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In the months following my January 2009 visit to the Brazilian Conference, Pastor Jonas Sommer and I corresponded concerning the International T.I.M.E. (Training in Ministry and Extension) Program. I was excited to hear that they had taken steps to begin that program in January 2010 with Pastor Jonas as the “The Chief Officer of the Bible Institute of the SDB Brazilian Conference” (TIME Pastor). I was invited by the Brazilian S.D.B. Conference President, Pastor Leonildo Lebkuchen, to return to Brazil in November to meet with him and Pastor Jonas. The T.I.M.E Program is now the number 1 priority of their Conference.
Pastor Jonas and his family will be leaving Joinville in January and moving to Porto Uniao, where he will be employed on a full time basis as the T.I.M.E. Pastor. They have put together an aggressive 3 year program and are hoping to have 40 students in the first year. In their Program Guidelines, it says, “The T.I.M.E Program purposes to provide theological training for pastors not having the means to study at a Bible College. It is also oriented towards those with the qualifications and qualities to be ordained pastors and are to be trained for Ministry in the future. With the T.I.M.E Program, we will be able to give theological training to people of all ages and professions who feel the call of God to the pastoral ministry.”
There are 17 training modules, plus an English course. Each module consists of 4 weeks of home study, followed by a seminar every 2 modules. The modules are:
- Exploring the Basics of the Bible
- Old Testament Survey
- New Testament Survey
- Exploring Church History
- Bible Interpretation
- Preparing Sermons
- Christian Apologetics
- Systematic Theology
- Christian Education
- SDB Distinctives and History
- Sabbath Philosophy
- Counseling
- Evangelism
- Worship
- Missions
- Church Administration and Leadership
- Internship supervised by a local Pastor
Anticipated monthly budget:
Salary for T.I.M.E. Pastor ----------------- 2,500 Reais
Housing --------------------------------------- 500 Reais
Travel & Materials ------------------------2,000 Reais
At the current exchange rate, the yearly budget of 60,000 Reais is equivalent to $35, 295 US.
If you would like to support this exciting ministry, please contact the S.D.B. Missionary Society, 19 Hillside Avenue, Ashaway, RI 02804. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent our Conference in Brazil.
T.I.M.E NEWS.pdf DEVELOPMENT OF BRAZILIAN TIME.pdf FROM BOWIE (MD) TO BRAZIL We made our third trip to Brazil on January 17 to February 10, 2011. Each trip has been unique and wonderful. This one was especially so for me and my wife, Margaret. I had the privilege of speaking in 11 different churches (we were the first International visitors in 5 of them), and speaking to the youth and young adults at their Congress. We were on 2 radio stations and met with the President of a City Council. We stayed in many homes and were blessed by people not only opening their homes to us, but also opening their hearts. We truly felt “at home” and part of the family of Seventh Day Baptists in Brazil. We even were encouraged to make Brazil our home. That, my Brothers and Sisters, is up to the Lord. One ministry that is exciting for me to see developed is the T.I.M.E. Program. I spent a weekend with 23 of their students and saw the commitment and intense desire to study the Scriptures, “rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” These students are receiving a quality theological education that is preparing them not only for the future, but for ministry today. The Brazilian Conference should be commended for its commitment to this program. They are excited, as I am, that 2, maybe 3, new classes are being started. I am proud of the work that Pr. Jonas Sommer is doing as T.I.M.E Pastor. As more respond to God’s call to leadership, as new churches and ministries are established, T.I.M.E. will continue to be used by God to train those leaders, and bring many to salvation through Jesus Christ. Thank you for giving me the privilege of being a part of this great work for our God. Sharing My Impressions of Our Brazil Trip -Margaret Taylor I have a notebook full of words that describe the tangible and visual similarities and differences between our two countries. Those intangible things of mind and spirit, however, are not so easy to describe. I pray for God’s guidance and direction as I try to write from my heart. The overall impression that continually comes to me is one of traveling back in my own life time to a much calmer, more contented and less competitive environment; a time I can recall when personal feelings and opinions and material possessions did not so sharply define our worth and value. I was very impressed by the open