Why go to Brazil or South Africa, these far away countries?
The great commission:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” ~Matthew 28:19
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and the end of the world.” ~ Acts 1:8
Where is “the end of the world” for you?
Do you know –
· It is NOT very far – From San Francisco to:
Taiwan 6,449 miles 13 hours 24 minutes
Beijing 5,918 miles 11hours 45 minutes
Shanghai 6,165 miles 12 hours 50 minutes
Brazil 6,457 miles 13hours 27minutes
South Africa 10,535 miles 21 hours 35minutes
· The official language in:
Brazil is Portuguese
South Africa is English
· No visa is required to go to South Africa or Brazil when you are a U.S. citizen
What is the common language used in the Brazil Short Term Mission? Mandarin? Cantonese? English?
• In 2010 the church in Mogi das Cruzes, a town near Sao Paulo invited CIM to spread the gospel to the Cantonese immigrants there. We had a team of Cantonese speaking brothers and sisters to work on the Cantonese immigrants, the English speaking young people helping the VBS for children and the Mandarin group in visitation and personal evangelism. This is actually the ideal case: that we all work together for the unity of a church and co-labor for the sake of advancing the kingdom.
• In 2011 we worked with Mandarin speaking churches in Mogi, Belo Horizonte and Curitiba. The majority of people in these cities are Mandarin speaking. But in Curitiba, the church congregation is mainly Taiwanese and Mandarin who were unable to speak the language to evangelize to the Cantonese people, so they asked us to bring Cantonese speaking members to help.
• From 2012 onward all the churches we served during this time were all Mandarin speaking. Then in 2018, we were invited to serve a Cantonese church in Campinas, we had a full Cantonese STM team.
I know nothing about mission, what would I do or contribute?
• Pray for guidance from God and ask Him to give you compassion and wisdom to spread the gospel
• Ask for a willing heart to serve the people there. God will open up the way
• Be our prayer partner and pray for the team members each and every day
• Support the team financially
“The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle.” ~ I Samuel 30:24
How to prepare before going?
· Self evaluation of STM members’ talents/gifts: ideally covering various areas such as teaching Sunday school, Sunday preaching, leading worship, children’s program, youth program, special topics for family & young people
• Equip yourself by serving at church often, STM teams not only focus on spreading the Gospel, but also on helping believers grow in Christ; sometimes Christians in Brazil are so busy with their businesses that they don’t have the time and resources to grow in Christ. It would be very helpful to encourage them to equip themselves well with God’s teaching even after they have committed themselves to the Lord
• Usually STM will need to lead worship, practicing the songs beforehand would be beneficial to all
• STM members prepare their testimony with a long version and a short version. The long version (about 20 minutes) can be useful in evangelical gatherings to share with a big crowd; a short version (5 minutes) is for talking with non-believers in casual settings
• Find Bible verses that can help non-believers to understand the Gospel
• Practice using tools (such as Gospel bridge, four basic principles of spiritual truth) to help non-believers commit to Christ
• STM members must be very clear on the salvation message themselves
• Find common questions asked by non-believers and prepare answers for them
• If skits are needed, the team needs to write up the script, assign roles, and have rehearsals
What needs attention before departure?
• Valid passport: with at least six months before expiration date
• Obtaining a visa: check with the Brazilian Consulate to make sure the right travel documents are ready for the trip
• Clothing: some cities can get very cold; make sure you bring enough warm clothing
• Vaccinations: check with the cities you will be visiting to see if vaccinations are needed
• Phone calls: usually Wi-Fi is available in churches or believers’ homes
• Travel medical insurance: it is mandatory to purchase medical insurance just in case medical care is needed during the trip
• Prepare Power Point slides: for worship/sermons/Bible studies/workshops and bring a hard copy just in case of power outage
How many members in each team in general?
• A team of about 5 – 6 individuals will be good to make sure there are enough team members to cover various type of ministries; when there are too many members on one team, it can make logistics, such as transportation, quite difficult
• If there is a large number of individuals joining the STM, we might consider splitting them into smaller teams to different cities
What is the budget?
• The main expenses are airfare and lodging; please check with your local travel agencies/web sites to find out the prices.
• While we are in Brazil or South Africa, sometimes we stay in the homes of believers there; whenever possible they are very generous in providing meals to STM members some of the time; Of course, we shouldn’t take it for granted that our hosts there will provide all of our food. The cost depends on what we eat, but the price is comparable to that in the US.
事奉内容
• 探訪:教會有同工帶隊分批探訪，彼此認識，會邀請他們參加以後幾天的福音聚會
• 福音性查經/信仰問題解答:跟進有興趣認識福音的慕道者
• 佈道會:傳福音領人歸主
• 信徒栽培:分配短宣隊員栽培有心追求的信徒，為教會裝備未來領袖同工及舉行靈命復興訓練
• 青年營:青少年專題講座，青少年英會話，打籃球，音樂 … 等等
• 福音義診:配合當地的醫療短宣隊一同合作