“OLÁ!” FROM THE BRAZILIAN CHURCH PLANT AT MID-AMERICA

BY LUIS COMIN

PASTOR OF BRAZILIAN CHURCH MEETING AT MID-AMERICA

The Comin family, which includes myself, my wife Lucy, and our sons Filipe and Rafael, arrived in Memphis in July 2018. I entered the Master’s program at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary that fall.

During the pandemic in 2020, after taking the Church Planting class, God called my wife and me to plant a church for Brazilians living in Memphis. We started meeting in our Mid-America Student Housing apartment with just our family. My sister-in-law and her son in Brazil followed the meetings through social media.

We used that same social media as the tool to reach the Brazilians living here in Memphis and the surrounding area. The Brazilian community in Memphis does not concentrate in one neighborhood, so they tend to use social media to communicate and do business.

Lucy learned about a Facebook group created to support the Brazilians living in this area. The group was helping them do basic things like opening bank accounts and applying for a driver’s license. Lucy started to reach out to the women in this group through social media, including the group leader. She invited them to attend the meetings at our home. Some started coming to our meetings and our apartment soon got very crowded.

WE NEEDED A BIGGER SPACE TO MEET. Through the support of Brown Missionary Baptist Church, our sending church, and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, I asked Dr. Michael Spradlin, President of Mid-America, about the possibility of using a space in the Student Housing office. He promptly offered us the facilities at Mid-America’s campus.

On October 24, 2021, we officially launched Brown Baptist Brazil, with regular Sunday services at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday Home Bible Studies for adults and youth, and prayer meetings every Friday at 7:00 p.m.

We have been supported by Brown Missionary Church in Southaven, Mississippi, pastored by a MidAmerica graduate, Bartholomew Orr. We have also received ongoing support from Mid-America and the staff. They are helping us to serve not only Brazilians but helping us to reach every nation.

AFTER TWO YEARS, WE HAVE ABOUT 30 IN ATTENDANCE EACH SUNDAY with Brazilians, Americans, and people from other countries. Many lives are also being reached even in Brazil as people watch the service through Facebook and Instagram each Sunday.

Lucy translates the devotional from the sending church with the permission of Dr. Orr and posts it on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram daily to give people access to God’s Word. Moreover, it has reached many lives around the world. The devotionals have impacted many lives in Brazil, Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

I also write daily devotionals and post them on WhatsApp for our church’s men and member groups. They have been sharing the devotionals with people in Brazil. A large group of Christian policemen and believers in Christ awaits God’s Word every day.

BECAUSE OF THE CHURCH PLANTING INCENTIVE RECEIVED FROM MID-AMERICA, we have also started to plant another church in Brazil, giving assistance and discipling a couple we met many years ago. After a year, they are the missionary couple of Igreja Batista Missionária em Jataí (Missionary Baptist Church in Jataí) with 35 people attending, and they are growing every month.

It is incredible what God has been doing these few years. We have many challenges ahead and need your prayer support. Our mission is to change lives and make a difference in the community. Our vision is to change lives through the Gospel’s power and make a difference for God’s glory. “Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). “We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us” (Philippians 4:13).

BY VAN GRAY CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

In Matthew 13, Jesus told the parable of the sower, causing the disciples to ask why He spoke in parables. Jesus responded (v. 11), “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been granted.” Jesus then explained the mystery of the parable to them (vv. 18–23).

In Luke 21:1–4 and Mark 12:41–44, we are told of the poor widow’s gift of two small copper coins. Although her gift was very modest, Jesus said this poor widow “put in more than all of them...put in all that she had to live on” (Luke 21:3–4). The Scriptures are silent about her actual circumstances; we can only speculate. We do know, however, that God Himself is a husband to her and is her protector (Psalm 146:9b, Jeremiah 49:11b, Luke 6:38).

SHE TRUSTED HIM COMPLETELY AND CHEERFULLY GAVE all she had, relying upon Him for all her needs. In return, God elevated the impact of her modest gift to exceed all others given that day. We can confidently conclude that she was blessed for her gift and her faith; Jesus honored her by recording her example in His Word for the benefit and instruction of all future believers.

In recognition of their grant to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus called His disciples (Mark 12:43) to share His evaluation of what the poor widow had just done. I’m sure they were startled to hear that she had given more than all the others with her two small coins. Jesus was providing a glimpse of heavenly reality.

Jesus revealed a mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven: He evaluates behavior by internal motives, not outward appearances. He looks on the heart, not as men see things (see Proverbs 3:5b and 1 Samuel 16:7b). At the judgment, the Lord will “disclose the motives of men’s hearts”

(I Corinthians 4:5).

THIS STORY IS OFTEN CALLED “THE WIDOW’S MITE.” IT COULD ALSO BE CALLED “THE WIDOW’S MIGHT.” Her gift had greater heavenly impact than all the others. It may come as quite a surprise that a gift’s size has little bearing on the impact, when the heart attitude is right. As Adrian Rogers was fond of saying, “The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.”