and public expression of the Christian faith in Brazil. It is not only in the churches and in the homes of members we visited, but in places of business, also. For instance, the bold witness of the garage owner who repaired the bent wheel rim on the conference car during our trip was noteworthy. His only fee was a prayer for his family and business, and to share a song of praise to God. His was a strong testimony of faith in Jesus as his Lord. Another instance in another place was a sheet of paper, taped to a public restroom wall, and on it was written a poem of prayer and praise to God for His love and grace and daily blessings. A large sign on the roof of a big city hotel declared “Jesus Christ is Lord”. These things are no longer common in the U. S., much to our detriment. My impression of the people was always one of love and acceptance. I often felt I was treated like royalty; given honor I had not earned, but truly appreciated. My prayer is that we were seen and welcomed, not from the novelty of visiting Americans, but as emissaries of Christ who had come to encourage and affirm His people among the struggles and burdens of everyday life. We traveled from big city to small farm, from mountains to sea shore, and encountered all manner of life styles, poverty and wealth. In all of that, we still experienced a love and commitment to the Lord and to the Body of Christ in every home and in every congregation we visited. I pray that such will be the inheritance left to future generations and more so as the world presses in. I was thrilled to see the numbers of young people and of women who made the commitment and sacrifice to attend the congress sessions, even though they were held separately from the regular conference sessions. I was delighted to be able to be there and to share with the women during their meeting on Sabbath. There were so many familiar faces and such a warm welcome. We were impressed and give praise to God for the good number of men and women who have acknowledged the call of God on their lives and entered the TIME Program. It is good to hear that many more will be joining them soon. It is a great encouragement to us and a joy to report back to the people of our conference who support it. I am personally encouraged and rejoice to see the evangelistic efforts in Brazil focused on commissioning leaders to go into new fields and plant more new churches rather than to grow much larger churches in the already established communities. Maintaining a sense of family and community, bonded together in the Spirit, is vital to the health and growth of a strong church. This is easier to accomplish where everyone gets to know each other and can work together. There is so much I could say but will conclude with this thought. The message God gave me for the SDB women in Brazil was to make our lives a beautiful offering to God. He calls us to be peacemakers while being salt and light to a needy world. It is not an easy assignment but I want to say I can see the Light of God’s love in the wonderful people we met while in Brazil. May God continue to bless and guide you as you strive to live for Him. Report of the Missions Trip to Barbados August 23-30, 2010 Background The team left Jamaica and returned as follows: The Barbados Group is comprised of nine persons including children which have been meeting on Sabbaths since mid 2009, mainly for bible study. Church Planting Sessions (The importance of Structure) The Care Group } Rev Basil Clarke The official launch of the group the official name being “St. Michael’s Seventh Day Baptist Group” was held on Sabbath August 28, at the Barbados Community College located at Eyrie Howells, Cross Roads, St. Michael, Barbados. The programme for the official launch included History of the Group by Bro William Robinson, the dedicatory prayer by Rev Basil Clarke and the message by Rev Carlton Ferguson. The Rationale for the Launch was given by Minister Claudia Ferguson and was as follows Seventh Day Baptists came to the Caribbean during the first quarter of the Twentieth Century with the establishing of the first Seventh Day Baptist Church in Jamaica in 1923. This church was established in Post Roads Clarendon by pioneer Emily Smikle. In 2008 the Jamaican Conference celebrated 85 years of ministry in Jamaica. Rev Ewart Ceasar the Vice President of the World Federation for the Caribbean and President of the Guyana SDB Conference accepted the invitation of the Jamaican Conference to attend the 85th Anniversary Conference Service held at the Post Roads SDB Church. The opportunity was seized to share with Rev Ceasar the vision of planting Seventh Day Baptist Churches in the Caribbean, spearheaded by the Caribbean “chapter” of the SDB World Federation. This vision was then formally shared in the report of the Jamaican