"Porto Alegre- An Open House"

"An open house" is a phrase often used to describe the attitude of those who live in Brazil's southernmost state capital, Porto Alegre.

A modern city with more than two million inhabitants, Porto Alegre is known for its friendliness. Despite being a city full of skyscrapers, high-rise apartments and wide avenues, the city's residents continue to value friendship, display personal warmth, and cherish relationships with others. Because of its strategic location, dynamic commerce, national political influence, and large population, Porto Alegre is truly one of Brazil's major cities.

Porto Alegre is the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The state's residents are known as Gauchos. The state has a rich agricultural and ranching heritage, complete with the gaucho, or cowboy, spirit of independence and self-reliance. Rio Grande do Sul shares borders with two South American neighbors - Uruguay and Argentina. This proximity to the Hispanic culture, along with the fact that the region was once a part of the Spanish colonial empire, gives a unique flavor to the state's culture and outlook.

With this article, Continent of Great Cities wishes to announce a yearlong recruiting effort for Porto Alegre! We are convinced that the "open house" attitude of the Porto Alegrenses (name by which the city's residents are known) is indicative of open hearts to the Message of Jesus! Beginning January 2000, this ministry desires to be His instrument to find and prepare a 13-family mission team for Porto Alegre.

Our vision is for a mission team with a wide age-range and multiple talents. The team's goal will be to establish a dynamic, new congregation in the heart of the city. Specific ministry goals and strategies will reflect team members' talents and gifts as well as the cultural realities and needs of Porto Alegre.

Each family on the team will make a minimum five-year commitment to the field. Completing the task of church establishment will take approximately 15 years. Therefore, some on the tem will need to stay beyond the original five-year commitments. God has already blessed this dream with three couples committed to the task!

Team members will coordinate their efforts with the three congregations already present in the Porto Alegre metropolitan area. The first full-time missionaries from churches of Christ to serve in Porto Alegre were Allen and Maria Dutton. The Dutton family worked in the city form the late 1960s through the mid-'70s. Though churches of Christ have made a good start in the city, there is much more that remains to be done.

In 2001, members of the newly recruited mission team will move to Abilene, Texas, for seven months of intensive training provided by the Continent of Great Cities ministry staff and others. Current and former South American missionaries, church leaders, college professors and others will contribute to the internship.

Specific training will include concentrated study in the Portuguese language, mission team development, interpersonal relationships, conflict resolution, personal evangelism, small group evangelistic Bible studies, Latin American urban church planting, and history and culture of Brazil. At the conclusion of the internship, each team family will spend four to five months with their sponsoring church before leaving for the field in 2002.

We ask for your prayers on behalf of the Porto Alegre mission team and the thousands of men, women and children that God is preparing even now for their arrival! Even better, we invite YOU to consider becoming a member of this mission team that will carry the Gospel into the "open house" of Porto Alegre!

Printer friendly page