Continent... How's Business?

by Ron Freitas

Continent… How’s Business?

Famed business consultant Peter Drucker says, the two most important questions a business can ask are: 1) What is our business? 2) How is business?

Here are at Continent of Great Cities our business is Recruiting, Training and Placing Teams among the Portuguese and Spanish speaking peoples in the urban cities of world!

The ministry of taking the Good News of Jesus to the Portuguese and Spanish speaking peoples of the world is growing. Here are a few examples of what God is doing in Recruiting, Training and Sending of missionaries.

Recruiting… the Miami recruiting for the Hispanic people in Miami began in January of 2003. Continent’s goal was to establish a lighthouse church among the 1 million Hispanic population. This ethnic group represents some 21 Spanish speaking countries of Central and South America. Could a large church be established with National leaders among U.S. Hispanics like in South America? Great Cities believes the answer is a resounding yes! To date six missionaries have been recruited and completed the team selection process. We are excited to welcome Carlos and Maribel Preciado, Whit and Adrienne Gatewood, and Joel and Kristina Vandiver to the team. There is also presently one couple and one single in the selection process. Pray for each these missionaries and for others who will join them.

Training… the Salvador, Brazil Team arrived in Abilene in September of 2203 to begin its 9-month internship. Four couples and one couple that is engaged represent the team. This team is studying Portuguese several hours daily. At the same time they are receiving special training in team missions, and urban evangelism and many other practical aspects for their specific urban church planting! They have

just completed their team strategy that will guide them in their work. The excitement is building as in March they will make their survey trip to gather information for their church planting in Salvador, the third largest city in Brazil. They also continue to seek sponsoring churches and others to be financial partners in this great spiritual endeavor. Please pray that God will bless them with everything they will need to complete the training and be ready to depart in late 2004.

Placement… we rejoice with the arrival of the Asuncion, Paraguay Team in September of 2003. This bold team of three families and one single spent one month with host families to immerse themselves in Spanish. Then Continent’s representatives went in and helped them secure housing and initiate their setup. The team has been visiting the small churches there. They recently completed a team retreat and evaluation of their progress and plan to plant a large congregation in the capital city of one million. In the meantime they are studying Spanish daily, learning the culture and preparing to plant the church sometime this summer. We are excited to see what God is going to do through this well prepared and strategic team. Church planter Dave Page says, “Planting a church will rock you to the core of your being.” Let’s all be praying that God will bless the Asuncion Team in every way!

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