Conference to the 2008 sessions of the World Federation held in Wisconsin USA in July, presented by the then President Sis Claudia Ferguson. The World Federation endorsed the Caribbean church planting vision and pledged their support. The vision now being pursued is the planting of three SDB Churches in the Caribbean by 2013, beginning with Barbados, then the Cayman Islands and Trinidad and Tobago. God has always, in His Providence create opportunities, by disturbing peoples’ environments: so Deacon Micheal Walters Missionary Worker in the Jamaican Conference, left Jamaica to work in Barbados, now making this the second Seventh Day Baptist in Barbados . Sis Gail Whyte a member of the Higgin Town Seventh Day Baptist having left Jamaica earlier to study law at Cave Hill University Campus and later decided to settle in Barbados with her husband and young family. But God was not done yet. All in Jamaica were surprised when Deacon William Robinson leader of the Greater Portmore Seventh Day Baptist with wife Shelly and their two children left to work in Barbados. This was now the time for these SDB brethren to start meeting for bible study. The official Launch of the First Seventh Day Baptist Group in Barbados today August 28, is the prelude and precursor to the launch of the full fledged Seventh Day Baptist Church in Barbados. As the current Vice President of the SDB World Federation for the Caribbean, I am blessed and overjoyed to be a part of the historic occasion. With me are Rev Carlton Ferguson and Rev Basil Clarke members of the Missions Committee in Jamaica who have been sharing with you presentations on the process of church planting, I want to publicly acknowledge the contribution of Rev Carlton Ferguson in compiling the manual “Building a Dynamic Church” . I am persuaded in my spirit that the Lord Jesus Christ is with this venture, that He has gone out ahead of you all, and that all the obstacles in your way you will overcome in His Name and Power. I am also persuaded that as you follow His leading you will be able to attain church status a head of the targeted time. You will through the Holy Spirit’s direction attain the minimum 25 member spread across a minimum of 4 families as required by the SDB Manual of Procedure before 2013. Then it will be an honour, the Lord so permitting to be back at the official launch of the first Seventh Day Baptist Church in Barbados. Be assured of the support and partnership of the Jamaican Conference of Churches headed by our new President Pastor Selvin Campbell, of the support of the SDB World Federation headed by President Rev Dale Thorngate and the American Missionary Society headed by Executive Director Bro Kirk Looper. Towards the Future In addition to meeting on Sabbath the group will also meet during the week. The mid week meeting will be convened as a cell group meeting which will then “multiply” based on increase attendance. Cell group multiplication is one of the Evangelism strategies to be pursued by the group. Another strategy is prayer walks/visitations in the church community on Sabbath afternoons. The group intends to give the divine worship service on Sabbaths an evangelistic slant seeking to make it attractive to the unchurched and the unsaved. Needs It is being proposed that the Jamaican Conference donates the keyboard and the American Missionary Society the Public Address System. As these two items are very expensive in Barbados, it is being further proposed that these two items be sourced in the USA and sent to Barbados, before the end of November 2010. In the interim the group will seek to secure use of these items via loan or rental. Follow-Up Visit during the August anniversary month The group needs our urgent prayers as well as any financial assistance to offset the rental of the venue for Sabbath worship service. Claudia Ferguson
The team from Jamaica was:
The team conducted seven sessions focused on church planting as follows:
Topics Presenter
“Seventh Day Baptists trace their beginning to 1651 with the first Seventh Day Baptist Church being the Mill Yard Seventh Day Baptist Church in London, England. With pressure of persecution in England many practicing Seventh Day Baptists were forced to leave for America. The first Seventh Day Baptist Church in America was established on December 23, 1671 at New Port, Rhode Island.
May God’s blessings be upon you and the work here in Barbados.”
The Missions Team coordinated the election of officers for the group namely:
The team will make follow up visits as follows:
Names of any Seventh Day Baptist in Barbados who may not now be aware of the group should be sent to Dea William Robinson e-mail address is williamb618@yahoo.com or Claudia Ferguson email claudiaferguson2000@yahoo.com .
Respectfully Submitted
Vice President SDB World Federation (Caribbean)