities to share on the street and in homes and see many people come to Christ.  God’s Spirit reminded me once again that people cannot come to Him unless someone shares with them.  One of the amazing truths of Scripture is that God has chosen to use us to share His message.  We are His method.  Paul said “How can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10: 14). It seems that most people in the US have more barriers to the Gospel than in Brazil, but that is no excuse, we still need to be sharing the Good News with love at all times.  The people around us are hurting and searching and Jesus is the answer.  I believe that God has placed that neighbor, friend, co-worker or family member in your life and mine for a purpose.  That purpose is for us to let the light of Jesus shine.  We don’t have to go all the way to Brazil to find people who need Christ, they are all around us.  I encourage you to join me in the journey of being boldly on mission for Christ.
 
I made a deal with the believers at Gravatai.  I said that my prayer was for God to use that church to take the Gospel to their community and work their way north and we at Olivet would take the Gospel and work our way south and then meet in the middle for the glory of God.  Now don’t nit pick, (Obviously, we need to go into all the world Matthew 28: 18-20) but you get the point.  Let’s, be on mission for this Great God that we serve.  We don’t have to go to Brazil to start, we may need simply to start at the house next door.  It is a joy to serve the Lord with you. Look forward to seeing you on the Lord’s Day.
 
Pastor Scott  
 
P.S.  I urge you to join me in prayer for the believers in Gravatai.  They have a tremendous job of follow up with the new believers.  Pray for the Pastor Ralph and His wife Rachel and their church family.